DC United Scrapes Past Tenacious Barons
After 75 minutes of frustration, DC United finally cracked the Barons suffocating defense as Christian Gomez weaved along the outside of the area and scooped the ball perfectly over the defense to Rodney Wallace streaking in from the left side. Wallace cleanly plays the ball back in front of goal just before he is wiped out by Baron keeper Tunde Ogunbiyi earning a penalty kick. Gomez skips the spot kick along the wet grass and under Ogunbiyi easily for the game winner.
United would add another goal in stoppage time as Gomez drew a dangerous free kick just outside the box and he screamed a shot that handcuffed Ogunbiyi causing him to fumble yet another shot, but this time United players finally followed up a shot and got an easy goal. Clyde Simms immediately pressured the young Baron keeper as soon as he bobbled the ball causing him to spill it in front of the open net where Ange N’Silu just beat out Boyzzz Khumalo for the tap in that completed the 2-0 victory for United.
However, in a wild sequence in the 88th minute just before United scored the final goal, the Barons were furious that forward Kyle Miller looked to be clearly fouled in the box by Marc Burch, and there was even a suspicious slap at the ball too. Either of which could easily have been called and given them a penalty kick to even up the match, but the referee would have none of it at the time.
Then moments later the referee appeared to change his mind and give the Barons a make up call as the only foul I could see was Gomez sticking his leg to close to a Barons player intent on kicking it. Still, on the ensuing free kick the ball was swung in to Baron captain Joe Banks for a thundering header on goal that Kocic was barely able to react in time to parry up off the underside off the crossbar and straight back down off the ground and out.
Baron players and fans immediately started screaming that the ball had crossed the line, but the play continued as the ball bounced to Baron midfielder Ryan Richter, who saw his header cleared off the line by Devon McTavish, who was falling backward and looked suspiciously like he was over the line when he knocked it out, again with a suspicious hand flailing around. And yet again, no call on the play had numerous Baron players incensed.
So, it’s safe to say the Barons will not be sending referee Jeff Gontarek any thank you cards, especially as he had tossed the Baron’s coach for foul language in the 55th minute. However, the Barons do go home a little richer with a check for 10,000 dollars as the amateur side that advanced the furthest in the tournament.
Still, the Barons have no one to blame but themselves. Being the last amateur side left in the Open Cup and facing an MLS elite team who also happens to be the defending champion of the tournament, the Barons came out in an ultra defensive lineup which did indeed frustrate United pretty convincingly, but also pretty much kept their own offense in check until the final minutes of the match after they had already fallen behind.
Being ceded half the field right from the get go, DC United obviously dominated the possession for the entire first half but failed to create anything beyond a couple half chances that either missed or were well saved by the Barons keeper. Jacobson and Wallace both tested the keeper with nice shots, but the best opportunity of the first half had to have been N’Silu with a lovely cross that DiRaimondo just missed poking into the open net.
With United clearly lacking any guile and determination up top, Soehn inserted Chris Pontius in the second half for Ben Olsen. United’s rookie of the year candidate slotted in at forward, which pushed Khumalo out wide where his runs were far more dangerous and really stretched the Barons defense, as well as pushed Barklage into Olsen’s central role where his scrappy and inspirational play forced the Barons off balance as well. The moves paid dividends immediately as Pontius literally romped through the Barons penalty area like a fox in the chicken coop creating chances with abandon over the next 25 minutes.
Unfortunately none of them paid off as the Barons defense did just enough to knock his shots off target as well as Ogunbiyi making some nice saves in traffic. However, with the Barons clearly reeling, Soehn went for the knockout blow by inserting Gomez for DiRaimondo which was the key to unlocking the Barons defense for good.
With the win, United advances to the quarterfinals of the Open Cup against the Harrisburg Islanders, who shocked the New England Revolution 2-1 in Foxboro tonight. The match will be played at the Soccerplex in Germantown next Tuesday July 7 at 7:30. In a pleasant, but perhaps disturbing note, this will the eighth straight home match for United in the Open Cup if you count the two play in matches earlier this year to qualify for the tournament proper.
United also will not face an MLS team in the tournament until the final, if even then. The Wilmington Hammerheads knocked out the Fire tonight 1-0, and the Rochester Rhinos beat the Crew on penalties after a 1-1 tie, so there are no MLS teams left on United’s side of the brackets. Only KC has advanced on the other side so far, as Charleston knocked out ChivasUSA, and Seattle (against Portland Timbers) and Houston (Austin Aztecs) have yet to play.
I thought Ange N’Silu, drew the penalty.
I understand how the Barons’ players and supporters could feel hard done by the ref but he sucked both ways.
I’m pretty sure it was Wallace who drew the PK. It happened right in front of me as I was right behind the goal, admittedly in the beer garden, but I’m pretty sure I’m right. Also, Wallace was subbed out before the kickoff after the PK, and I’m pretty sure that was because he got hurt taking the hit from their keeper. That’s why Simms came in.
Funny, there was a lot of misinformation floating around in the various game reports and with no TV, it’s easy to see why. The second goal happened literally right in front of me and I thought for sure Boyzz scored it for example. But he said afterward N’Silu just beat him to it. So, you can see how errors can crop up easily even in front of eyewitnesses.
Oh, and the ref did well and truly suck. There were bad calls all night both ways. The result of the game was indeed fair, but I can see how the Barons felt jobbed.
MM
I stand corrected! Thanks for pointing me to the video, Julius. Obviously, I wish that was available before I wrote about the game, but there you go. N’Silu it is that drew the PK AND my memory of the final Baron scramble is jumbled too.
Kocic blocked the initial shot up and it’s McTavish’s header off the line that goes up off the crossbar and out. It does not look like it was over the line, nor does he use his hand at all.
I’ve got to tell you, seeing that live, I was dead certain there was a handball there, too. I guess that’s why you should never convict based on eyewitness testimony alone!! And certainly not the eywitness testimony of a guy who was standing in a beer garden.