Dockal finally nets one, Union finally win again
CHESTER » Nothing like seeing a struggling rival when you need a win.
Borek Dockal picked a very opportune time for his first MLS goal, breaking a tie late in the second half to give the Union a 3-2 victory over DC United in front of a sunsplashed crowd of 16,493 at Talen Energy Stadium Saturday.
The victory was the first for the Union (2-32, 8 points) since a season-opener victory over New England. It also, at least briefly, quelled the sharks circling around coach Jim Curtin.
“There is a lot of relief obviously, but I think that we all knew that we were capable of this,” said striker CJ Sapong. “It was just about executing and scoring our way.”
Scoring is something the Union had monumental problems with this season. That was cured, thanks to a young United backline. Philly held a 23-4 shot advantage and dominated for a good stretch of the game.
“I’m really proud of the guys sticking together when our backs were against the wall a little bit and I think we put in a great performance,” Curtin said. “It would have been easy to fold in this situation, but we came out strong. I’m most proud of the way we have possessed the ball lately, of which it’s at the highest level it has been.”
The start, however, was a little rocky. After a good push to start, a defensive breakdown resulted in the opening goal. Following a turnover by Jack Elliot, Luciano Acosta slipped a ball through to Zoltan Stieber, who beat Andre Blake to give United (1-4-2, 5) the early lead after only seven minutes.
One of the two starting changes made by Curtin was instrumental in leveling the score. Brazilian Ilsinho made a run into the box, turned defender Joseph Mora, and fired a shot-cross that took a fortuitous deflection off Fredric Brilliant that went past a befuddled Steve Clark in the 37th minute and broke a more than two-game scoring drought after being blanked by Orlando and FC Dallas.
“We thought Ilsinho might start. He gives them another look,” United coach Ben Olsen said. “He poses different types of threats than Fafa (Picault). In a lot of ways, I think that hurt us more because he was unpredictable and comfortable coming inside and overloading that right side. Again, we had trouble solving that, you could see that.”
The Union broke the deadlock 15 minutes after the restart. Haris Medunjanin took advantage of the right side of the United defense. His back-post chip found captain Alejandro Bedoya, who headed it across the face of goal. A wide-open Sapong lost his defender and nodded it into an open net.
“It always is,” Sapong said on scoring. “However, I’ve always prided myself in seeing the bigger picture and ultimately I still thought I was providing something for my team. It’s a little easier to step on the field even if the goals aren’t coming as much as you’d like. Obviously, it is better when you are scoring.”
With the Union controlling the play, it seemed like only a matter of time before they would add to the lead. But DC found the equalizer off a volley by substitute Darren Mattocks in the 70th minute as he converted off a cross by Stieber.
Almost immediately, the Union re-gained the lead as another friendly bounce played a big part. Picault’s cross hit off Christopher Durkin and fell to Dockal at the right side of the goal. The offseason attack signee from the Czech Republic turned and roofed a rocket that Clark had no chance on.
“It feels good,” Dockal said on breaking into the scoring column. “It feels like, finally, because we needed to get some points today. I scored the goal and we created the chance, but sometimes (this year) it felt like it was not enough. In three or four games, we struggled to score a goal, so I felt the responsibility to do something with the result.”
The Union remained strong in possession to see out the remaining minutes without giving United a quality look on goal. They recorded their third straight win over DC at home, and now own a 10-8-4 series advantage.
The win was especially vital as the Union is now off on a tough three-game away stretch with road tussles with defending MLS Cup champion Toronto FC, Columbus and Montreal. A return to Talen Energy on May 19 features Real Salt Lake making a visit.