Landon Donovan converted a penalty kick in the 58th minute after United had equalized just four minutes earlier, giving the Los Angeles Galaxy a 2-1 win at the once ominous RFK Stadium. United have dropped six games at home this season and with the win, the Galaxy are now 9-8-2 at the venerable old barn.

For the second consecutive match, United left back Jordan Graye committed an untimely turnover that led directly to the game deciding goal in the second half. He was also victimized by a sneaky Sean Franklin chip over his head, giving him the space on the flank to set up the game’s opening goal by Edson Buddle in the 38th minute.

With Philadelphia’s win Saturday over Toronto, United sits firmly at the bottom of the MLS table with just 12 points over their 17 matches.

The win also snaps a modest two game losing streak for the Galaxy, who lost 2-0 at New England last week and allowed multiple goals for the first time all season, while the other loss came at Seattle in a U.S. Open Cup match.

“You’re going to lose games along the way, and the way you respond in the next game is important,” said Galaxy coach Bruce Arena. “Our response was really good tonight. I thought we went out in the first half and set the tone. The conditions were going to be unbearable at some point tonight and they were. I think it was really challenging obviously for both teams, and I’m happy the way the team came out on top.”

They lost both of those games without Donovan but statistically, this result should not surprise anyone as Los Angeles have scored the most goals, allowed the fewest and own the best goal differential in MLS, while United sit at the opposite end of all three categories.

“We haven’t been used to losing at all this year,” Donovan said. “We needed to stop that and I say all the time that winning is a habit. We got out of the little things that we do right last week and this week we did them well and when we do that, we have enough talent and we are going to win.”

Both Donovan and Buddle were both loudly cheered by the appreciative DC United fans for their commendable performances for the U.S. National Team in the recent World Cup in South Africa.

“Nice applause before the game which was nice. It’s definitely a lot nicer than getting boos,” said a fairly stoic Donovan.

Los Angeles dominated possession from the start stringing multiple, coordinated passing sequences from all angles but United maintained a sturdy back line. Conversely, United attacked in a more singular manner with very little movement off the ball. The Galaxy pressured United very high up the field showing very little respect for the home side’s ability to create from the back with a cohesive attack.

“In the first half their runs were a little more decisive. They were working a lot harder,” said Perkins of the Galaxy attack. “In the second half they just tried to hit long balls and look for counter attacks. We weren’t really tight enough; especially in the first 15 minutes we were too loose. I think a lot of times we were tight enough but a lot of time we just weren’t good enough.”

A Buddle goal looked imminent for Los Angeles in the 21st minute when he beat Perkins to Sean Franklin’s near post cross from the right flank, but the sliding keeper got his leg on the poke and Julius James repelled Buddle’s rebound attempt from the goal line to keep the scoreboard empty.

Franklin and Buddle combined again however, to give the visitors a well earned opening goal aided by good dose of luck. After getting loose down the right wing with a crafty chip over Graye’s head, Franklin sent an initial low ball toward the top of the penalty area which was well read by a back tracking Stephen King.

However, Buddle read his clearing attempt even better, collecting the ball and advancing into the United box. Dejan Jakovic slid nicely to block the rangy forward’s first shot but as Jakovic rolled around trying to avoid handling the ball, Buddle gathered the loose ball, side stepped around King and slammed a left footed shot off the inside of Perkins’ left heel from 7-yards to make the score 1-0.

“I tried to get back into position when the play takes you back across but I should have been set a little earlier but it was a great individual effort on his part,” said Perkins about the goal. “Dejan does a great job of blocking the first attempt but unfortunately there was no cover there for the second one.”

United did respond well however with a flurry in the closing seconds of the half. Santino Quaranta was in the middle of all of it, with an ambitious run from the right flank culminating in his being taken down creating a foul at the top right corner of the penalty area. Pablo Hernandez stepped up, labeling a bending free kick for the near post that Donovan Ricketts smothered with a great diving save.

King immediately had another shot from inside the box blocked and Quaranta followed that with a side volley knuckled toward Ricketts which was parried away to safety to end the half.

The Galaxy quickly resumed their attacking ways, nearly extending the lead some three minutes into the second stanza. McTavish showed a bit too much respect for Donovan on the left flank, allowing the U.S. hero to rip a low cross to the far post that was just a touch long for a sliding and unmarked Alan Gordon.

The miss was punished by United as they equalized on a sensational free kick in the 54th minute. The left footed Hernandez drove a perfectly weighted inswinger into the heart of the crowded penalty area that drifted over the ill-timed leap of Buddle and somehow found the head of the smallest player on the park, Andy Najar, who pounded it passed the diving Ricketts to make the score 1-1.

