Union survive in Leagues Cup with penalty kick victory over D.C. United

After neither the Union nor D.C. United found the back of the net during their Leagues Cup matchup Thursday night at Subaru Park, tournament rules dictated that the game would skip overtime and go straight to penalty kicks.

When the kicks were tied 4-4 after five rounds, Union right back Olivier Mbaizo stepped to the spot and drilled the winner off the fingertips of D.C. United goalkeeper Alex Bono. With the victory, the Union moved on to the round of 16 in the revamped intercontinental tournament, which features every team from MLS and Mexico’s Liga MX.

The Union had their way with D.C. United in league play last year, winning two blowouts by a combined score of 13-0. But this season, with former Manchester United and English national team star Wayne Rooney in his first full season managing the club, D.C. United has shown the ability to hang much more closely with the Union. Thursday marked the second straight close game between the Eastern Conference rivals, following a scoreless draw at Subaru Park on May 17.

“We weren’t sharp enough on the night, didn’t have enough guys have good days,” Union manager Jim Curtin said. “And I guess the one positive is we kept the clean sheet.”

» READ MORE: Union and D.C. United slog to scoreless tie at Subaru Park

Dániel Gazdag was the first to step to the penalty spot for the Union. But the Hungarian forward, who has has been virtually automatic with 14 penalty goals this season across all competitions, was unexpectedly stopped by Bono, who guessed correctly as Gazdag went to the right.

D.C. United connected on its first three attempts, while the Union followed Gazdag’s miss with scores by Julián Carranza and Jack Elliott. With a chance to go up 4-2, D.C. United’s Chris Durkin overshot the net. Jack McGlynn then deked Bono to level the score at 3.

“It was tough because Daniel never misses,” midfielder Jesús Bueno said through an interpreter. “But we’re a complete team. So when one misses, the other one has to step up.”

On the fifth attempt, Éric Davis put D.C. United back on top, 4-3, after which Bueno buried a pressure-packed kick to keep the Union alive.

“We allow [the players] to have a say and who really wants [to take a penalty],” Curtin said. “I give a ton of credit to Jesús Bueno, who when he came off the field said, ‘I want number five.’ The penalty kick that he took is the hardest one in the sport, the one where if you miss, it’s over in your home stadium.”

With the penalty round tied at 4, Pedro Santos hit the crossbar for D.C. United, setting the stage for Mbaizo’s heroics. Bueno said the Cameroonian defender volunteered himself to take the Union’s decisive sixth kick.

“I think he was a little nervous,” Union goalie Andre Blake said of Mbaizo. “But it doesn’t matter. It’s in the back of the net. At least he gets to see what it’s like to make that walk [to the penalty spot.]”

» READ MORE: Source: Olivier Mbaizo asks to leave the Union because his family can’t get U.S. visas

The game began with referee Rosendo Mendoza taking a ball from point-blank range to the face, telegraphing what would be an ugly first half that ended with the score tied 0-0.

In the 4th minute, Mikael Uhre didn’t do much with a one-on-one chance in the box, kicking directly into the path of Bono. A very late offside flag may have negated a score anyway.

Notably, the Union brought in some competition this week for Uhre (7 goals and 7 assists across all competitions) and the rest of the forward group, announcing Wednesday that they had signed Israeli striker Tai Baribo from Wolfsberger AC. Uhre was subbed off for Chris Donovan in the 73rd minute.

As a hard rain fell for the first 15 minutes, both teams were sloppy with the ball. By the 20th minute, the crowd was audibly displeased with continued bad passes and giveaways by the Union, who connected on 76.7% of passes after an eight-day layoff. D.C. United was slightly worse, with a passing accuracy of 73.3%. The teams combined for four shots on goal.

“I wish it was more entertaining,” Curtin said. “I wish we created more. But we sort of found a way to survive and move on.”

Blake was summoned into early action, tipping a blast outside the box from Jackson Hopkins over the crossbar in the 11th minute.

But the save of the half came in the 45th minute, when the three-time MLS goalkeeper of the year found himself one-on-one in the box with D.C. United star Christian Benteke. The former Liverpool and Belgian national team striker slipped behind the defense, but Blake stuck out his right leg on a low shot attempt to preserve the 0-0 draw heading into halftime.

“I have to make my saves in the game since I wasn’t unable to make any of the shootout,” Blake said. “When I’m back there, that’s my main focus — how well can I put myself in the best possible position to stop the opponents from scoring. And then once I do that, I’ve done my job.”

For a moment, everyone thought the Union went ahead in the 64th minute, when Julián Carranza got behind Bono and tapped in a loose ball near the goal line. The score went up on the board, and the Union’s goal song started blaring at Subaru Park. But Mendoza waived it off, determining Carranza had been too physical with a D.C. United defender.

Both the fans and the players voiced their frustrations with the officiating throughout the game. In the 73rd minute, Mbaizo received a yellow card after vociferously protesting a foul call.

Mbaizo got involved in a late scoring opportunity for the Union, but a cross attempt in the 86th minute sailed too far ahead of Carranza. Meanwhile, a shot attempt by Donovan off a corner kick in stoppage time went just over the crossbar.

» READ MORE: Before the Union, the Kixx were Philly’s soccer team, and U.S. manager Vlatko Andonovski played for them

In a tournament designed to create new and exciting matchups between teams from MLS and Mexico’s Liga MX, the Union’s portion of the bracket turned out to be a bit underwhelming. The team already faced six of the other seven clubs in the East regional earlier this season, including two of the three Liga MX teams. Pumas would be the Union’s only possible new opponent before the semifinals.

“We did discuss it in the locker room — to have a new opponent would be interesting,” Curtin said Wednesday. “To play another Liga MX team, just to test yourself, is always good. ... Certainly it does seem a little almost too local on our side of the bracket.”

Union fans seemed on Thursday to agree with Curtin, as entire sections at Subaru Park were virtually empty, even before the rain started to come down.

Given the likelihood that some uninspiring matchups await the Union in the round of 16 and quarterfinals, it’s hard not to look ahead to the semifinals, when a visit from Lionel Messi and Inter Miami could inject life into the Union’s Leagues Cup schedule.

Both teams have two more rounds to get through. But if it all works out, the Argentine megastar would play in Chester on Aug. 15.

The Union will host the New York Red Bulls on Monday in the Leagues Cup round of 16. The time of the game has not yet been announced.