The headed ball did not have much velocity, his hand was above or equal to the bar when he touched it. He was off balance but not yet falling into the goal on his first touch. I maintain it was his best option being off balance from a foul. Van der Saar, Cech, Barthez all knew when it was the better option. Bill needs to learn that one too.
Thought Pajoy was great, really held the ball up well. Some will probably list a group of players, but finding forward players in the MLS that are great at playing with their back to goal and take people on is pretty rare, Pontius seemed to have the take people on part down, Pajoy was holding the ball up well, would have been nice to see Pontius put himself in better positions when Pajoy had the ball, but Pontius did enough either way. Pajoy was mugged all night, and drew a lot of attention from defense. Andy screwed up, though I thought Hamid was worse, he damn near ran into the other half after the goal, Andy hasn't done this sorta thing before and he can learn from it, Hamid needs to chill the hell out. NJ had all there big guys, Cooper, Henry, Cahill, silent most of the night. I feel like Branko didn't do to much, but was in the middle of all that, so he must have been doing something right. Wasn't sure who would take the penalty, was sorta hoping for Branko, one of this guy's faults is he doesn't seem to play with much emotion, he is very calculated and minimal, perfect for penalties.
Well, I was there in person and often quotes are relayed without context. What Ben was talking about was the North-South movement of Neal in the latter stages of the game. Boskovic after 65-70 minutes doesn't have the "north-south" motor that Ben requires. In no way was Ben denegrating Boskovic's performance, he was merely pointing out that fresher legs were the way to go..
I don't necessarily disagree, but we're really splitting hairs here I feel. The move, or non-move to be more accurate, worked out. I didn't hold out much hope of United getting the go-ahead goal after the sending off because the situation dictated do anything but give up a goal. I think leaving the squad as they did accomplished that.
Conor Lade just bought a lightly-used rape whistle on eBay. In related news, any substitution that takes Pontius away from Conor Lade should be a non-starter.
i would have also accepted: "pajoy's nickname should be 'jigsaw' because he goes to pieces in the box."
Does Bosko have a bad history at PKs? Because you would figure someone with his experience, and skill at FKs, would be the best choice...
I've been following soccer a long time, and I'm willing to admit I don't know everything, but I'm assuming this is sarcasm.
All those guys made high profile mistakes (Barthez? really? not the model of consistency) at ages well beyond Hamid's. Like it or not this is what you get with a 20 year old GK...
Neither yellow cards were warranted. There is no need for referees to make themselves the focus of a match.
No doubt. Was as well surprised at least 1 more sub for fresh legs and keep the last sub in case something weird happened like an injury. Which with all the other stupid stuff that happened (Najar, missed PK) never know.
Eh. I disagree. The first foul was a classic yellow card. I knew it was a yellow before the whistle was even blown, the words came out of my mouth. He broke up a play in transition, which is a typical "professional foul". It wasn't the severity that warranted the card, it was the timing and nature. Second one, it's bad luck IMO. I've heard a lot of people say it was on purpose, but I still don't think Najar would intentionally throw the ball at the ref. I think he was turning to throw it and didn't expect the ref to be in the way and it was too late. Now he MIGHT have gotten the yellow for throwing the ball at all, but that would have been a little harsh as well. But the problem is the ref is basically forced to issue a yellow there or otherwise look like a stooge. He had to punish that reaction, intentional or not. Ideally he would be in control of the game enough and have the confidence to accept it was accidental and everyone else would accept it too-- but many referees don't hold that kind of authority over a game, which is unfortunate.
it's not. right footed players tend to kick penalties left, to the keeper's right. left footed players tend to kick penalties right, to the keeper's left. it's pretty well documented. and i think keepers are more comfortable diving to their strong side. this is not as well documented but i think it's true, just from observation and having played keeper myself. it's a pretty minor thing though. probably not substantial enough to impact a decision on who takes a pk.
It was a foul. Nothing more. Two players crossed their paths. There was nothing cynical on Najar's part. He got beat to the ball. It was not a yellow. If there was any reason to give him a card, it was for holding onto the ball and wasting time. The ball was thrown underhand. The referee got in the way. He made it personal. There is no reason for that kind of behavior from a referee at this level. Again, it is about the game, not the damn referee. Crap like this turns people away from this league.
I think you're looking at this through black and red sunglasses. That's a double-yellow 11 times out of 10.
Unfortunately I am forced to watch this under MLS glasses. Overall, I think the Maruffo was lousy. He missed the hand ball before the PK but reacted to Pontius getting tripped. The better referees are the ones that can control the match without being the center of attention. That does not describe Maruffo.
you may be right the first yellow was a little harsh the 2nd yellow was just plain wrong...that's a straight red, no doubt about it.
But this whole theory is assuming the shooter has no free will where to take a penalty. Left, right, or center are always options and preferred by various players despite strong foot. Some pull, some push, some make the keeper dive and go middle.. If Boskovic decides to push his penalty instead of pull it, then your theory is pointless.
In live action, I thought the PK was for the foul on Pontius. When I watched the DVR, it was clear Marrufo was reacting to the handball. Really, the only beef I had with Maruffo was for missing the backpass.
The first yellow may have been warranted, if and only if the ref was being consistent, since he wasn't (see Pontius' foul which was going close to goal, which was not even called as a foul). So in proper context the first yellow should not have been given (unless of course Najar said something derogatory in spanish). I do agree that the action of throwing the ball at the ref is a yellow (or red, if there is no previous yellow). In fact, they showed a replay from behind the south goal that clearly showed Najar looking at the ref, so there was intent, and moreover Najar didn't even try arguing because he knew the red was warranted. Having said all that, I agree that the ref should not make himself the focus of the game. He calls were inconsistent after that incident and there were some very violent fouls committed by DC United players that went unpunished (seemed like he was trying to make up for the horrible call).