It wasn't with the players you'd expect, and -at times - it wasn't very pretty. But in the aftermath of a 2-0 win over Toronto FC, D.C. United'smakeshift back four could claim one of the club's best defensive performancesof the young season.
So how - less than 72 hours after allowing fivegoals in San Jose - did the Black-and-Red manage their first shutout sinceApril 7 against Seattle?
The rather surprising answer is that the cleansheet had as much to do with attack as it did defense.
"If you look at [the back four] it was anattacking lineup," said Brandon McDonald, who contributed two assists onthe day from his spot in central defense. "Andy [Najar] is flying up and down, [Chris] Korb is the sameway. There were just moreattacking options for us to keep the ball."
The increased ball-ownership – D.C. took 54.8%of possession on Saturday - resulted in a marked improvement in United's defensiveeffort. Against San Jose earlier in the week, ChrisWondolowski and Steven Lenhart seemed to find every crevice in a back line voidof Emiliano Dudar's commanding presence. Dudar was again unavailable on Saturday, a problem compounded by RobbieRussell's absence. The veterandefender - who had played centrally in place of the Argentine - earned a day ofrest after playing more minutes than any other United player through theseason's first ten games.
With his obvious options all but eliminated,D.C. head coach Ben Olsen employed his creative side. Daniel Woolard slid inside to pair with McDonald in themiddle. Chris Korb earned a start,not at his preferred position on the right, but at left back. Most interesting of all, Andy Najar -who had found minutes difficult to come by at his usual right midfield position- moved to right back.
Keep in mind that all of this movement wasgoing in front of Bill Hamid, who was getting his first start since D.C.'sseason-opener.
"Every last player was first class,"said Hamid, who made four saves in earning his ninth career shutout. "It was a makeshift back linebecause this is a tough stretch of games, but we have faith in every singleplayer on this team."
Hamid's lofty praise for his teammates was wellearned. Though the younggoalkeeper made a serious statement in his bid to return to Olsen's startingunit, the flawless performance didn't come without some help. In the 18th minute, Najar raced back todeflect a goal-bound Toronto header inches wide of Hamid's unguarded backpost. With only two minutesremaining in the match, it was Stephen King who helped preserve the shutoutwith a scrambling defensive header just in front of D.C.'s goal line.
"My teammates are smart guys off the ball and they know whereto be," Hamid added from Toronto's BMO Field. "Andy made a great play, and Kinger - in the lastminute - was the hero with that save. It was awesome that the guys came together like this to get theshutout."
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