With Starters Resting, United Is Finished Off
Real Salt Lake 4, United 0

By Steven Goff
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, April 13, 2008

SALT LAKE CITY, April 12 -- When the starting lineups were posted an hour before Saturday night's MLS match, high-priced playmaker Marcelo Gallardo was not on D.C. United's list. Neither was goalkeeper Zach Wells, who had played every minute of the first six MLS and international matches. Nor was impressive new defender Gonzalo Martínez and rejuvenated forward Santino Quaranta.

Amid a grueling spring schedule and facing the prospects of playing on the worst field in the league, Coach Tom Soehn felt the need to sit some regulars and provide playing time for those he believed are capable reserves.

But instead of showing depth and versatility, United offered another dreary performance at Rice-Eccles Stadium and was embarrassed by Real Salt Lake, 4-0, in front of 13,193 observers.

"We were put in a situation where it was important to rest some guys, but you still should have the confidence in the guys coming in," said Soehn, whose club played its fifth game in 15 days and had been involved in an emotional Champions' Cup match with Pachuca of Mexico on Wednesday in Washington. The reserves have "been in our system and understand what it takes, the character it takes, to get a result, and it was nowhere close."

Kyle Beckerman scored the first of his two goals 12 minutes into the lopsided match. Fabian Espindola added another seven minutes later. Beckerman, from Anne Arundel County, blasted in a shot in the 78th minute and Robbie Findley took advantage of a mistake by defender Gonzalo Peralta and goalkeeper José Carvallo as Real, which won just 21 games in its first three seasons, defeated United (1-2) for the third consecutive year here.

Real (1-1-1) tied the club record for goals in a game and set the mark for margin of victory.

"What didn't go wrong?" defender Bryan Namoff said. "I think we were a little naive in thinking that we were going to be coming out the same way that we did against Pachuca. It's on the road, on turf. We were way too spread out in the first half and they were able to play through us pretty easily."

With players in need of rest, Soehn started Domenic Mediate at left back instead of Martínez or Marc Burch. Burch found himself on the left side of midfield, which pushed Brazilian midfielder Fred to the front line with Luciano Emilio and Jaime Moreno.

Gallardo, the Argentine midfielder whose $1.9 million salary is six times larger than any of his teammates, yielded his place to Rod Dyachenko and, though he was in uniform, did not play in the second half.

"We still have a long way to go," Soehn said. "It's unacceptable to go down like you did tonight. I constantly question the character of teams and that character gets challenged not just with the [starters], but throughout the whole roster. When it is your time to step up and show what you are made of, you learn a lot on a day like today."

Perhaps Soehn's boldest change was in goal, where newcomer Carvallo replaced Wells and made his MLS debut. The coaching staff likes the Peruvian and had pledged to give him a match early in the year. But while last week's home opener against Toronto, sandwiched between the two Pachuca games, seemed to make the most sense, Soehn waited until this night.

A goalkeeping move for a match at Salt Lake City was not unprecedented. Last summer Soehn rested Troy Perkins in favor of Jay Nolly, who was overmatched in a 2-1 loss that provided Real with its first victory in 12 games. United also had a bad experience here two years ago, when the club conceded two penalty kicks in the closing moments and lost, 2-1, to snap a 14-game unbeaten streak.

This night began with promise as United controlled possession the first five minutes and probed Real's back line for an opening. But as the half progressed, things only got worse. Real gained comfort on the attack, and in the 12th minute, Dema Kovalenko slotted a pass to Beckerman in the clear. Before Namoff could close him down, Beckerman calmly slotted a low shot into the right corner for a 1-0 lead.

Seven minutes later, Kovalenko's long ball reached Espindola deep on the left side of the box. Espindola warded off Peralta and tagged an angled shot that Carvallo slowed but could not stop from trickling across the goal line.

United's defense was not the only problem. Its attack labored to find a rhythm on the rock-hard turf and, other than Devon McTavish's bid that drew a leaping catch by Nick Rimando, United was hardly a threat.

Matters continued to deteriorate, and in the 77th minute, Beckerman smashed a one-timer from 20 yards inside the far post. Ten minutes later, Peralta attempted to head the ball back to Carvallo, but Findley sneaked between them and nodded the ball over the goalie and into an open net.

"It was my fault," Peralta said. "The whole team played a bad game."

Added Moreno, "It's definitely a bad experience and hopefully it won't happen again."