The joy was short lived however, and much like in their 1-0 loss to Seattle on Thursday, a Graye turnover in his own end proved damaging again, freeing the omnipresent Franklin for a 20-yard shot that was blocked by the hand of the sliding James forcing referee Jasen Anno to correctly point to the penalty spot and subsequently issue the yellow card. Donovan calmly stepped up and hammered the kick inside the right post, just past the outstretched fingertips of Perkins.

“Coach told me to go with my first instinct during the game but I’ve kind of been hesitating since the play the last game, on the second goal I didn’t go with my first instincts,” said a dejected Graye. “I should have probably taken it out wide but instead I just tried to give it up because in my mind, I’m just not really trying to dribble out of the back so I tried to pass it quickly and he ended up deflecting it and it was right down our throats.”

Onalfo made two late changes, one due to injury however, bringing Carey Talley on for Jakovic, who injured his right hamstring and Branko Boskovic for King. United’s lackluster ideas and missed passes amounted to very little, other than a Hernandez flick over the bar from a Quaranta delivery from the right flank, and the Galaxy killed the game off for their 12th victory of the season.

“Again it came down to a couple of mistakes. It was an even game. I felt that in the first half we started slow, I think we dropped off too much. Our back line was too deep. We adjusted that and made that better after 15-20 minutes and all of the sudden we started getting some outside back involvement, started getting a little bit of the game,” added Onalfo.

“But overall I think it was a very even first half, except Edson Buddle makes an offensive play. In the second half we come out motivated and ready to get back in it. Credit to our guys for fighting back in. You get the equalizer and you have the momentum and then we make an error and we shoot ourselves in the foot.“

United had only three shots at William Hesmer’s goal with none in the second half but Luciano Emilio capitalized on one of the precious few chances United could muster, finishing a nifty combination play with Boyzzz Khumalo just past the quarter hour mark of a first half.

Recently acquired goalkeeper Steve Cronin however was busy on the other end,fending off ten shots and commanding his penalty area

United head coach Tom Soehn took note earlier in the week of the Crew’s tendencies to sit back a bit on the road so he reverted to the 3-5-2 formation in hopes of taking the game to the yellow clad visitors early and often.

Although that did not materialize, they got the one chance they needed to win the game. He did finish the match with four in the back in hopes of protecting the lead, giving up on attacking freely in the miserable wet conditions

Dejan Jakovic got the call in the middle of the back line flanked by Julius James and Marc Burch. Lawson Vaughn came on in the second half to finish the match. The extra midfielder allowed Christian Gomez to push higher up the field in support of Emilio and Khumalo.

“Today was just about grinding out a result,” said Soehn. “The team showed a real commitment to working hard and defending, which you need to do at this stage in the season. Obviously everybody knows the importance of the game in keeping our playoff hopes alive. The guys grinded one out and gave everything they had.”

The Crew had several opportunities that didn’t necessarily translate into quality chances but spent most of the match with the ball and in United’s half of the park. They won the majority of 50-50 balls but the final penetrating passes in the attacking third were not of sufficient quality.

“I thought we played pretty well actually,” said Crew midfielder Robbie Rogers, “We outshot them, we kept the ball pretty well; we weren’t as sharp as we wanted to be in the final third but I think the field had something to do with it; it was really slippery and wet. It just wasn’t there.”

The Crew had an opportunity to clinch their second consecutive MLS Supporter’s Shield but their urgency was tempered by already having clinched home-field advantage throughout the MLS Cup playoffs with their 1-0 win at New England last weekend.

“We played a good game. We dominated 90-minutes but good play by DC in the first half with the goal,” said Crew coach Robert Warzycha. “We lost the game 1-0 and I am not worrying about us scoring the goals. We have 49 points so we have actually scored a lot.

“Today wasn’t our day. We created chances and what is very important for me is that we created the chances. The goals are going to come when the time comes. We could be a little sharper in front of the goal, we had 10 shots but nothing went in.”

They also have an opportunity to advance to the knock out round of the CONCACAF Champions League with a win or draw at the Puerto Rico Islanders (USL-1).

“We treated this game as another game,” he continued. “We tried to win the game; I wasn’t thinking about the Supporter’s Shield. We are first in the East so that is a big accomplishment and that is more important for me than anything else is the home-field advantage.

“The positive thing is we are playing good soccer and we are dangerous when we play and creating chances and that is the positive I can take from this game.”

