It was all too familiar on Wednesday for D.C. United, which for the second time in 2007 found itself the outnumbered visitor despite hosting famed Mexican team CD Guadalajara, with a majority of the 21,022 at RFK Stadium supporting the club known as Chivas.
But unlike the CONCACAF Champions’ Cup match that cold, rainy night in March, which ended in a stalemate, this time the last remnants of summer and the true home team prevailed, with a 10-man United bravely securing a 2-1 victory in the first leg of the round of 16 in the Copa Sudamericana.
Midway through the opening half, Chivas dodged a bullet when Jaime Moreno fell as he tried to connect with a cross from Fred, but Chivas’ defensive clearance fell right to Ben Olsen, who had time and space to bury a shot from outside the box to give United a 1-0 lead.
D.C.’s celebration was short-lived, as it was forced to play a man down for the entire second half when defender Marc Burch was shown his second yellow card just moments before halftime.
United still forged ahead, and Clyde Simms doubled the lead in the 55th minute.
Chivas cut the deficit to 2-1 six minutes later on a close range finish by Sergio Santana, but D.C.’s valiant defense stiffened the rest of the way despite facing 16 second-half shots.
The teams play the return leg Tuesday at Estadio Jalisco in Guadalajara, Mexico. The winner will face Argentina’s Arsenal in October.
