Going-away present

D.C. United sends Harkes off with friendly win over Spurs

WASHINGTON (AP) -- John Harkes rejoined D.C. United for his farewell game and United presented him with a 1-0 Capital Cup victory over Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday night.

Harkes, 36, who announced his retirement last month, was the first player allocated by Major League Soccer to D.C. before the league's inaugural season.

He played the role of midfield distributor against the Spurs. He received a warm ovation from the crowd of 14,028 at RFK Stadium when he left the game for substitute Bryan Namoff in the 78th minute.

United took a 1-0 lead in the 30th minute on an own goal. Hristo Stoitchkov's soft poke just outside the goal box caromed off the right leg of defender Stephen Carr and dribbled past goalkeeper Kasey Keller.

"We earned that win tonight, and we've got a lovely cup to show for it," said United coach Ray Hudson. "We needed something to smile about, we've had a lot of salt and vinegar and gone through a lot of adversity.

"I thought they were going to murder us, but our boys came in to play, stepped up and beat a powerhouse, we beat the glamour boys. Tottenham has talent and class coming out of their ears and it does us good to defeat them."

D.C. goalie Nick Rimando had to make two key saves in the second half. He gobbled up Teddy Sheringham's kick in the 57th minute and snared Simon Davies' long, low shot in the 64th minute.

Harkes scored 14 goals and 24 assists from 1996-98, helping United win two MLS championships, before playing for New England (1999-2001) and Columbus (2001-02).

In a pregame ceremony, Harkes was presented a framed United jersey from his first MLS season, a lifetime pass to United games and a set of golf clubs. A banner commemorating Harkes' career was unveiled between two of the team's championship banners.

At halftime, the U.S. Soccer Federation gave Harkes a crystal replica of the U.S. Capitol dome.

Harkes made 90 appearances for the U.S. National Team during his career, captained the American squad from March 1996 to March 1998, and played in two World Cups.

He was the first U.S.-born player to play in a Football Association Cup final in England and to score in a League Cup final while playing for Sheffield Wednesday in 1993.

Summary

Scoring:
DC - Stephen Carr (own goal) 30'

Tottenham Hotspur - Kasey Keller, Goran Bunjevcevic (Mauricio Taricco 46'), Stephen Carr (Dean Marney 46'), Chris Perry, Kazuyuki Toda, Christian Ziege (Goran Bunjevcevic 67'), Milenko Acimovic (Simon Davies 46'), Ledley King, Jamie Redknapp (Gustavo Poyet 46'), Robert Keane (Barnard 78'), Teddy Sheringham (Milenko Acimovic 78').

Substitutes Not Used: Robert Burch

TOTAL SHOTS: 12 (Robbie Keane 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 6 (Robbie Keane 3); FOULS: 19 (Chris Perry 4, Christian Ziege); OFFSIDES: 4 (Christian Ziege 2); CORNER KICKS: 2; SAVES: 0

D.C. United -- Nick Rimando, Galin Ivanov (Brandon Prideaux 63'), Ryan Nelsen, Mike Petke, Ben Olsen (Jose Alegria 63'), Marco Etcheverry, Dema Kovalenko, John Harkes (Bryan Namoff), Bobby Convey (Eliseo Quintanilla 70'), Santino Quaranta (Earnie Stewart 46'), Hristo Stoitchkov (Ali Curtis 67').

Substitutes Not Used: Clint Baumstark

TOTAL SHOTS: 5 (Bobby Convey 2); SHOTS ON GOAL: 0; FOULS: 13 (Bobby Convey 3); OFFSIDES: 2 (2 tied with 1); CORNER KICKS: 1 (Marco Etcheverry); SAVES: 6 (Nick Rimando 6).

Misconduct Summary:

DC -- Hristo Stoitchkov (caution; dissent) 67'

Referee: Kevin Terry

Referee's Assistants: George Vergara, Robert Fereday

4th Official: Kenneth Kaplan

Attendance: 14,028

 

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