Banged-Up United Has No Trouble Quelling Revolution

United 3, Revolution 0

Luciano Emilio celebrates the first of his two goals, a first-half strike that put United up 2-0. United (8-6-3) had scored just two goals in its previous seven away games. (Winslow Townson - AP)

FOXBOROUGH, Mass., Aug. 5 -- As the final minutes ticked away on D.C. United's match with the New England Revolution on Sunday at Gillette Stadium, Coach Tom Soehn looked over his left shoulder and saw playmaker Christian Gomez on the bench nursing a quadriceps injury and team captain Jaime Moreno with an ice pack pinned to his ailing lower back. The club's third creative element, Brazilian midfielder Fred, was in Washington serving a one-game suspension.

On most days, the absence of such influential players against the MLS Eastern Conference's hottest team probably would have doomed United's efforts.

But in one of D.C.'s most composed -- and surprising -- displays of the season, Josh Gros took advantage of Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis's early mistake and Luciano Emilio scored twice as United thoroughly outplayed New England for a 3-0 victory before a quiet crowd of 12,618.

"Everybody has questioned how good we are and I know we've got a good team," said Soehn, whose team was winless in its previous three league matches and 1-4-2 in all competitions the past month. "Obviously, there are certain days where it's better than others, but we've got a good bunch of guys, and when we do click, we're tough to play against."

How unlikely was this result? United (8-6-3) had scored just two goals in its previous seven away games, had not enjoyed a multi-goal effort on the road since mid-May and was facing a New England team (9-4-6) unbeaten in its past five outings.

Gomez was not scheduled to enter until the second half, but with the lead safe, he remained on the bench. Moreno came on after halftime, but departed 28 minutes later with back spasms. In addition, midfielder Brian Carroll was given a rest.

In their place, Guy-Roland Kpene, Rod Dyachenko and Clyde Simms "made it seem like we weren't missing anybody," Emilio said through an interpreter.

Despite the absences, United was organized and assertive. While Dyachenko held his own against New England's superb central midfield, Kpene functioned effectively alongside Emilio and made good decisions with the ball.

In the 22nd minute, Reis fell effortlessly to stop Simms's 25-yard bid, but failed to control the ball and, as he reached out, Gros raced in and tapped it into the net. Reis pleaded with referee Alex Prus to disallow the goal, but the keeper had clearly failed to execute the simplest of tasks.

"I don't think he was expecting anybody to be crashing," said Gros, who scored his first league goal of the year. "I noticed it, so I just ran and got a toe poke and there it was. He didn't have any hands on the ball, so he had nothing to yell about."

While the first goal was a gift, the second one was elegant and efficient. Kpene moved into space about 35 yards from the net and sent an exquisite pass into the box. Emilio timed his run perfectly, shedding defender James Riley and one-touching it past Reis from eight yards.

"I thought [Kpene] was going to cut to the outside, and when he cut to the inside, I positioned myself to make that run," Emilio said. "He seemed to read my body language and played me the ball. It was a great ball, a great pass."

Despite Kpene's contributions, Soehn felt the need to provide minutes for Moreno, who on Wednesday had returned from a 2 1/2 -week layoff caused by a hamstring injury. The club has taken a cautious approach with Moreno, fearful that rushing him back into a prominent role too soon could have long-term consequences.

Moreno, whose career was nearly derailed by back surgery in 2003, absorbed several hard challenges, including one from Jay Heaps less than a minute into the half, and was slow to lift himself from the artificial turf. He departed in the 74th minute.

"With Jaime's history with back pain, the longer you keep him in, the worse it's going to get, so we made a decision to get him out," Soehn said.

Two minutes later, United struck for its third goal. After being fouled at midfield, Emilio bounced up and restarted play before the Revolution could react. He touched the ball to Olsen, who returned it to him for a breakaway and a low finish past Reis. The goal tied him with Kansas City's Eddie Johnson for the league lead (12) and handed the Revolution its worst home loss since moving into Gillette in 2002.

"Forwards are going to go through stretches where they get them in bundles and stretches where they don't get them," Soehn said of Emilio's recent slump. "But I've always said, the day he wakes up again through this stretch, someone is going to pay, and today was New England."