Meh. . . Bosko probably gets the start next time. Salihi looks slow and weak not a good combination. Definitely want to see Pontius or Najar starting over Cruz as well.
Damn! That Burch is a genius! Every time we get into a game of horse shoes and think we might get a result, along comes Burch to destroy our dream... Wait a second...we weren't playing horse shoes? Never mind.
I think we'll probably see Najar. IIRC, I thought Goff said he had some kind of stomach bug, after he got back from Olympic qualifying. Hopefully, this will light a fire in him, and we'll see the Andy Najar from his 2010 - ROY season. I am so glad that Marc Beyurtch did not score at the end. Yeah, Seattle announcers, it's too bad he didn't start the game: DC would have put in 3, due to his mistakes, in the first half. A draw is better than a loss, so let's take the point and do better next week.
I really want an explanation as to what is the deal with Bosko. It is kind of weird that our highest paid player is not getting any chance to integrate with the rest of the team. If he is still recovering, tell us. If he needs to train harder, tell us. It really frustrates me to see bosko coming in for salihi. Ho the hell are they going to get in synch without playing some minutes together (i now they played in austria together) I worry that benny puts to much stock in practicing hard. We have to put our best players on the pitch and let them play.
Totally agree. Even if Bosko doesn't start, sub out Santos instead of Salihi and bring in Boskovic. Move DeRo up top as we do now after Bosko comes on, and we have perhaps our best technical players on the pitch at the same time (and Bosko can connect with his former teammate, Salihi).
Pretty dreadful, but part of that was the product of Seattle's pressure on the ball and the endless diving of the Green Slime. Really guys -- enough is enough. I hope the League issues some fines here. Dero seemed slow and out of sync. I'm wondering if he's carrying a knock or worse -- the dreaded sports hernia. He just doesn't look explosive or fast. Also, looked as though Russell picked up a ding as well, he was limping to the bench. I was tired of the head tennis about 10 minutes in. Woolard and Kitchen in particular are overmatched in the air -- it's not their strength and watching them try to head balls into space was cringe inducing. Santos as ********ing lucky not to get a second yellow when he threw the ball down after he was called for a foul. My wife asked if Seattle would try to get in Santos' head in the second half. My reply, "well there is plenty of open space in there and he doesn't have locks on the doors." Best player for DCU by far was DeLeon. Hamdi is slow. I need a refill on my rye whiskey.
Bosko, Dero and Salihi are the core of our team (in objective terms, what, 60% of our total payroll?) benny and the front office need to have some faith in the players they have signed and let them play.
I'm going to feel glass half full here. I think the defense looked quite good containing a very dangerous Seattle attack, and DeLeon and to a lesser degree Cruz are a part of that as well as the back 4 and Kitchen. DeRo and Salihi looked really out of synch all game (DeRo looked tired, which is bad as we go into a 3 game in 8 day stretch), and I don't think Bosko is healthy enough to go 90 yet, so all we can get with him is a late game sub. I absolutely agree we should have taken Santos off instead of Salihi, if for no other reason then Santos was on a yellow and was getting frustrated. A bad combination.
Seattle pressed as relentlessly as KC did in the opener. DC handled it better this time, but only the crossbar saved us from another heartbreaking stoppage time loss. Still, DC was much more cohesive than in the KC match and really controlled the last 20 minutes of the game. The turning point for me was the Pontius for Cruz sub. Cruz was completely shut down on the wing and was a turnover machine. Pontius showed a lot more creativity. Santos was very lucky not to pick up a second yellow for slamming the ball down. Seattle's players spent a lot of time rolling around on the carpet. It just didn't seem that rough a match. Lastly, I don't like how they think they're God's gift to soccer in the US, but the Seattle fans travel well.
I have been expecting to see a true play-maker in DeRo but I haven't seen him open up the game and put good balls in for the forwards (unfortunately I missed the Dallas game). Today he seemed slow and out of synch. Salihi and Santos too often were coming back close to midfield to get a touch on the ball. Can't score from 40 yards out (I guess you could but not likely). Also, the wings need some better play. Seemed like our left side was a little better but neither side really served much. If Ben pushes DeRo up top as a striker when he's trying to go for the win at the end of the game, I wonder why he doesn't start the game like that? Have DeRo and either Salihi or Santos, and then if things are not going well, you can add another striker up top. Just seems a little frustrating because I still have yet to see a full game with what, on paper, seem like our best players. Overall, I do think DCU has got better from game to game.
I was at the game, so I may not have seen the best angles, but it looked like DCU was in control the vast majority of the time. The possession time doesn't reflect that, but it felt like United were the ones continually pressing and getting good possessions. There were a few good chances they missed, but I'm happy with a draw versus Seattle. I think from now on Olsen should just play lockdown defense from the 80th minute on. Don't even try to score anymore. I don't know if they showed it on TV, but Najar and McDonald went up into the fan section during the game. It was nice to see the players interacting with the fans.
Hey everyone... we hit the post too. Not sure why everyone is so excited about Burch's miss at the end. I think our D looked good. Neither team got anything inside the 18. I'd like to see Najar back on next game and if he's fit to play a whole game, see what Bosko can do. Not because he was particularly good tonight, but DeRo seemed tired from working too hard in the midfield. We'll also just need more player rotation in general for the next few games.
There's apparently some rule we don't know about that says all three of our DPs can't be on the pitch at the same time. I knew well in advance that that was the sub Benny would make. Blah.
I'm usually more the glass is half empty type when it comes to United, but I think United played a very, very good game. It was not pretty and we had some problems finishing, but frankly United stood toe to toe with a strong Seattle team, and more than held their own.
I think the ref did alot to hurt this game. There were a lot of very soft fouls being called on both sides especially early in the game which resulted in a stop/go first half with no rhythm. Other than that I think we just saw why De Leon, Cruz and Santos are ultimately backup players. They're good options, but they're not at a level to win games consistantly in this league. Pontius, Najar and Boskovic have a higher level in the long run and I think this game should open the door for the 3 of them. The game changed for the better when Pontius and Bosko came on. I take that as a sign that they're hungry to play. I also would like to see more of Saragosa's experience at d-mid in the short term. We need more possession in that area, something that Kitchen is still lacking in. Don't get me wrong, I don't think Olsen picked a bad lineup. He rewarded the guys that got him the last result. Next game I would give De Ro a little rest and go with : ------------------------Willis Russell? --------Dudar---------McDonald-------------Woolard Najar------------Saragosa-----Boskovic---------------Pontius ----------------Salihi----------Santos
