United Overwhelms Beleaguered Celtic

MLS Wins Point Of Pride Over Scottish Champs : United 4, Celtic 0

Freddy Adu gets a lift from teammate Alexko Eskandarian on Wednesday after Adu put United up with the game's first goal against Celtic FC. (Preston Keres - The Post)

The Celtic team that entered RFK Stadium for last night's friendly with D.C. United was missing its trio of World Cup stars. It was missing three defenders because of sickness and injury. The Scottish League champions were even missing their instantly recognizable green-and-white striped jerseys, which give the Hoops their famous nickname.

No matter. D.C. United's overwhelming 4-0 victory, highlighted by Freddy Adu's first-half goal and Jamil Walker's strike early in the second, will still go down as another international benchmark for MLS's best-known franchise.

"It means everything for D.C. United and American soccer in general," Adu said. "I mean, this is one of the best teams in Europe. And we came out here and we just took it to them."

United thoroughly controlled possession in the first half, outshooting the Glasgow club 9-3 and taking a one-goal lead in front of an announced crowd of 15,223. And United's reserves maintained the assault in the second half against a mostly intact Celtic lineup that grew increasingly frustrated as the muggy night came to a close.

By the time Celtic forward Kenny Miller charged into United's John Wilson with both feet midway through the second half, earning a red card and an enthusiastic shove from Wilson, the "friendly" part of the festivities had long since disappeared. On the restart, United midfielder Christian Gomez curled a perfect ball in front of erratic goalkeeper David Marshall, who watched helplessly as Bobby Boswell's header gave United its third goal. Later, rookie Andy Metcalf continued the onslaught, beating a clearly dejected Marshall, who waved his arms in disgust.

"They played well, they created a lot of chances, but we never played the way we can," Celtic reserve Stephen Pearson said. "It was only our third game of the [exhibition] season so it was very difficult, but they played well, they deserved the victory."

Celtic has been beset by injuries and defections in recent weeks and was unused to the soupy conditions offered by Washington in July. The Scottish power's season opener is still two weeks away, while United is undefeated in its past 12 MLS games and is dominating the Eastern Conference standings. Still, Celtic boasts 118 years of history to United's 11, and the Hoops will compete in the group stages of Europe's Champions League for the fourth time in six years.

In any case, yesterday's friendly was drained of much of its star power before the teams stepped onto RFK's increasingly ragged surface. United rested goalkeeper Troy Perkins, who was named to his first MLS all-star team yesterday afternoon, and former starter Nick Rimando received his first action of the season.

Forward Jaime Moreno, who was also named an all-star yesterday, missed the game after spending the early part of the week in Los Angeles for the ESPY Awards. Bryan Namoff and Brian Carroll were also given the night off, and by the final whistle all of United's regulars had been replaced.

Celtic, sporting all-white jerseys, was beset by higher-profile absences. Its trio of World Cup players did not travel to America for the club's three-game, 10-day tour. Slovakian international Stanislav Varga was sidelined by an infection, and fellow defenders Mohammed Camara and Bobo Balde were also out.

The absences, though, did not keep away Celtic's 14-member traveling media contingent, and the Hoops still trotted out a world-class midfield, which included former Northern Ireland star Neil Lennon, Bulgarian captain Stilian Petrov and the Czech Republic's Jiri Jarosik.

But the game featured long stretches of United possession that produced plenty of quality chances. Late in the first half, Gomez -- United's third all-star -- knocked the ball forward to Adu, who had come back to the play and was just onside. The 17-year-old has been plagued by a string of near misses this season, but he made no mistake against the flailing Marshall, calmly finishing with his left foot.

Early in the second half Walker, who had a brief tryout with the Glasgow club in 2004, wheeled on a Celtic mistake and sent a bouncing shot past Marshall, and the rout was on.

"We're proud of this win and I think it's a good statement against a very good and storied club, but it's still a friendly, it's still their preseason," United midfielder Ben Olsen said. "But we'll take it. Four-zero sounds pretty good, D.C. United over Celtic, any way you put it."

United Note: United will host the Columbus Crew in the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup on Aug. 1. The game will be played at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Germantown.