TORONTO -- It is a measure of D.C. United's snake-bitten season that when they get the seemingly good news of two key players returning to the lineup, one misses a great scoring chance and the other makes a crucial mistake that costs D.C. the game. Such was the case in United's 1-0 loss to Toronto FC on Wednesday night at BMO Field.
Devon McTavish was playing in his first game since April 17 after recovering from a foot sprain, and was in the lineup as a central defender rather than midfield in an attempt to beef up a back line that had allowed a league-worst 17 goals going into Wednesday's action.
It took just seven minutes for the maneuver to backfire for the Black-and-Red. In attempting a back pass to goalkeeper Zach Wells inside the penalty area, McTavish fumbled his attempt and turned the ball over to Toronto striker Danny Dichio. McTavish could only try and drag Dichio from behind, but the forward got just enough foot on the ball to send a slow-moving grounder inside the right post.
"When you're going through rough stretches, one mistake, or two mistakes tend to cost you and that was a bad mistake, you know, seven minutes in," said D.C. head coach Tom Soehn. "I thought we came out with a lot of energy, I thought we executed what we came to do today, but a mistake is hard to recover from."
Dichio's strike ended up being the only goal of the match, sending United to its fourth consecutive defeat and leaving McTavish left to ponder what could have been.
"It just got stuck on my foot, I don't know what happened," McTavish said. "I just mis-hit it and Dichio took advantage of it.
"I should've just got between him and the ball. ... When I went to kick it and I just lost my footing, then he got a step on me and it was pretty much over from there."
The worst part of the error for the third-year Virginia native was that it occurred so early in the match.
"The guys did a good job of picking me up but it's always in the back of your head," McTavish said. "You've just got to forget about it and move on. But it's tough when it happens so early. These things happen and it's a bad time for it to happen considering how much effort we [put in] and the way we approached this game and played this game."
It was a bitter defeat for United, especially given their past record of success against Toronto. D.C. had a 4-0 record and an 11-3 goal advantage in their previous four matches with TFC, including a 4-1 rout of the Reds last April 5 at RFK Stadium.
United recorded 11 shots on goal out of 18 total shots on that day, but Wednesday's match was a total reversal. D.C. had just 11 shots total, with only three on goal, and only one truly good scoring chance in the match.
In the 64th minute, Marcelo Gallardo found fellow midfielder Fred in front of the TFC net with a perfect crossing pass. Fred, who had returned to the lineup after missing three games with a hamstring strain, sent Gallardo's pass goalward with a close-range header, but TFC goalkeeper Greg Sutton was there to block the shot. Fred tried to collect the rebound, but Dichio was there to knock it away before Fred could get a foot on the ball.
"I meant to put it in and the 'keeper had a very quick reaction to it," Fred said. "I'm sad like everyone else for the outcome because it could've changed the game."
The loss drops United to 2-7-0 on the season and digs them deeper into last place in the Eastern Conference. With just six points collected almost a third of the way into the season, D.C. is in danger of having an insurmountable deficit to overcome in the competitive East. The Black-and-Red are now five points behind sixth place Kansas City, who have a game at hand on D.C.
The bright sides for United are that Fred and McTavish both reported no recurrences of their injuries after the game, aside from just some general fatigue due to match fitness. Also, McTavish's error aside, the back line did play better, holding Toronto FC to just two shots on goal and six shots overall.
The teams have a quick rematch on Saturday at RFK Stadium. Both of D.C.'s wins this season have come at home, and the Black-and-Red are hoping that the familiar surroundings can end their struggles.
"It's definitely a tough situation," Fred said. "It's embarrassing to me, but we've got to go back to work and right the ship. I've been through this before and I have the experience with it, but you never want to go through something like this."
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