DC United was able to claw back to get a point on Saturday night as they drew St. Louis City 1-1 before 13,888 at Audi Field. Chris Durkin got the goal for St. Louis in his return to DC, while João Peglow got his first league goal of the season to equalize in the 90th minute.

With some tired legs, the only change from Wednesday’s starting lineup was Silvan Hefti’s return from red card suspension. He assumed his right back role, with Nikola Markovic among the substitutes. In the first half, DC United found it a bit hard to snatch momentum from St. Louis in the midfield. While they were able to get some opportunities, St. Louis did a good job at controlling the tempo.

In general it was a tough game,” head coach René Weiler said after the match. “We started well the first 20-25 minutes, but then we had some difficulties. Some players didn’t play the best game today, but we have a lot of players. They played already almost all games. So I understand it a little bit.”

Around the 25 minute mark, St. Louis started to generate more opportunities. Simon Becher was on the break down the left side, and got a shot off right as he hit the edge of the box. Sean Johnson made the save, pushing the ball away. Seven minutes later, St. Louis had a great chance off a corner. The ball was headed toward net, but it was cleared off the line by Matti Peltola. DC United was able to defend well and eventually the match went into halftime scoreless.

Five minutes after the restart, St. Louis struck first. On the break, San Bin Jeong dribbled the ball down the right flank, eluding a defender. As he got into the right side of the box, he found Chris Durkin towards the top of the penalty area. The former DC United homegrown one-timed a shot that Sean Johnson got a hand on, but it wasn’t enough to keep it from trickling into the net to give St. Louis City the 1-0 lead.

“Yeah, it’s tough because I always want to celebrate a goal because I don’t score often,” Durkin said after the match of scoring in his first match back in DC since the club traded him to St. Louis City in December 2023.  “DC [United] gave my dream to me. I was a boy watching games at RFK and I’m grateful for the DC United organization and everything they’ve done for me. So, yeah, it was a bittersweet moment, but like I said, had 18 people in the stands, family and to throw a little bit of a fist pump up for them and them for taking the two hour drive from Richmond up here, [I’m] grateful for them.”

Being back at Audi Field for the first time as an opponent was a weird feeling for Durkin, who had two stints with the Black-and-Red. However, outside of catching up with former teammates like Jackson Hopkins and Alex Bono, he said he tried to make it feel like just another game. “I rely on my preparation and doing things that, that leads to a successful game for me. But it’s nice to hear ‘Welcome back, Durkin’ [from the fans]. The DC United fans have always been great to me, always felt support and I love Audi Field. I played the first game ever here and that holds a special, special place in my heart. So, it was really cool to be back. I haven’t been to the DC area since I got traded, so it was fun to be back too.”

DC United worked to get more aggressive on offense, bringing on Jared Stroud for Matti Peltola in the 62nd minute to have another option moving forward, but there was no serious chances through 75 minutes. Head coach René Weiler continued to make subs in an effort to spur a comeback. In the 79th minute, DC United was on the doorstep and almost had the equalizer. After some buildup play, a pass came to Jared Stroud inside the box. Stroud crossed the ball in the air to the edge of the 6 yard box, where Tai Baribo got a header into what looked to be an open net. However, St. Louis City goalkeeper Roman Burki made a miraculous save right at the line to keep DC off the scoreboard.

DC continued to press, and Louis Munteau had another chance on a free header in the 84th minute, but it went wide. It felt for a moment like the match would end with the Black-and-Red coming up short. However, their tenacity finally paid off. In the 90th minute, with DC earning a corner, Jared Stroud sent it into the middle of the box. The ball was headed away to Peglow, who was just outside the top of the penalty circle. He took one touch to settle the ball and then fired a shot that got past Burki into the back of the net. It was Peglow’s first goal of the season and leveled the match at 1-1.

I think we’ve been demonstrating that [fight] throughout the entire season,” João Peglow said (translated from Spanish) of the team’s determination to get the equalizer. “We are a team that shines at every moment, one that won’t give up on a single ball.
I also think we are a very difficult team to beat because of the way we play. However, we have to stay focused at all times. We know we are in excellent physical condition, and we have to keep pushing right up until the very last second. That’s how we maintained control. And we’ll do it again.”

A couple of minutes into stoppage time, St. Louis was reduced to 10 men when Conrad Wallen picked up a second yellow card. The momentum had shifted towards DC, and with the man advantage, they had an opportunity to pull out the victory.

Off another foul where Mbake Fall pushed Lucas Bartlett in the back on the break to earn a yellow card, Brandon Servania served the ball into the net on the set piece. Bartlett headed it down in front of goal and Louis Munteanu hip checked the ball into the net for what was thought was the game winner, sending Audi Field into jubilant bedlam. However, after a review, the goal was eventually called off due to Bartlett’s right foot being offside on the initial free kick.

DC United had one final opportunity to pull three points out of the match. However, their final scoring chance saw Brandon Servania hit the side netting just before the referee blew his whistle to end the match.

“When the game was close to the end and we felt the atmosphere with the fans and everything, we don’t really feel the heavy legs, so we just want to win,” Tai Baribo said after the match. “And I think we were close and we deserved to win, but it is what it is.”

DC United get some much needed rest before their final match before the World Cup break comes next weekend against CF Montreal. For the team, a week between matches will be a welcome change from the grind they have undergone so far in the month of May.  

“Yes, [the rest] is very important,” Baribo said. “I don’t think that the media really understand how much is tough to play Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday, Wednesday, Sunday. Like it’s really, really tough. Obviously it’s not just us, it’s all the league but you can see that all the other games also like I will not say the quality is going down but maybe the tempo it’s a little bit down because it’s really, really tough but it’s know we need to deal with that. But now we have a week we have to recover and come in full power.”