From the result Atlanta has lost any legitimate claim to be named United, DC can lay claim to the title of United That Sux The Least by virtue of the just drafted head to head rule. I wonder how many utterances of "Fiddle de de" were heard in the home locker room as they contemplate watching the game tape or Gone With the Wind
This was a really fun game to watch in person. The crowd was lively, although horribly unintelligent about calls and basic soccer knowledge. I heard someone say pull the keeper (in reference to Atlanta needing a goal), followed by be aggressive (when Atlanta already had possession), and that Hamid should take his own goal kicks (seriously, WTF?). Also had two fans nearby spill their beers on others by getting overly excited on non-goal moments. Guy in front of me was good-natured about the whole game, and he was just as amused by the homerism others were shouting. As for the game, it was about what I expected. DC isn't a possession team, and they are reliant on counterattacks and making the most of whatever opportunities they have in front of goal. Atlanta did jack-all with most of their possession, and their shooting was godawful for most of the afternoon. Why they kept trying to spring Kenwyn Jones is beyond me, as he couldn't even win a footrace with Boswell. Asad was as lively as I expected, and the biggest threat besides Almiron on the ball. He wore Sam down physically, and then got way too aggressive on the play that earned him a yellow. That elbow swing should get him suspended for at least a game or two. Neagle should have finished his opportunity to make it 4-1. My brother and I got a good laugh out of it, but in a closer game I might have lost my mind. Really, most of the second half had us laughing because Atlanta wasted so many opportunities on the ball. DC took advantage of their chances; Atlanta was all bark and little bite.
DC United was flat out poor, but sprinkled with some moments of brilliance. I agree; it was Hamid and Acosta that stole this game. Don't expect to win many more games if any with that type of team performance. This game was 3-1 but it could have easily been 6-2 or 5-3 down. I'll take the 3 points while holding my nose.
Atlanta was completely out coached today. They kept pushing and pushing and pushing. Olsen parked the bus and launched ICBMs over the top to perfection. Thank goodness Lucho is the real deal. Reminds me of when Rongen would do the same against crap teams and still lose.
The Le Toux goal was real nice, after a great pass from Acosta. It's supposedly an easy play, but it gets missed or saved a lot. Le Toux's earned the starting nod. I feel bad for Mullins but the team has to go with the guy who is scoring. Over the couse of the season he'll get his chance. Does anyone know the rules for awarding an assist? I was surprised Frankin got one on Acosta's outstanding individual effort.
This is harsh. United was uneven, but not flat out poor. I'll give you the first 25 minutes. Hamid was the only one that showed up at the start of the game. But once we got our goal, several players started getting into the game. Here's my ratings : 1) Hamid - Probably MOTM 2) Kemp. Slow start, but by the 2nd half he started making some pretty big defensive plays. By the end this was his best game of the year. Villalba was coming into the game as one of the hottest players in the league and he was practically shut down 3) Boswell - Another slow starter but by the 2nd half he was a rock. Between him and Opare they wore Jones down to the point where he was invisible by the end. 4) Opare - My MOTM in the backline. I've always been such a fan of his. Yes he had a few stinkers in 2016, but he's also had games like this before, especially in 2015. I can see Opare and Birnbaum partnership in 2018. 5) Franklin - I'm trying to find ways to sugar coat it, but he was just poor. De Leon can't get healthy fast enough. If there's one silver lining with Franklin today is that he did commit to the overlap. Even though he squandered all his attacks, at least it gave Atlanta something to chase. 6) Neagle - another poor performance. Not sure what happened to last year's leading scorer. Very disappointing so far this year. 7) Harkes - yet another poor performance. You could tell the crowd and the noise was affecting him, which is to be expected with a rookie. I won't be too harsh. He's playing one of the hardest positions on the team and he needs time. 8) Jeffrey - another player that started slow but by the 2nd half was breaking up plays left and right. 9) Acosta - He's the difference between Bennyball and this team occasionally making spectacular plays 10) Sam - He did OK, but he was so fatigued by the end. He showed his age a little today, and I hope that fitness keeps up with the grueling MLS summer 11) Le Toux - Hard to grade, he had so few touches. But in the moment of truth he finished his chance which essentially killed the game. He also made the run that unsettled Parkhurst on that 1st half own goal. So by my count we had about 6 players who performed well, another 2 that did OK and maybe 3 who were mostly poor the whole 90 minutes. Overall I think we were slightly better than flat out poor.
Like Kinji Shibuya. I remember he used to tap the toe of his foot on the canvas, supposedly to reveal a blade in the toe of his boot. Good times.
Was listening to the game in the car on satellite radio. It was the feed of Atlanta "United's" homer radio crew (huh?). They were griping about what a rough day it was for "The Five Stripes" and all "those blocked shots."
It was a very fortunate result for the good guys, we could easily have been down 3-0 after the first 10 minutes. At times in the first 20 minutes or so we couldn't even string 3 passes together, as soon as we won the ball we would just boot it up the field. We were just completely overwhelmed. Then, we got the lucky brake with the own goal. This really opened up the game for us. It kept Atlanta from sitting on their heels, and despite being dominated in possession we got a few chances on the counter, and we took them well. Hamid was on top of his game. His two saves in the first 3 minutes were just amazing. If he plays like this consistently he will be back in the USMNT picture. Acosta was the best player on the pitch. He consistently would dribble around 2 or 3 ATL defenders, creating so much space and opportunity for our other attackers. IMO he is the most important player United has had since at least Christian Gomez. without him we are probably one of the three bottom teams in MLS, with him we are a playoff team. Opare did a phenomenal job, and deserves another chance, even if Birnbaum is healthy. either Birnbaum comes in for Boswell, or maybe he (Birnbaum) slides over to RB to take Franklins spot. he's played it for the USMNT, why not us, Le Toux is a deadly finisher when he gets his chances, but he is not creating very many of his own chances any more. I think he pair well with Acosta, but if Luciano is not in the match then Le Toux's value drops bigly. Jeffrey started off playing poorly, but got better as the game wore on. That third goal started off with him dispossessng ATL, shaking off a foul, and finding Acosta (who then weighted that great ball to Le Toux.
We got lucky, but I'll take it. All 4 goals seemed to be down to really bad defense. Glad I didn't turn off the TV after the first 20 minutes.
With the right players Olsen's counter attacking tactic is a good one. So many of DCU's players have such a horrible first touch it makes the quick counter difficult. In Harkes' defense, he put a lot of passes right to the feet of our wingers (Sam and Neagle), but they bounced off like a brick wall. I don't fault Harkes on those at all. Lucho's first touch never failed him and that is such a critical thing when you're trying to counter quickly.
Our touch and timing needs to be perfect on counters because we really don't have the speed. I can't see Sam beating Garza in a foot race. I can't even see Neagle beating Mears in a foot race. And that's a pretty low bar since Mears isn't exactly the quickest fullback out there. The closest thing we have to real speed is NDL.
That of course is the other end of things. With some speed, we can play the ball into space which gives us a much larger margin for error.
Just sorting the chicken salad from the chicken ship, like the match result, there was a clear winner on the Harkes issue too
LeToux isn't fast. He knows when to start running and where the ball is going to be - that is smarts but not speed.
I'm seeing lots of references to how "lucky" DCU was to win this game. Great goalkeeping and impressive defensive play is not luck; it's skill, determination, and strategy. It's true that they started out horribly, gave away possession far too easily throughout the game, didn't exactly put on an offensive clinic, and sure, "luck" plays a role in every game, but those three points were fairly earned. Props to Ben and the boys.