D.C. United controlled the pace of their last match but still needed a goal in stoppage time to salvage a draw. Coach Tom Soehn thinks it’s about time his club stopped settling for ties.
United hope to capitalize on more of their chances as they begin their latest defense of the Atlantic Cup with a road match against the New York Red Bulls on Sunday.
United (1-1-3) dominated possession April 17, outshooting New England 20-4 and stringing together several prime scoring opportunities with eight shots on goal to the Revolution’s two. However, D.C. trailed 1-0 before Ben Olsen scored on a stoppage-time header to salvage a 1-1 draw.
Soehn said his club’s third tie in five games was tough to swallow.
“We obviously generated chances, but the first half was there for the taking,” he told United’s official Web site. “I don’t think we did a very good job of managing it.”
Soehn wasn’t making any excuses for his young club, which finished two points behind New York for the final playoff berth last season after a league-best 16-7-7 finish in 2007.
“I have always said that we’re a young team, I’m not saying that anymore,” he said. “We’ve got enough games now that we need to start showing some maturity.
“Sticking in there and getting a goal back is a positive, but I still feel like we gave away two points today. And you know how the season goes, you don’t want to look back and say ‘I wish I had those two points’, because today we should’ve had them.”
D.C. hasn’t had too much trouble getting points against the New York franchise lately. United went 1-1-1 in the series last year and retained the Atlantic Cup for the fifth consecutive season based on tiebreakers. D.C. is 9-4-4 against New York over those five years, not including its 3-0-1 mark versus the Red Bulls in the postseason.
However, the Red Bulls (1-3-2) have won back-to-back home matches against United after going winless in their previous eight.
New York got its first win of the season last weekend at home but failed to build on it Thursday night on the road. The Red Bulls were whistled for the fastest red-card foul in MLS history three minutes in and gave up a goal on the ensuing penalty kick in a 1-0 loss to Kansas City.
Juan Pablo Angel missed a close-range header in stoppage time that could’ve helped New York avoid getting shut out for the fourth time in six matches.
“At the end, a point would have been a fair result for us, but that’s football,” coach Juan Carlos Osorio said. “I told the guys it will turn around. Then those chances will go in. But at the moment, there is no help in it for us.”
The Red Bulls will play this match without defender Carlos Johnson, who’s suspended for last week’s red card.