Goalkeeper Scott Garlick came off his line and stole the ball from Freddy Adu in the second half.
By John E. De Freitas
WI Sports Editor
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Last Saturday night at RFK Stadium, Freddy Adu of D.C. United entertained 19,812 spectators with his skill and speed. He even received two minutes of cheers in the first half after his “Bend It Like Beckham” shot sailed over the wall and into the nets, to tie visiting Real Salt Lake 1-1.
“I saw the goalkeeper out of position, and I curved the ball around the wall before he was even ready,” said Adu. It was his first goal since June 28. His left foot shot out of reach from goalkeeper Scott Garlick.
Earlier in the half, Adu brought the crowd once more to their feet. With his back to the goal, he spun around and whipped a curved ball that missed the nets by inches.
United had expected to easily defeat Real Salt Lake, the team that ended United’s 14 game unbeaten streak in July with two late penalty kicks in a controversial game that left players and coaches trading insults.
Most of the United starters sat on the bench, missing a game because of yellow card violations. Sitting out were MVP candidate Christian Gomez, leading team scorer Alecko Eskandarian, Joshua Gros, Bobby Boswell and Troy Perkins.
Battling for crowd recognition was rookie Stephen deRoux, who used his speed to zip down the left side, leaving his defender behind, only to miss the first goal. deRoux, played at High Point High School in Maryland and Prince George’s Community College before asking to tryout with United. This was his first Major League Soccer (MLS) game.
Adu Goal Helped United Win
“The first game is always the worse one,” said deRoux, 22. “The coaches told me to attack and get forward and I think I did very well. I just hoped I could have made good with the chances.”
In the second half, United continued to press for a three-point win, but could not break through the defense. Real Salt Lake scored in the 65th minute, after United goalkeeper Nick Rimando was caught outside his goal box, allowing Chris Klein to score in the far post.
United was able to use their bench effectively and come away with a tie.
The crowd enjoyed the swiftness of Real Salt Lake forwards, and the speed and skills of Adu and deRoux. However, most of the play was in the midfield. The build-ups were there but United could not score. Adu sent some accurate passes into the box but Jaime Moreno could not finish the job.
“We needed to be a bit smarter,” said United Coach Peter Nowak. “We’re leading 1-0 and I told the guys in the locker-room, we have inexperienced guys but the mistakes should not have been made, it cost us three points.”