Sporting Kansas City 1, D.C. United 0
The passing wasn’t crisp. The movement wasn’t fluid. The finishing left plenty to be desired. It was all somewhat expected for a D.C. United team that hadn’t played a competitive match with its entire group of first-choice starters since training camp convened in January.
What wasn’t anticipated was starting the regular season with a breakdown that felt like last year all over again.
But when former Maryland midfielder Graham Zusi’s corner kick found former James Madison and Forest Park High forward C.J. Sapong’s head in the 93rd minute, Sporting Kansas City stole a 1-0 decision in front of 16,314 at RFK Stadium.
D.C. United coach Ben Olsen was content to sacrifice the regular season opener for a team that could’ve used a longer preseason.
“I thought overall it wasn’t the greatest night for us soccer wise,” Olsen said. “But we kind of knew it wasn’t going to be. It was the first time we stepped on the field for a 90-minute game. It’s not an excuse. It’s just reality.”
While Sporting Kansas City (1-0-0), last year’s top team in the Eastern Conference, began the night with 10 of the 11 starters from its 1-0 regular season finale win at RFK Stadium in October, United (0-1-0) changed out five different starters through returns from injury and new signings.
But neither of United’s high-priced designated players, midfielder Branko Boskovic and forward Hamdi Salihi, lasted 90 minutes, and neither of them were happy with the result.
“One of the things I’m happy because my knee is okay,” said Boskovic after his first game since suffering a knee injury last April. “But in other things I’m very disappointed.”
In his MLS debut, Salihi came closest with a stinging 56th-minute header that missed wide right. Most of the night he chased the game and struggled to combine with 2011 MLS MVP Dwayne De Rosario, who also showed rust, having been limited by a groin strain for most of preseason.
Andy Najar was a threatening presence on the right wing but sent every one of his crosses on the ground straight into Kansas City defenders, and Chris Pontius, returning from a broken leg suffered late last summer, showed flashes but never finished off his runs.
“We didn’t help [Salihi] out much,” Olsen said. “It’s our job to give him the right service to do his job. Andy got in several times. It’s just our final ball was a little bit lacking, and that will get better.”
Maicon Santos came off the bench to put United’s only shot on goal in the 84th minute, forcing a routine save from Jimmy Nielsen. The Brazilian had D.C.’s best chance to score four minutes later when De Rosario headed to him all alone. Instead of settling the ball, Santos volleyed it well off target.
Not surprisingly it was United goalkeeper Bill Hamid, who’d spent time training with English Premier League club West Bromwich Albion and the U.S. national team, who was the most game-ready player on the United roster. His presence was massive in the box, where he was both reliable and spectacular.
In the 45th minute, Hamid launched himself upward in anticipation of a Kei Kamara header. When it instead darted downward, he brought his legs together and parried it away with his feet. Hamid added six more saves in the second half before Sapong escaped his defender and redirected Zusi’s corner from the right into the far left corner, then celebrated with fans as if the stadium was his own.
“It’s our first 90 minutes game in the offseason due to scheduling and weather,” new United defender Robbie Russell said. “But now we’ve got 90 minutes under our belt so we gotta work from that.”
