Well-Prepared United Has All the Answers in Win

D.C. United 4, Real Salt Lake 1

D.C. United was well on its way to a much-needed victory last night, a 4-1 result over Real Salt Lake that ended an early-season funk, when Marcelo Gallardo capped a stylish second half with a goal that will not soon be forgotten by the audience of 23,269 at RFK Stadium.

The Argentine playmaker, through an interpreter, called it "a very beautiful goal, one of the best of my career, definitely in my top 10" -- which speaks volumes in a career that has included 14 goals for the Argentine national team and dozens of strikes for fabled clubs River Plate and Monaco.

It came in the 80th minute, courtesy of Marc Burch's cross. Gallardo met the ball only a few yards from the end line, eight yards from the target, and at an angle that, in most circumstances for most players, probably called for a cross or a clumsy attempt to control the ball. Instead, Gallardo volleyed it with such force and precision, goalkeeper Nick Rimando barely had time to respond as it streaked past him and into the roof of the net.

Rimando's counterpart, Zach Wells, said: "It was unstoppable. Unless you are just standing there and it hits you, there is no way you can react to it. No way."

Gallardo's second goal of the regular season completed a marvelous second half by United (2-3), which snapped a two-game losing streak and atoned for a 4-0 road loss to Real (1-3-1) two weeks ago. Jaime Moreno converted a penalty kick in each half, increasing his MLS-leading career scoring total to 115, and added the primary assist on Santino Quaranta's volley and the secondary assist on Gallardo's thunderbolt.

United Coach Tom Soehn was encouraged by the outcome, if not the overall performance. There were flaws, particularly in the first half when Moreno's goal was one of the few encouraging moments. But United got better as the match unfolded and clearly benefited from a week of preparation following a stretch of six league and international matches over 20 days that included elimination from the Champions' Cup and a fall into last place in the Eastern Conference.

"We haven't had quality [practice] sessions and you fall into bad habits, similar to last year," Soehn said of last year's 0-3-1 start that coincided with international play. "I still look back to last year and it took us a couple weeks, even though we got results, to get to form. I felt that was the same tonight. We are still not where we need to be and we're going to work darn hard to clean up some of those things."

Though well rested, well prepared and highly motivated, United was plodding and predictable in the early going and lost Brazilian wing Fred to a bruised quadriceps after 22 minutes. His replacement, Burch, influenced the game right away.

As Burch attempted to drive a cross into the heart of the penalty area, Real midfielder Dema Kovalenko slid into the ball's path and blocked it with his raised arm. Without hesitation, referee Baldomero Toledo awarded a penalty kick.

Moreno converted in the 31st minute, softly chipping a shot into the center of the net as Rimando dived to his right. Real's best chance for an equalizer came seven minutes later when Javier Morales lashed a one-timer from eight yards that Wells blocked at the near post.

Before the half ended, Soehn turned to his bench again by replacing rookie Dan Stratford with Rod Dyachenko, an unusual move with halftime approaching but one that paid dividends.

"We thought Rod could come in and make the soccer better, which we needed because we weren't holding the ball enough," Soehn said. "We weren't getting Marcelo and Jaime involved in the play enough because we were chasing the game a little bit."

United stretched the lead in the 52nd minute on Moreno's second penalty kick. Moreno had threaded the ball to Luciano Emilio, who held off Chris Wingert and found space at the top of the box. Morales reached for him and Carey Talley approached. Emilio went down and Toledo sounded his whistle again.

Anticipating Moreno to direct the kick down the middle again, Rimando held his ground. But this time the Bolivian forward targeted the upper left side.

Real nearly halved the deficit seven minutes later, but Morales's free kick cleared the defensive wall and hit the left post.

United then secured the outcome in the 67th minute. Moreno spotted Quaranta making a free run on the right and lofted a perfect ball that the Baltimore native volleyed on an angle from seven yards into the far corner. It was a nice finish, but nothing compared to Gallardo's rocket 13 minutes later.

After Talley trimmed the deficit to 3-1, Gallardo applied the emphatic finishing touch to a critical victory.

"We really needed this to boost our confidence," he said. "It was a necessary win after the way we started the season. It felt good to win again."