Khumalo’s darting run into the heart of the Crew back line provided the initiative for Emilio’s goal in the 17th minute. Khumalo stepped around Danny O’Rourke before pushing a clever ball past both Jed Zayner and Kevin Burns to the slashing Emilio.

As the ball seemed to nearly come to a stop on the soggy turf, Emilio flicked it over the sliding Hesmer but, with the turf in front of the goal knocked down a bit, the ball had enough impetus to trickle over the line ahead of O’Rourke’s valiant recovery attempt.

United could generate very little else with the field tilting toward Cronin’s goal the rest of the match. United acquired the veteran keeper on loan from the USL-1 Portland Timbers with regular starter Josh Wicks lost for the season due to injury.

“He had to be at his best eight minutes after United surged ahead denying Rogers on a strong left-footed volley from inside the top left corner of the penalty area that was labeled for the upper right corner of the net.

Cronin was tested again in the 40th minute on a strong header from Eddie Gaven from just outside the 6-yard box off a well floated ball from the left flank. Gaven had just come back on to the field, having to leave for a brief spell after taking he was slammed into by Hesmer as both vied for a dangerous Christian Gomez free kick.

As the rain streamed down at an even quicker rate while the second half moved along, United switched to four in the back, content to absorb anything the Crew had to offer and counter when the opportunities became available.

“It was just scrappy in the end. We put Lawson in there, because we knew we were going to have to battle,” said Cronin. “They put balls in the box and we won all the first balls and if I could clean up anything, I tried to play my role. The guys fought hard and it was a good win, good win for the team tonight.”

“We started the half in a 3-5-2, and I think they adjusted because we played first half 3-5-2 also, and they adjusted and said ‘forget it’ and throw numbers on the wings and they were stretching us, so we adjusted into a 4-4-2 and I think that helped a lot late in the game with the crosses,” said United defensive midfielder Clyde Simms.

Cronin continued his solid play however, punching a Gaven cross safely over the bar in the 62nd minute and clearing away a Frankie Hejduk floater nine minutes later with added vigor. In between those, he cleanly handled another dangerous near-post cross from Rodgers from the right flank.

Warzycha brought on forward Jason Garey in favor of Guillermo Barros Schelotto in the 56th minute and Emilio Renteria ten minutes later in hopes of changing the match. Schelotto has been hampered by a hamstring injury and has started only four of the Crew’s last 13 regular season games. Renteria had an immediate impact, darting past two United defenders but his right-footed shot from just inside the penalty area skidded wide of the far post.

Renteria was not long for the match however, ejected for chopping down James on a fairly innocuous play in the 83rd minute. As James outmuscled Renteria for inside position on a ball heading over the United endline, the Venezuelan hacked at James’ Achilles tendon after the ball went over the line earning a straight red from referee Alex Prus.

United can still earn a playoff spot but need help along the way.

“It’s crazy this year, anything can happen. We can still finish second in the conference, that’s how crazy things are,” said Soehn. “Right now all we’re concerned with is that we kept our hopes alive and put ourselves in a spot where we keep fighting for another day. So credit the guys, they fought their rears off today.”

Scoring Summary:
DC — Luciano Emilio 10 (Thabiso Khumalo 2) 17

Columbus Crew — William Hesmer, Frankie Hejduk, Eric Brunner, Jed Zayner, Eddie Gaven, Kevin Burns (Andy Iro 82), Adam Moffat, Danny O’Rourke, Robbie Rogers, Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Jason Garey 56), Steven Lenhart (Emilio Renteria 66),

Substitutes Not Used: Cory Elenio, Duncan Oughton, Gino Padula, Kenny Schoeni

D.C. United — Steve Cronin, Devon McTavish (Lawson Vaughn 46), Dejan Jakovic, Julius James, Marc Burch, Andrew Jacobson, Christian Gomez (Jaime Moreno 58), Clyde Simms, Rodney Wallace, Luciano Emilio, Thabiso Khumalo (Danny Szetela 66),

Substitutes Not Used: Fred, Avery John, Milos Kocic, Tiyiselani Shipalane

D.C. United Columbus Crew
Total shots: 3 (3 tied with 1) 10 (3 tied with 2)
Shots on goal: 2 (Luciano Emilio 1,
Christian Gomez 1) 6 (Robbie Rogers 2)
Fouls: 12 (Rodney Wallace 3) 7 (5 tied with 1)
Offsides: 3 (Thabiso Khumalo 2) 1 (Robbie Rogers 1)
Corner kicks: 2 (Christian Gomez 2) 7 (Robbie Rogers 6)
Saves: 6 (Steve Cronin 6) 1 (William Hesmer 1)

