Game 21 - DC United 1:0 Toronto FC

DC United stole three points on the road to further enhance their chances at the Supporter's Shield. Toronto FC clearly played the better game, but DC cashed in on their only shot on goal of the first half and made it stand up with some timely defending and poor finishing by TFC. With Emilio, Olsen and Gros not making the trip to Canada, United's attack lacked possession which resulted in Toronto pushing their attack throughout the game. Perkins played very well and was the difference between three points and none. With the win, United moves into second place in the Eastern Conference and in the full table, three points behind New England with two games in hand.

The Good:

• Perkins and the defense pitch another shutout.
• Another early goal to put the opponent on their heels.
• Simms was great again in the midfield.

The Bad:

• The forwards, more below.
• The substitutes, more below.
• The field, more here. Once again, the field proved to be as big an influence on how the game played out as anything else. The turf in Toronto doesn't give a true bounce and whether it was because of the wetness or if that's how it always plays, the ball skipped all over the place. I've been to Toronto. I know they can grow grass there. It's a real shame MLS hasn't strapped on a set and dictated that outdoor turf is verboten.

Grades

Forwards (Dyachenko and Addlery) D-

Can we end the Dyachenko experiment for 2007? Unimaginative, uninspired, and unskillful. And Addlery was completely unable to control the passes he was given, passes Moreno and Emilio are able to handle regularly. I don't understand why Kpene was not give the start over either of these options.

Midfielders (Fred, Gomez, Simms, and Carroll) B

The offense, the little that there was, came from this group. Carroll looked better on the wing pushing up field without the responsibility to distribute from the middle. Gomez and Fred were the best players on the field not named Perkins. Simms continues to show why he deserves to be on the field. And did you see the stat in the Post? United is 16-5-3 (W-D-T) with Simms in the lineup over the last two years. Wow.

Defense (Burch, McTavish, Vanney, Namoff, and Perkins) A-

Another clean sheet for this group. Perkins was great, but the fullbacks didn't have their best game. Still it is the result that counts. United has given up the fewest goals in the Eastern Conference and is third overall in GAA at 1.10.

Substitutes (Kpene, Mediate, and Moreno) C-

As well and Moreno played, this group was unable to maintain possession of the ball and allowed Toronto to begin peppering the defense, make runs in the box and keep possession for almost the entire second half.