It’s Charlie Davies’ world, we are just living in it.

By: John | March 20th, 2011

He may have come off the bench and he wasn’t the player of the game, but the night belonged to Charlie Davies. Just one goal was enough to make it an unforgettable night at RFK, but that would have been too ordinary for Davies’ story. There had to be something even more special than his penalty conversion, it had to be two.

The first goal from the penalty spot was a fitting epilogue to the year and a half since his car-wreck. He stood in the spotlight, a solidarity figure in the city that almost took his life, and converted past Hesmer. The second was the start of a new story. That quick burst of acceleration used to avoid a diving Hesmer was all too familiar to those who witnessed his quick accession to the U.S. National Team.

Though, let’s not forget, this was not just a big night for Davies.

United thoroughly outplayed the Crew in route to a 3-1 victory. It took five games for D.C. to get their first win in the league last year. It took the same number of games for D.C. to get past the three goal mark in 2010.

After the embarrassment of 2010, the club needed a reconstruction from a personnel and a mentality standpoint. The minute and a half season promo video said what many United fans had been dieing to hear, “Past success means nothing”. It wasn’t just the slow drain of talent over the past few years that saw United finish as the worst team in MLS, it was a severe lack of leadership and competitive spirit.

It started this off-season season with Ben Olsen. While he didn’t and still does not have the managerial experience that other candidates had, there is no doubt that players, especially for the Black and Red, are going to play hard under him. With Olsen came players like Dax McCarty and Josh Wolff. The first being a player that is similar to Olsen in how he treats and played the game, the second a vastly experienced forward who understands what it is to be a professional.

McCarty, sporting the captain’s armband, was all over the field last night. He and Simms made it extremely difficult for a Crew midfield that prides themselves on outworking the other team. McCarty pressed and harassed Columbus without the ball, and controlled and dictated the game with it. He even should have earned a penalty when he was clipped in the box in the second half.

Wolff had a memorable debut as well. United’s first goal of the new season came when Wolff floated to the right side, and Zayner picked him out as he got behind the Crew defenders. His freedom to roam around the final third gave Columbus a head-ache trying to mark him, and on several occasions his speed created good chances.

Now for some perspective. This was just the first of a thirty-four league games. The Crew are in a rebuilding phase. They didn’t look anything like the efficient result earning machine they were over the last few years. Their midfielders struggled to connect passes, and their forwards rarely got a touches. While D.C. controlled the first half, a breakthrough never looked really likely. As we all know in MLS, if you don’t take advantage of the time when you are playing well, you tend to pay for it. However, that’s a worrying point for another day. Today is a day for appreciation. For Davies’ story, for Olsen’s managerial debut, and for a team that showed the competitive spirit that made this club so important to MLS and the American game.

Other thoughts:

- The big talk before the game was that Quaranta, Boskovic, and Davies were all on the bench.

- Have to feel a bit for Jakovic. It was a Jekyll and Hyde season for him last year. He wasn’t really tested last night, but the soft penalty called on him isn’t the start to the season he wanted to have.

- Najar struggled for touches in the first half. Crew made it tough for him which is to be expected after his rookie year.

- Chris Pontius looked confident and healthy. We haven’t seen that in awhile.

- While Columbus struggled from open-play, set pieces were an issue for United.

Match Highlights, courtesy of MLS