D.C. United 1, Galaxy 1
It was a drama that concluded similar to the threat of a government shutdown that had loomed over Washington for so long.
In the end, like the potential shutdown, the worst for D.C. United was avoided although Charlie Davies had to sell his soccer soul to get the compromise, in this case, a 1-1 draw with Los Angeles Galaxy in front of an electric crowd of 26,622 at RFK Stadium.
Staring a third straight defeat squarely in the face and on the cusp of 90 minutes played, Davies found himself in the box one-on-one against Galaxy defender Omar Gonzalez. When he cut toward the end line, the former Maryland standout stuck his left arm out, and the United striker made the most of the contact, falling to the ground and drawing a penalty kick call from referee Abiodun Okulaja.
When the furor and protestations of the Galaxy players settled, Davies softly chipped the ball down the middle as goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts dove to his right, then tried to celebrate by getting in the Volkswagen on display behind the field – only to find that the door was locked.
“I was able to take a good stepover and get by Omar,” said Davies. “But he put his arm up into my chest and knocked me off balance. I mean, that’s a penalty.”
“Absolutely disgusting call,” countered Los Angeles midfielder David Beckham, whose 12th minute corner kick found the head of Mike Magee to give the Galaxy (2-1-2) their advantage. “Even my 6-year-old son would know not to call that a penalty. It’s not a penalty. If anything it’s a yellow card. I think any place, grassroots level, kids playing in the park. At any level, that is not a penalty, it’s as simple as that.”
United (1-2-1) welcomed the result but knew that despite a heavy majority of possession throughout, their lack of a sophisticated offensive punch didn’t merit a result and highlighted their biggest concern going forward.
“I’m happy that be battled back and found a way to get a tie, but overall, it’s not good enough,” United head coach Ben Olsen said. “That starts with me. I think we’re maybe fortunate tonight, and I’ll take the blame for that. That’s it.”
Olsen opted to used Davies off the bench for the third time in the young 2011 season, inserting him just after halftime as a replacement for Blake Brettschneider, one of three rookies D.C. fielded in the first 11 in for their highest-attended match in three years.
Center back Ethan White, another Maryland product, didn’t find out until 3 p.m. that he’d been marshaled into service after rookie Perry Kitchen took ill following his return from U.S. under-20 team duty in Guatemala.
White, who was spared having Landon Donovan run at him after the U.S. forward didn’t make the trip to Washington due to a knee injury, cleared a shot from Magee off the line in the 35th minute after D.C. goalkeeper Bill Hamid, making his first league start of the year, charged off his line to disrupt a cross but was unable to make contact.
Rookie right back Chris Korb also didn’t look out of place in his third start but lost track of Magee on the Galaxy’s goal.
“We really need to buckle down on set pieces and make sure everybody has their man, make they’re not getting beat to the ball, make sure we’re clearing the ball out,” Hamid said.
Even with Davies on the field, D.C. struggled in the final third for most of the night and seemed all but assured of defeat when Santino Quaranta was ejected in the 84th minute after his second yellow card of the night, leaving D.C. shorthanded for the final minutes.
Instead, Davies made a strong sell and rescued his team, giving D.C. United the kind of good fortune it hasn’t seen often in recent seasons.
“We’ll take the point,” said Quaranta. “It wouldn’t have happened last year.”
