D.C. United found a new way to reach a new low with a 1-0 defeat to Columbus that was as ugly as the record the team set along with it. But at some level the club is already moving on, trying to position itself for the offseason, trying to figure out how best to get its players healthy, trying not to think about the same regrettable things happening over and over again.
Read it and weep: United (4-16-3) now has 15 shutouts, tied with 2007 Toronto and 2009 New York for the most in a season in Major League Soccer – and yet there are seven games left to play. It was a heavy price to pay for one major mistake in the 23rd minute.
Bill Hamid took full blame for whiffing on a clearance that gifted Guillermo Barros Schelotto with the only goal, but the play itself had disaster all over it, as Clyde Simms’s back pass, and even Stephen King’s back pass before that, both helped put Hamid in a precarious position in the first place, forcing him to take a touch that bounced high on him. With Schelotto lingering close-by, Hamid swung through the ball and got nothing but air, leaving Schelotto with an easy finish.
“The field’s been getting kind of poor, but at the same time, there’s no excuse for that mistake on my part,” said Hamid. “It shouldn’t have been a goal. It shouldn’t have been a mistake, maybe I could’ve one-timed it out, who knows. But I apologize to my teammates, my coaches, to the staff, to the fans for that mistake.”
The problem for D.C. was that was all Columbus (13-5-5) needed because United was unable to generate a single shot on goal at the other end of the field. The best chance came in the 20th minute, when Andy Najar’s cross bent around the Crew back line, but Danny Allsopp couldn’t quite get there to direct the ball into the net. Santino Quaranta and Pablo Hernandez also had half-chances, but blocks, deflections or simply getting stripped was the result.
“It’s bit of a broken record at this point,” said United interim head coach Ben Olsen. “You can sit here and ask me questions. Unfortunately, we’re not making big plays. You’ve heard this before. This is who we are right now. But I’m always again proud of the effort. I think there’s part of us that’s growing, and there’s part of us that’s kind of staying the same, and the part that’s staying the same is costing us games.”
So, on to the injuries, which I wrote about earlier. First, Chris Pontius confirmed that getting shut down for the season and surgery for his lingering right hamstring problem could happen. He said the team was set to make a decision soon.
“I literally feel like I’m playing at 75 percent,” said Pontius. “When you know you can play at a certain level, and your body’s not allowing you to, then there’s obviously something wrong.”
I also asked Olsen about Hamid: “We haven’t made a decision. We’ll talk. We’ll have meetings with him and the doctor and talk about what’s best for him, first and foremost, as a young player, and also what’s best for him succeeding for us, too.”
Hamid was more positive even though he’s been dealing with a right shoulder problem for much of the season: “The shoulder feels fine. I’m playing well, making saves, diving to my right side, throwing the ball out with my right arm. I’ve had a shoulder problem for a while, but we’ve kept up with the rehab and everything. It feels good.”
We’ll have to see what gets announced in the coming days.
