United lost the plot in the late stages of Sunday night's 1-1 draw with Philadelphia as a physical opponent and a series of refereeing decisions impacted the team's efforts.
The most revealing moment in the frenetic and incident-filled final 10 minutes of D.C. United's controversial 1-1 draw with Philadelphia came when beleaguered referee Mark Geiger blew the final whistle.
At that juncture, the NBC Sports Network cameras captured a tension-prompted exchange between Bill Hamid, Chris Korb and Brandon McDonald. Korb hit a suspect backpass that Geiger ultimately rescued with his decision to end the match. Korb's decision may not have cost United in that moment, but it still prompted some finger wagging from Hamid and a shove or two between Korb and McDonald as the players trudged off the field.
The internal fracas soon dissipated and McDonald shrugged the incident off when asked by the Washington Post about it after the game, but the noticeable displays of anger and frustration shed some light into the suspect mentality of a United side that just about fell apart as events turned sour in the waning stages of the match.
As United coach Ben Olsen, his players and most observers would suggest, Geiger played a significant role in the home side's inability to cope with the situation. He failed to exert any semblance of control over the match, ruled out a seemingly valid goal when Union defender Gabriel Farfan kicked the ball out of Zac MacMath's hand as United chased an equalizer and showed too much leniency to Michael Lahoud in the second half. Even his correct decisions (ruling out Dwayne De Rosario's apparent winner from the spot when Hamdi Salihi ran through the penalty arc before De Rosario struck the ball and shipping off Emiliano Dudar for a ludicrous challenge from behind in stoppage time) sparked dissent because he maintained such a poor hold on the game.
(Note: Philadelphia can and probably should certainly point to Sheanon Williams' suspect second yellow card in stoppage time as another egregious mistake by Geiger, but United didn't appear quite as troubled by that decision.)
In the end, Geiger's faults do not excuse the dearth of composure from a United side that once again displayed signs of cracking under the pressure of securing a playoff berth for the first time since 2007. They do not explain why Salihi felt the need to rush into the penalty area so ardently and tempt Geiger into a straightforward decision. They do not forgive Branko Bošković for foolishly getting involved in a situation that ended with his dismissal, De Rosario for clipping the top of the crossbar on his second penalty attempt after converting so coolly at the first opportunity to win the game or Dudar for lunging into a foolish tackle moments before the final whistle to earn United's second red card of the night. They do not justify the repeated scrapes with the Union or the unsightly shoving incidents between teammates.
This outbreak of intemperate behavior presents a problem that seemingly reflects the impatience within the club regarding the current run of one win in the past five matches. In the past few games, United coach Ben Olsen has dropped a left back he just acquired (Mike Chabala) to shoehorn Dejan Jakovic into the lineup at right back and has given the sparingly selected Long Tan two starts recently to underscore his disgust with the lack of production in front of goal. Lionard Pajoy's arrival on Thursday to join a forward corps already teeming with more prolific options in front of goal (even without the currently injured Maicon Santos) and his immediate starting berth against the Union reeked of a desperate move designed to jolt the players even further.
Although Chicago and Houston have pushed United into fifth place in recent weeks, the rash moves appear wholly unnecessary in the current situation. The return of regular fullbacks Robbie Russell and Daniel Woolard would help matters, but this group still boasts more than enough talent to merit its place in the postseason without them. De Rosario will end his goal drought (no goals since May 19) at some stage and reinforce the many reasons why he remains among the league's best schemers, while his other teammates can pick up some of the slack at the back and up front until he does. Nearest challenger Montréal sits one point back with four more games played and seventh-placed Columbus (admittedly bolstered by summer arrivals Jairo Arrieta and Federico Higuaín) trails by four points even if it wins its game in hand.
All of those positives won't matter one bit if United cannot control its emotions on and off the field. Plenty of time remains to address the concerns appropriately and muster the type of poise required to see out a scenario that ends up in a playoff berth more often than not. The adjustments may not happen in time to secure a victory against the streaking Fire on Wednesday without the suspended Bošković and Dudar, but they need to occur quickly in order to avoid more ugly scenes and the entirely unpalatable prospect of missing out on the postseason entirely.
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