Digging deep into their reserves of fitness and fortitude, D.C. United overcame a first-half ejection and an aggressive, skilful opponent to earn a hard-fought 2-1 victory against Chivas de Guadalajara in the first leg of their Copa Sudamericana showdown at RFK Stadium on Wednesday night.
From the outset, United struggled to match the Mexican club's pace and possession and were elated to take the lead from Ben Olsen's dipping drive in the 23rd minute, and their task looked positively monumental when left back Marc Burch picked up his second yellow card in the 44th minute.
"We came in the locker room and addressed some things and said the one thing we don't want to do is panic," said D.C. head coach Tom Soehn. "We stick to our guts. And we stuck to the guts we had in us and said we were going to get the next goal and then we are going to make adjustments. To their credit again, they did what we asked of them."
Incredibly, the Black-and-Red did indeed find a second tally, from an unlikely source -- defensive midfielder Clyde Simms, who started the day with a career total of one goal in all competitions. Ten minutes into the second half, a Christian Gomez free kick was deflected into his path and Simms hit a one-touch bullet past netminder Luis Michel from some 20 yards out.
"I had some lucky bounces -- the ball hit off one of their defenders right into my path -- and I ran up and stroked it," said Simms. "There was a lot of traffic so I knew if I kept it hard and low, maybe we'd get a deflection, but luckily it didn't hit anyone, just the back of the net."
United then mustered a dogged rearguard action to keep the Mexican superclub at bay in a second half that featured none of their typical passing fluidity but plenty of grit and tenacity.
"Just try to stay compact, stay together and fight it out," said Olsen of his team's mentality at the break. "That was the message we had in the huddle before coming out for the second half. It'll be tough, it'll be a long 45 minutes, but if we stay together and everybody really puts everything they have out there and help each other out, it's possible."
Chivas turned the second half into something resembling an odd-man practice drill as they probed United's back line from all angles. But the Mexicans were undone by poor finishing and some desperate D.C. defending, though a 61st-minute tally from Sergio Santana will give Chivas hope going into Tuesday's second leg in Guadalajara.
"It's a game where they are going to throw everything at you because they have nothing to lose," said Soehn, "and credit our guys, they fought and fought and fought and made it hard for them."
By itself, the result would be a sensational chapter to add to the capital club's proud history. But the Black-and-Red are acutely aware that their task is only halfway completed, with another daunting trip to the unfriendly confines of Estadio Jalisco looming ahead.
"If it was one game, it'd be a big win for us. But it's not, it's two games," said Olsen. "It's always tough going down there, even with the result, the win. Do you sit back? They're expected to win at home, too. It's just, can we go out and fend them off and continue to play soccer? Because it's not going to be a game down there where we're able to defend for 90 minutes."
Though their overall quality was lacking, especially in comparison to the attractive attacking soccer they've displayed over most of their 10-game unbeaten streak in league play, United are more than happy to grab the result that eluded them when they tangled with Chivas in the CONCACAF Champions' Cup earlier this season.
"That just shows the character of this team," said Josh Gros. "We know we let one slip last time we were down there. Definitely, it was a little payback we owed them. So we got the job done getting the win today -- now we just got to go take care of business down there."
Charles Boehm is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
