Official: [2012 Matchday 14] Union @ Houston Dynamo - June 30, 2012 p/d/p [R]

There was LOTS of traffic around the stadium. 80% of the fans couldn't even get in.

 

Or bust.......

 

this is what hurts the most

 

I noticed no one talked about the penalty that gave Ching the goal.

 

I was at the game. It was pretty full on my side but not on the opposite end. I was dissapointed with the crowd but this was my second time to the stadium. It was full the last time I was there which was the 2nd game. That being said, Union played well in the second half and should have gone 2-1 up. Union were a bit unlucky last night.

haha.. i couldnt believe my eyes when he missed that sitter. it looked like a pass

 

i think most people skipped on the game because of hardcore rain all morning and slight chance of rain around game time... but yeah. dissapointed with attendance but it was 19K and still looked pretty decent, tv always makes it look a lot worse than it really is

 

Am I the 1st ever Union fan to drive over 1000 miles just to catch one match? I'll take that as a yes. I'll have my detailed report on the match, the stadium, & etc. tomorrow.

 

Great goal from Keon, I think it took just about everybody by surprise. He caught the entire Houston defense napping. Tally Hall couldn't even be bothered to make the save. Still, it's strange to see him starting that high up the field; I would have thought Martinez would have started there.

Pajoy's miss in front of the open net was just shocking. He's definitely improved under the Hackworth regime, but not finishing a sitter like that is what will cost us games.

Perlaza I was not impressed with. He could not even put the ball on frame on the breakaway. Other than that he was mostly invisible.

Marfan lazily lost his mark on the goal. Watching the replay, he just kind of gave up on tracking back, allowing Davis to make the run on the wing without any pressure. He should have finished his 1 on 1 in the second half but instead shot it straight at the keeper. I wouldn't be upset if he sat a few games at this point.

Williams look like he hurt himself on the play leading to the PK call. Garfan really shouldn't get any heat for the PK. He barely touched Ching on the play. It was just another atrocious refereeing decision.

Overall I thought it was a pretty bad game against an opponent who isn't very good. It looked like Nowak was still coaching during the first half. The team had no possession with 11 men behind the ball. Second half was much better; Hack must have lit a fire under their asses. But we won't win games if we can't finish chances.

 

But when you know a team that relies on getting calls from the ref for advantageous set plays as a core part of their offense, you need to adapt. This isn't his first go around at these guys.

 

It can't be a miss if it wasn't a shot... that's the type of pass you give when you are too far to the side and think you have no angle...

which..he did... wide..open..angle and only one defender on him getting caught flat footed, and he puts it to the side thinking there's someone else streaking up the middle... hey- buddy, you're ON THE 6 YARD LINE!

 

Big loss made worse by the fact that we lost to the team in the last playoff spot.

The game tomorrow is 4 v 5 (Chicago vs Houston), so the only good thing that can come from that game for us is a tie... or a meteor striking the field and wiping out both teams.






(star on graphs indicate position of current 5th place team)

 

I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but both Farfans are dirty hot tempered players. We can not like the call as much as we want, but a shoulder to the back while in the air is a clear foul for me.

I always thought he was a stop-gap measure. Serviceable, but temporary as the move for Lopez suggested, though at this point, either the FO is hoping Lopez is better than he has shown or they're willing to settle for average defending skills in exchange for supporting the attack with his play on the wing.

 

I have to agree. Is it okay to hope they give Okugo a shot at LB after Soumare gets settled in at CB?

 

I agree. He took to CB, so why not LB? Also, Okugo has the quickness to play the wing in the system that the team has been playing. When asked last week, he said something about liking CB, but not liking the fact that he was the last line of defense and having to stay back. If he could play like Williams plays at RB, there might be something there.

 

Maybe there is some truth to the rumor that Keon smells. Look at the distance from both Gomez and G Farfan

 

Ok, so here's my report on part 1 of "My Epic Solo Philadelphia Union Road Trip."
Originally, the plan was to drive to El Paso, and then carpool to Houston with a couple of friends (the people I crashed with in El Paso.) Well one of them decided not to go, and the other decided to fly to Houston. So that's why I drove solo. Next was the hotel. Originally, I thought for buying the tickets to the game, I could crash on my friends’ hotel room floor. Well I didn't know it, but his gf lived in Houston. You can see the situation there. So I had to spend the cash I didn't have for a night at the downtown hotel. On the bright side, it's the same hotel that every MLS team stays at when they come to Houston.
Checked into the hotel, and even with Pajoy, Adu, and Keon sitting in the lobby bar, I didn't have time to make small talk with them. This was my one free night in Houston. I had to explore the city. I was lucky enough to get a free tour of the city from an El Batallon member. But there isn't much to do in Houston, at least for a 19 year old. From Arcades, to Concerts, to Bowling Alleys, to the Hard Rock, after 9 PM, you had to be 21 or older to enter. That was extremely disappointing.
Game day. After I checked out of the hotel, I waited for the Union to come down so I could send them off as they headed to the stadium. I talked to some Union media members and coaching staff about coming to the Desert Cup, told everyone good luck, & got a picture with Hackworth. But I especially wanted to say good luck to Adu. I wanted him to sign my jersey. So Freddy comes walking by. I said "Hey Freddy!" He walked right past me. Didn't even look up. Dejected, I went outside to wave off the bus. But then, guess who comes running off the bus. Freddy ********ing Adu! He comes running to me! He said sorry, he didn't hear me cause of his music and some of his teammates told him. He signed my jersey, I shook his hand & said thanks & he went back on the bus. Now that's true class.
After I had the epic moment with Adu, the team departed, and I was the only Union fan to wave them off and tell them "Kick Houston's Ass" (where's the rest of the traveling support?) Walked to the stadium, traded a Pricks scarf for a Texian Army one, and picked up an Inaugural Season scarf in the team store. The stadium itself is nicer than the Home Depot Center. It’s classy and clean. There's no bullshit (unlike Livestrong Park). The concourse is very simple. You have your merchandise, concession, and bathrooms. There's not one bad seat in the entire stadium. Its not American style seating. Its European style. Even though I was in the third to last row, I was still right on top of the action. You can yell something from the top row in the stadium, and the players can hear you loud and clear. (If you don't believe me, watch the highlights of the match. You can barely hear one jackass yelling the Doop song and "Goal" after Keon's goal.) The game. That reff was high as ********. He made terrible calls. I feel like the PK was bs, but he should have made a PK call 10 minutes earlier. The Union was absolute rubbish in the first half. That was a pathetic performance. But the 2nd half, for the 1st 30 minutes, we were excellent. I don't understand why Pajoy didn't take the shot when he was two feet from the goal.
After the match, I went back to the hotel to greet the team back and tell all of the players "Good Game" & "Good Luck in LA." While I was doing that, Hackworth asked me "Are you the fan who drove over 17 hours to watch this game?" I told him yes, and he noted my "commitment" to the team.
Once the team was back in the hotel, I headed back to my truck, and made the 17 hour drive back to Tucson.

Two notes. First, where's the hell was the Sons of Ben. Only saw one member in the entire stadium.
Second, who the ******** was emailing EB last year during the Playoffs saying "Were gonna kick the shit out of you?" Shut the ******** up. They don't play around. They will kick the shit out of any opposing fan.

& now I'm packing up for part 2 of "My Epic Solo Philadelphia Union Road Trip"

 

Wonder if they have a thread entitled "Union supporters all but drowned us out".

 

I highly doubt it. Only after that goal was the stadium silent.

 

Well I guess the meteor was asking for a bit much.