WASHINGTON - All told, D.C. United probably did enough to get a result against Toronto FC on Saturday evening.
They looked sharp for stretches of both halves, nabbed the opener just five minutes in and had a handful of chances to grab a second goal, including a Kofi Opare tally that was disallowed early in the second half.
Enough, of course, isn’t always enough.
United were beaten by a Toronto FC side that looked listless at times, missing the services of US national teamer Michael Bradley and, for the bulk of the night, fellow US international Jozy Altidore. On Saturday night, however, Toronto needed but one difference maker to secure their 2-1 victory -- former Juventus standout Sebastian Giovinco.
On the same day when his former side fell to Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League final, the “Atomic Ant” put on a show at RFK, scoring a pair of memorable goals — including a late winner — to claim a precious trio of road points and pull his side that much closer to the elusive goal of making the postseason.
“It’s pretty simple. We went into the game trying to limit Giovinco’s influence in this game and that didn’t go so well,” United head coach Ben Olsen told MLSsoccer.com after the match. "He’s a special player. We’re gonna come up against very good players in this league and he’s certainly at the top of that list. On any given day, he can do what he did today."
Though TFC started quietly and drifted in and out of the game, Giovinco did not. The 27-year-old nearly grabbed his first in the 27th minute, juking left and right in the area before rounding Opare and pulling the trigger on a low drive, one that United ‘keeper Andrew Dykstra only barely got his fingertips on. He’d switch sides several minutes later, to great effect. Using a similar series of moves, he rounded his defender at the far edge of the area and went near post on Dykstra, who could only watch the shot fizz over his shoulder and into the back of the net.
"He’s a tricky guy," said Opare. "He’s obviously a small guy with a low center of gravity, he’s really quick and he definitely tested us today. What can I say? He’s a world-class player. Not only is he tricky and able to turn incredibly quickly but he has a soccer brain - he’s able to utilize the space, turn, know when to hold the ball, know when to pass it - like I said, he’s world-class.”
If his first goal was cheeky, his second was bombastic. TFC midfielder Benoit Cheyrou’s played a switch to the Italian, which Altidore wisely dummied over. Giovinco collected the service, turned towards goal and fired a right-footed drive that dipped and bent its way inside the near post, eluding a fully-outstreched Dykstra. With only ten minutes remaining, United struggled unsuccessfully to find an equalizer. The loss snapped the club’s franchise-best 20-game home unbeaten run.
“He’s a difference maker for them, you can see that,” D.C. United midfielder Davy Arnaud told MLSsoccer.com in a hushed postgame locker room. “Every time he gets the ball, he’s dangerous. He’s a special player, there’s just no other way of putting it. He makes two individual plays and scores two great goals. Sometimes, you just have to take your hat off to a guy when he makes two plays like that.”
“He’s just a different type of player,” added Fabian Espindola, speaking in a Spanish-language interview. "Honestly, today, he earned those three points for Toronto. His involvement in the game was the difference - nothing else the team did really gave us any trouble. He was the difference."
