United holds on for win

With two starting defenders missing because of injury, a shutout seemed like a tall order for D.C. United against the Kansas City Wizards.

And though United surrendered a few too many scoring chances Wednesday night, it was able to hang on for a crucial 1-0 victory at RFK Stadium that vaulted the club back into the playoff picture.

“Sometimes you have to grind out ugly wins, and good teams can grind out ugly wins,” United coach Tom Soehn said. “Today that’s what it was. There’s been too many times when we played well and come up short. So I give the guys credit for grinding one out.”

Luciano Emilio ended a scoring drought by netting his first goal in five league games with a strike late in the first half.

With the victory, United is two points behind second-place Chicago in the Eastern Conference. Four of United’s final five league games are at home, and the club is in position to claim a playoff berth, though other teams do have games in hand.

With key defenders Dejan Jakovic and Marc Burch missing, United again was forced to shuffle its back line. Devon McTavish moved into the center of the defense between Julius James and Bryan Namoff; rookie Rodney Wallace slotted into Burch’s spot at left back.

Midfielder Christian Gomez was back in the lineup after missing Saturday’s tie at FC Dallas; Ben Olsen moved to the bench.

United’s defense was breached almost immediately. Davy Arnaud broke through and should have scored but instead sent his shot straight at United keeper Josh Wicks.

United had a great chance to go ahead in the 23rd minute when Jaime Moreno connected on a cross from Wallace, but his well-taken header hit the crossbar. Wicks then came up big again, this time parrying a shot from Jonathan Leathers that was cleared by Namoff.

“My defense is really helping me out, throwing their bodies in front of the ball,” said Wicks, who has three shutouts in United’s past four league games.

The Wizards sent United into a goal-mouth scramble late in the first half. Jimmy Conrad hit the bar with a header, and then Josh Wolff fired a bicycle kick on the rebound only to be denied by Wicks.

Then the game swung United’s way. Gomez played a quick give-and-go off a corner kick with Emilio. Namoff headed Gomez’s pass into the six-yard area, where Chris Pontius headed the ball against the near-side post. Emilio pounced on the rebound to give United a 1-0 lead in the 39th minute and earn his ninth goal of the season.

“It was important for my confidence - the goal - but more important for the team and our next game,” Emilio said.

After the break, Olsen came on for Gomez in an attempt to stabilize the midfield. Then Avery John replaced James in the 62nd minute and took the left-back role. Clyde Simms moved into the center of the back line and Wallace moved into the midfield.

As United tightened its grip in the middle of the field, the Wizards gradually ran out of ideas.

“[Olsen] added a lot the minute he came in,” Soehn said. “He shored the middle up, and we possessed the ball better.”

The playoff fight is tighter than ever this season, making this a crucial win for the D.C. outfit as it rides a four-game unbeaten streak in league play.

“It took us a long time to get settled into the game,” McTavish said. “We got very lucky in the first half not to be down three goals. [Emilio] got a good one in for us, and we held the result.”