Two second half goals from Queretaro FC sunk D.C. United 2-0 at the Estadio La Corregidora on Tuesday in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal series.
The first goal came from substitute midfielder Yerson Candelo in the 71st minute. He received the ball outside the penalty box. He took one step to the right and blasted the ball towards the net. His shot bounced off a United defenders back and the shot completely changed direction. The ball flew rapidly into the top right hand corner of the net to give Queretaro the 1-0 lead and leaving D.C. goalie Andrew Dykstra hopeless.
A few minutes later, Edgar Benitez in the 83rd minute sealed the victory for the Mexican club. The Black and Red defense fell asleep and left the Paraguayan international forward open in the box with the ball. He took a quick step towards the net and then blasted a low hard shot to the bottom left hand corner to make it 2-0.
D.C. United Plays Good Game Away From RFK Stadium
Regardless, that United played a solid game away from home and without starting goalkeeper Bill Hamid, they were able to stay in the match for a while. However, missed chances came back to hurt the Black and Red on Tuesday. United produced 17 shots in the game, one more then Queretaro. Nine of those shots were on target, once again one more then the home club. Plus, the Black and Red were able to earn five corners in the match, but no goals came.
A big reason for that was due to the performance form Queretaro’s goalkeeper Tiago Volpi. He will haunt the dreams of the United players for a while. The keeper denied United nine times in the match. By the end of the game, the United players were left stunned on the pitch, wondering what they had to do to score.
Regardless of Volpi making nine saves in the match, United still blew multiple chances in the game. The Black and Red created 17, which meant eight of them were wasted. When any club travels in the CCL, Major League Soccer (MLS) or in any league in the world and they cannot capitalize on eight shots, then it comes as no surprise when they end up losing.
However, Los Gallos Blancos were also producing chances in the match. Queretaro manager Victor Manuel Vucetich did his research and knew that Hamid was out with an injury and the backup goalie Dykstra does not have that much experience with the first team. The Mexican club kept on pushing the 30-year-old goalie, attempting to overwhelm him. However, the Hawaii native was able to perform under the bright lights of the CCL, as he made five saves in the match.
His defense and the midfield helped as well as they completed 11 tackles. Being on the road, United knew that the opponent must always be contested and never allowed to build momentum at any cost. They responded by committing 14 fouls in the match. The game for a while was a physical contest as the two clubs combined for 29 tackles and 29 fouls. Surprisingly there was only one yellow card handed out in the game, which went to United midfielder Marcelo Sarvas in the 73rd minute.
Big Uphill Climb For D.C. United
However, United’s hard work was undone in the end. Now the Black and Red will be forced to pull out three goals to advance in regulation time. If by the end of the 90 minutes the score is 2-0 (2-2 aggregate) then the winner will have to be decide in extra time or even potentially in penalties.
If Queretaro scores a single goal, then United has to win the game to be ahead on aggregate. If the game ends 3-3, Queretaro will advance by virture of the one away goal. A draw also will eliminate the Black and Red from the CCL. The good news for D.C. is that the next match is at RFK Stadium.