Misconduct Summary:
DC — Devon McTavish (caution; Reckless Tackle) 6
CLB — Emilio Renteria (ejection; Violent Conduct) 83

Referee: Alex Prus
Referee’s Assistants: Sean Hurd; Adam Wienckowski
4th official: Andrew Chapin
Time of game: 1:50
Attendance: 16,274
Weather: Rain -and- 45 degrees

Following what could only have been described as a disastrous and tumultuous beginning with the trading of former franchise quarterback Jay Cutler, the Broncos new Head Coach Josh McDaniels appears to have made a complete one-eighty. After all McDaniels was replacing what some may have considered to be one of the leagues best head coaches and offensive masterminds (Mike Shanahan). Shanahan had led the Broncos to back to back Super Bowl victories with the last coming in 1999, but after a decade of struggling it seemed change was overdue.

When Pat Bowlen made the decision to go in a new direction this past offseason, even with his credentials McDaniels hardly seemed to be the right fit. The young up and coming offensive coordinator was busy making a name for himself in New England as an offensive guru himself.

For the past several seasons one of the Broncos major deficiencies and their biggest Achilles heel last year was the defense. A season ending meltdown (three game losing streak), culminated by a 52-21 loss that ended any postseason hope told Bowlen all he needed to know; new blood was in order.

Enter the young Mr. McDaniels, whose youthful exuberance and charismatic spirit has breathed new life into the franchise and the city. With his arrival came difficult, but needed changes. One of his first and perhaps least publicized (at least didn’t cause much of a stir), yet key decisions that has this team riding a wave of orange was the hiring of Mike Nolan.

A New Improved D…

Nolan brings with him the pedigree of winner as a defensive coordinator. His defenses of the past have built a reputation for being aggressive, bringing pressure, and most critical causing turnovers; all areas that the 2008 Broncos lacked. This season playing a new 3-4 scheme under Nolan the defense has racked up 16 sacks, held their opponents to 43 total points this season, and recorded 11 takeaways.

Of course Nolan is only as good as the talent he coaches and another credit to McDaniels, the key free agent signings made in the offseason. Like a glove Andra Davis (former Brown), Renaldo Hill (former Dolphin), and Darrell Reid (former Colt) have all stepped in to play a big part in the defenses turnaround. Without question the biggest signing was the acquisition of former Eagle’s safety Brian Dawkins. His leadership and infectious sell out attitude has this defense playing at a level like the city hasn’t seen in some time.

Offense is coming around….
Just as the firing of Shanahan was blasted in some circles, McDaniel’s hiring came with its’ own criticism. A franchise that needed a defensive injection instead brought in the next Mike Shanahan. The comparisons were obvious; McDaniels had accomplished great things as the offensive coordinator in New England with Tom Brady and helped a seeming mid-level talent like Cassel blossom. It was McDaniel’s offense that Brady ran in 2007 when he rewrote the record books with 50 touchdown passes.

With the defense suddenly playing inspired ball this season, it has taken McDaniel’s “Patriot’s West” offense a little more time to get simmering. Only last Sunday against the Patriots did the Bronco’s offense start to resemble something of what many that they would see in 2009. In their win over New England the Broncos had 27 first downs, ran up 424 yards of offense, and held the ball for over 36 minutes; characteristic of a McDaniels offense. The next step in their evolution will obviously be more points.

With players like Marshall and Royal beginning to hit their stride in the passing game and the rookie Knowshon Moreno anchoring the ground game (when he holds onto the ball), the Bronco’s have what appears to be a potent-ed offense. And with a supporting cast of Gaffney, Scheffler, Buckhalter, and Hillis; these guys are only going to make for long days for opposing defensive coordinators. If last Sunday against the Patiriots is any indication of the potential of this unit, their ceiling appears to be a mile high.

A Big Test Lies Ahead……
With everything starting to click in Denver and McDaniel’s team 5-0, there is still much to prove for this highly scrutinized over-achieving ball club. In the first couple of weeks, it was “they haven’t played anyone” and then last week, well they’re always better at home. This may very well be a recurring theme all season long, but one fact that is hard to escape, this coming Monday night is going to be a tough road test no matter how you look at it. In recent history, the Chargers have owned the Broncos and with their team sputtering, this divisional matchup will be critical.

So far the Broncos have yet to be perfect this season, but with a little luck they stand 5-0 and atop the AFC West with a two and a half game lead over the Chargers. Monday night is another test for McDaniels and his boys, but one if passed should not only satisfy the critics, but legitimize this team as the real deal.

That’s my take.