D.C. United seemed stuck on cruise control in their meaningless season finale against the Columbus Crew at RFK Stadium on Saturday, but a Jaime Moreno penalty kick saved United's blushes in the second half to give the Black-and-Red a 2-2 draw.
Edson Buddle scored twice, on either side of halftime, to twice give the Crew leads on the night. Dema Kovalenko had pulled United level the first time just before the halftime whistle, then Moreno gratefully accepted a fortunate penalty to provide a second leveler 15 minutes from time.
As is usually the case at RFK, United dominated possession, but on this night their finishing was less than perfect, as evinced by several early chances that went begging.
A slick series of one touches down the United right flank released Josh Gros behind the Crew defense in the seventh minute, and the winger pushed deep into the visitors' box before deciding to shoot for the far post. But a late-arriving Chad Marshall blocked the effort straight up into the air and Crew 'keeper Matt Jordan scrambled back to punch the ball away.
The RFK crowd jeered referee Terry Vaughn and his assistants heartily in the 12th minute when a Moreno goal was called back for offsides, but replays showed the decision to be correct as the Bolivian was a step behind the defense when Kovalenko played him in over the top.
In the 16th minute, Robin Fraser's booming, 60-yard diagonal pass for Chris Henderson forced the D.C. defense to turn towards their own goal, and the Crew swiftly swung the ball back to the left for Dominic Mediate's far post run. The University of Maryland product did well to send his header on goal at a dead run, but Rimando palmed it wide.
Columbus was gaining traction, but the home side ignored the warnings and paid the price just a few minutes later. Against the run of play, Edson Buddle was gifted a free header in the D.C. six-yard box off Jamal Sutton's long throw-in. Facundo Erpen failed to track the dangerous striker as he floated into the goalmouth and Sutton's heave was happily converted by Buddle, giving Columbus an unexpected opener in the 18th minute with his eighth goal of the campaign.
The Black-and-Red had been controlling possession but lacking consistent service, though Moreno was set up well by Brian Carroll's slide-rule through ball into the box and the United captain was unlucky when his close-range chip glanced off the side of Jordan's head and out of play.
But the growing anxiety inside RFK exploded into joy just seconds before the beginning of injury time when Jamil Walker rose well to win a header over Simon Elliott just inside the top of the Crew penalty area, and the loose ball was alertly backheeled by Ben Olsen, setting up Kovalenko from a tight angle on the left.
The Ukrainian picked his spot well with a low left-footer past Jordan and into the far side netting to make it 1-1, with Vaughn blowing the halftime whistle shortly afterwards.
The home side no doubt heard some stern words from United boss Peter Nowak in the locker room, and the more offensively-minded Freddy Adu replaced Carroll to start the new half. Yet United still lost their concentration barely five minutes into the second period and gave Buddle another simple goal for a 2-1 lead.
Another Columbus corner exposed slack marking and hesitation from D.C., as Henderson's outswinging service was flicked on by Marshall and easily finished by Buddle from point-blank range at the back post.
Elliott should have doubled his team's lead in the 63rd minute when an extended spell of Crew possession brought them deep into the United box, but the New Zealand international's low shot from 10 yards out was well-blocked Rimando.
Nowak pulled the struggling Gomez off in favor of Clyde Simms, and with his side in need of a spark, brought on new Argentinean signing Lucio Filomeno with his final substitution -- who made an immediate contribution by drawing a penalty kick for his new club.
When Bryan Namoff lofted a cross to the far post, Filomeno was well-covered by Chris Wingert, but Sutton rashly leaped into the striker from behind and forced Vaughn to point to the center spot. Moreno, still chasing Revolution striker Taylor Twellman for the MLS scoring title, smacked the spot kick into the left side of the net as Jordan dived the wrong way.
The goal leveled the match and kept the Bolivian on pace with Twellman, who had scored earlier against Chicago to put his season total at 17, one ahead of Moreno.
Columbus discomfited United with a number of set pieces in the D.C. half as time wound down, but none of the high balls into the box bore fruit for the Black-and-Gold and the match ended in a stalemate.
It was a far-from-convincing performance for United against the Eastern Conference stragglers, but they were able to hold serve on their home field and will hope to be more dangerous in the Windy City on Friday when they take on the Chicago Fire in the first leg of their Eastern Conference Semifinal Series.
MLSnet.com Man of the Match: Edson Buddle (Columbus Crew)
Charles Boehm is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
