D.C. United vs. Chelsea Recap

A couple of weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to score tickets to the D.C. United vs. Chelsea exhibition soccer match at FedEx field. The match was billed as a clash of the champions. D.C. United, who won the MLS Cup last year, faced Chelsea, the English Premier League (EPL) champs from 2004.

The EPL is widely regarded as the best soccer league in the world so imagine the New England Patriots heading up to Canada to whoop up on their reigning football champ and that gives you an idea of what D.C. United was facing. No one at FedEx field was expecting D.C. United to come away with a win, but we were all definitely hoping for a competitive game and maybe just a little magic.

From the opening whistle, D.C. United looked good... real good. They took it to the EPL champs and actually had them on their heels for the first 30 minutes of action. Bobby Boswell scored for United in the 31st minute with a sweet header off a corner kick giving United the 1-0 lead and sending the crowd into a frenzy.

The joy would prove to be short lived.

The goal scored by United seemed to only antagonize the sleeping giant and a mere four minutes later, Damien Duff scored the equalizer on a sick volley at a sharp angle from just outside the 6 yard box. Goalie Nick Ramando never had a chance.

The game headed to halftime knotted at 1-1.

The second half proved to be much less entertaining than the first. Chelsea, having awaken from their early first half slumber, controlled most of action during the second half. United held them at bay until a turnover in the defensive end of the field led to an easy finish by Hernan Crespo.

United provided a flurry of activity during the final 10 minutes but were unable to put in the tying goal and Chelsea walked with a 2-1 victory.

Overall, a somewhat shocking result. Never did I expect United to have a chance against the EPL champs (and really the world champs) but we gave them a good fight for the full 90 minutes. 10, 5, even 3 years ago, no MLS team would have been allowed on the same field as the EPL champs and we hung with them.

Soccer in the US, and more specifically the MLS, still has a long way to go but the game that night allowed us to show off a little of the progress we've made.

Can't wait till the next EPL champs come back next year.