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dAnother hot and humid night at RFK, and another win for United at home. This makes seven wins in a row at RFK for United, and a ten-game unbeaten streak at home. In fact, the only game United has lost at home this season was the season-opener against Kansas City.
United dominated long stretches of the game, and should have had another goal or two. Columbus keeper Andy Gruenebaum made a few fantastic saves to keep it a 1-0 game in favor of the home team.
Match Ratings:
GK Bill Hamid - 8.5
Hamid was a rock in the back again this week. He commanded the box well, and broke up a few crosses. Hamid is quickly ascending to the top of the Goalkeeping ranks in the MLS. He leads the league in Goals Against Average and Save Percentage. Just another great week.
D Chris Korb - 6
Korb looked shaky in the back after Daniel Woolard went out injured, but had played well up until then. Korb was beat a few times to the ball, but did well to recover.
D Brandon McDonald - 8.5
McDonald was voted man of the match, and deservedly so. I think another guy deserved, and since I have all the power in this column, I'm going to exercise it. McDonald was phenomenal, and a lot of what he did helped make Hamid look so good tonight.
D Emiliano Dudar - 5
Dudar played one of his worst games of the season tonight. It seemed like every long ball he attempted was intercepted or just completely off target. His defense was thankfully better than his passing out of the back. However, he didn't make the impact out of the back that McDonald did.
D Daniel Woolard - 6.5
Woolard left injured in the 63rd minute after colliding with Dudar. He was holding his head and seemed to be suffering from concussion-like symptoms. After the game, Olsen said the team doctors will have to evaluate him. We should know more in the coming days.
M Perry Kitchen - 8
I should just start calling him 'The Destroyer', he breaks up every opposing teams attack. It is unbelievable. However, tonight, we also saw more of an attack-minded Kitchen tonight. He made a great run and his shot hit the left post, after getting by Gruenebaum.
M Branko Boskovic - 6.5
On the plus side, Boskovic went 90 minutes for the first time all season. The down side, Boskovic wasn't a factor tonight. His set pieces looked a little flat, but did surprise Gruenebaum with one of them, but still didn't score.
M Chris Pontius - 8
Pontius bagged his 10th goal of the season after Gruenebaum gave up a rebound on a Long Tan shot. Pontius was active again this week, and seems to be maintaining his incredible form. He also put in a few good crosses, but they weren't finished.
M Nick DeLeon - 9 (Man of the Match)
DeLeon set up the lone goal of the night with a great bit of skill on the ball. He beat a defender to the touchline after some fancy footwork and put a ball in that Tan couldn't finish off. DeLeon did well outside of that one play, but that one brilliant play really stood out.
F Dwayne De Rosario - 7.5
DeRo went down hard in the first half and was holding his shoulder. Maybe it effected, maybe it didn't. However, it is another league game without a point from DeRo. The only reason it is concerning, is because of the way he went on a tear last year.
F Long Tan - 6
Tan missed two sitters during the game. Both were very easy, and he missed. A striker who doesn't finish is tough to give a high rating to. Luckily for him Pontius cleaned up one of his misses. Unfortunately, he was called offsides a few times, but one was the wrong call. It was a disappointing call, as Tan was all alone and had a clear path to goal. His work rate was great tonight, but he missed the two easy shots.
Subs:
Lewis Neal - 6
Neal was playing out of position when he came in for Daniel Woolard, so I'm not going to penalize him too much. However, he was a liability on defense, and Columbus definitely did attack him more.
Maicon Santos and Dejan Jakovic - Incomplete
Santos came in and held up the ball well, but tried to do too much. Jakovic was on late, and did well during the late flurry in stoppage time, but didn't have much time to factor in to the decision.