Union rout D.C. United, 3-0, in a win that was rarely in doubt

The Union delivered another rout at home on Saturday, this time a 3-0 thumping to a quite bad D.C. United squad.

Jakob Glesnes opened the scoring in the 15th minute, Danley Jean Jacques doubled the lead in the 52nd, and Bruno Damiani capped things off in the 77th with his first goal since his debut for the club in early March.

The win briefly elevated the Union (6-3-1, 19 points) to second place in the Eastern Conference, thanks to the afternoon kickoff time. They finished the night in third after the evening’s games.

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Union manager Bradley Carnell made it clear in recent days that he would rotate his starting strikers to suit opponents’ tactics, and he did so again Saturday. Tai Baribo and Mikael Uhre kicked things off this time, with Damiani on the bench.

In midfield, Carnell gave Jesús Bueno his first start of the year to account for Jovan Lukić being suspended. The rest of the unit was unchanged, as was the back line. Nathan Harriel again started at centerback over Olwethu Makhanya while the team waits for Ian Glavinovich to recover from a torn meniscus.

Young attacking midfield prospect David Vazquez earned his second invitation of the year to the first team’s bench, joining a group that included Cavan Sullivan and centerback Neil Pierre.

D.C. (2-5-3, 9 points) was without two of its key attackers, star striker Christian Benteke and young attacking midfielder João Peglo, because of injuries.

That further extended the Union’s invitation to beat a worse team, and they did.

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The first half was pretty dull, with D.C. outshooting the Union 5-2. But Glesnes’ opening goal was a moment to enjoy. Frankie Westfield took a throw-in, played a little give-and-go with Indiana Vassilev, then lofted a cross for an unmarked Glesnes to hammer in from 12 yards.

Danley Jean Jacques extended the lead with his second goal in as many games. Taking a short pass from Quinn Sullivan after D.C. failed to clear the ball, the Haitian midfielder beat Hosei Kijima off the dribble, then found himself in wide-open space.

United centerback Kye Rowles decided to stay off Jean Jacques, expecting a pass. Instead, Jean Jacques kept going, shot from 20 yards, and got a helpful bank off the right post.

Carnell started making substitutions in the 62nd minute, sending in Damiani for Baribo and Cavan Sullivan for Bueno. The move that shifted Vassilev back to Bueno’s position, so Sullivan could play attacking midfield.

Damiani’s goal started with a Glesnes free kick near midfield that he hit long, and Uhre got under the ball to head it toward Damiani. He then spun around D.C. centerback Lucas Bartlett — so slowly that it made Bartlett look thoroughly overmatched — and deposited a shot past goalkeeper Luis Barraza.

Uhre and Kai Wagner, who’d been kicked hard a few times, exited in the 81st for Chris Donovan and Makhanya. Jeremy Rafanello was the Union’s last entrant, replacing Vassilev in the 90th.

D.C. manager Troy Lesene used all five of his substitutions along the way, but none made any impact.

The shutout was the 80th of Union goalkeeper Andre Blake’s career in regular-season games, making him the second-fastest player in MLS history to reach that mark.

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