United Ties Home Leg With Last-minute CONCACAF Contender
Written by Craig Stone
Wednesday, 29 July 2009
Chris Pontius of United hits the deck after a collision with Carlos Monteagudo of L.A. Firpo during a CONCACAF Champions League game at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC on Tuesday, July 28, 2009. Alan P. Santos/DC Sports Box
WASHINGTON, D.C. – D.C. United started their 2009-2010 CONCACAF Champions League run with a resounding thud on Tuesday night.
United could only manage a 1-1 tie at RFK Stadium in the home leg of a two-game series with El Salvador's C.D. Luis Angel Firpo, a club only in the tournament because fellow Salvadoran team Chalatenango had to drop out just weeks before the opening match.
"We've been through these competitions before, knowing that if you don't take care of your results at home you're going to be in for a tough environment and difficult circumstances [on the road]," United Head Coach Tom Soehn said in his postgame press conference.
D.C. now has to go to El Salvador to face L.A. Firpo on its home field on August 4, with the winner advancing to the Group Stage.
Firpo stunned United in the 26th minute, taking the lead on a steal and goal by forward Mario Alejandro Benitez. Benitez took the ball off D.C. defender Greg Janicki at the top of the penalty area and fired a low shot past goalie Milos Kocic to give the Salvadoran side a 1-0 lead.
Jaime Moreno evened the score for D.C. on a gift penalty in the 41st minute when United forward Rodney Wallace went down easily after a trip in Firpo's box. That brought Moreno to the spot to bury the penalty kick, which he so often does, and the score was knotted at one going into the half.
Neither team found the net in the second half, and the United will now have to win on the road if they want to move on.
"We didn't take care of our chances today," Soehn said. "I don't know that we adapted to the game real well early. I thought we let them have too much possession."
Soehn may have been referring to the more controlled pace played by Firpo, which his players took notice of.
"It was a little bit slower," said United's Andrew Jacobson. "They're a lot more technical."
"We had a lot more time on the ball, it felt like, and we didn't take care of our chances. But it happens, and we just have to adjust next time," said D.C. forward Rodney Wallace.
Before Tuesday's rematch in El Salvador, D.C. heads to Houston to face the Dynamo in an MLS match.
