Kevin Payne said D.C. United hadn’t earned the right to play good soccer. Funny, though, how the only thing to earn that really matters in soccer is a result.
And so without an attacking midfielder, really without a playmaker of any kind, D.C. found a way to beat Kansas City, 2-1, for its first win of the 2010 regular season. And it wasn’t pretty.
No disrespect to wingers Christian Castillo and Boyzzz Khumalo or forwards Adam Cristman and Danny Allsopp, but this wasn’t the D.C. United of the last decade that was personified by flowing attacks down the heart of defense. This was good old sit back and disrupt then pump the ball into the channels and see what’s there. Sure enough, there was plenty.
“We’ve expended a lot of energy at home pressing,” said United head coach Curt Onalfo. “And if you look at our first games, we really pressed hard the first half, and we didn’t get the goals. Normally when you press, you get rewarded with a goal, and we didn’t, and I think that hurt us later on in games so we were a little more conservative. Having said that, we still created some good opportunities and put the ball in the back of the net so I was pleased with that.”
Onalfo should also be pleased that by shaking up his lineup, he found guys that were simply willing to work. With work comes effective soccer, and that’s what matters, and that’s what should make it difficult for many of United’s assumed starters going into the year to find their way back into the first 11. The group that played tonight showed plenty of mettle.
“Playing pretty soccer is one thing, and I think there were moments in the game tonight where when we actually put in the work, it allowed us to play nice soccer, pass the ball and connect, and it felt more fluid,” said Cristman. “But I think we’re finding, at least in this league and against the teams that we’re playing against, that’s not necessarily how you win games. You have to put in put in the work. It has to be dicey, and it’s not always pretty. We’re all coming in with knocks and tired and dead, but that’s what it takes, and that’s what we’re going to keep doing.”
Lastly, what a relief.
“Obviously, it feels great,” said Onalfo. “It’s just one win, but it’s an important one. What we’ve dealt with over five weeks in terms of adversity has been very trying, and I commend our group for not letting any negativity enter into our group and understanding along the way what it takes to win games in this league. It takes hard work, sacrifice and playing every play like it’s the last. We had a very good, hard fought, workmanlike effort for 90 minutes. It was really encouraging to get the victory.”
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