Upset of 2016 DC - 3 MTL - 1 Very interested in seeing who plays in this game as Ben has said we'll test our bench.
I watched the Montreal game last weekend. They are not the most physical team in the league. With the likes of Drogba, Donadel, Bernier, Mancosu and Piatti they're not going to press high up the field. Our key is to not give the ball away cheaply. If we can't hold possession they're more than happy to keep the ball and break us down. Without the ball they're a below average MLS team with some real holes in defense
I like where your head is at, but with Montreal having been surprised by Chicago at home last weekend, I just don't see it happening tonight. I don't expect Montreal to blow us out, but I think they'll be clinical and it won't be close. I think 2-0 in favor of the French-lite. I'd prefer you be right, though.
yeah I hear you, I was pretty disappointed that Chicago did that to them right before we play both teams Ready for @dcunited with @lindsaysimpson @mrchrishull @NewsChannel8 we start at 7 from Montreal #UnitedParty pic.twitter.com/iGgLvEAkEV— Dave Johnson (@davejsports) August 24, 2016
Wow, either the excitement for the game in this thread is palpable or I don't know the definition of the word, "palpable."
Haha! Ah, good times! Brought back a memory of my one and only shot at being part of a national soccer podcast! I was a guest DC "analyst" and asked about a recent win streak (yes, it was quite a while ago!) and I replied something like while it was a good streak of results our opponents had been pretty weak, the last win coming against the Metrostars. I was going for a joke when I equated that win to "clubbing baby seals" in terms of it's difficulty for DC historically. Dead silence....Yep, crickets until the host said something about my lack of couth. He later told me he was a member of PETA and he couldn't in good conscience not reprimand me for the comment and thanks for coming on the show. I never got called again. Oh well. Hoisted by my own PETArd so to speak. And yes, the enthusiasm is rampant on these boards today. Although perhaps they were like me and forgot the game was tonite until earlier this morning. My .02 is we got no chance. Their loss to the Fire is one reason and Drogba and Piatti are a few more. I do agree that their defense is a bit suspect, but then again so is our offense. Seems like the last two trips up their we overachieved. Once we totally stole 3 points on a single shot taken, and another time Drogba hung a brace on us almost casually before we tightened up the bolts to only lose 3-0 I believe. Both times better than we deserved, so who knows, maybe third time's a charm.
S' ********!?! I thought we were playing north of the border! ps-of course Drogba may be going after Sarvas after he broke his nose last game they met!
My mom called me and asked about the game. Although I was already subscribed to this thread, I was sure she was wrong until I looked up the schedule. I guess there is a game soon. It sucks that this will be part of why my night sucks.
Older guys are going to feel it in their legs in the second half if they played on Sunday. I would keep Opare warmed up to come in for Boswell. It's too bad we're not going to play the 11 that played Sunday because if this weren't a midweek game we'd win with that line-up. Neagle and Deleon are just the death of us.... hope to see me some Igbo.
Whoa. Boswell didn't even make the trip! Acosta out. Incredible to start Vincent, Bushcer and DeLeon. Hope this sh1t works. Starting XI: Hamid; Mishu, Opare, Birnbaum, Franklin; Vincent; Nyarko, Büscher, DeLeon, Neagle; Igboananike Subs: Worra, Kemp, Robinson, Marcelo, Mullins Acosta, Saborío
Wow, they better overachieve or Montreal underachieve or DC are doomed. Basically Montreal's starters and they have every reason to shred DC's central midfield and defense. Fingers crossed, but this has the makings of a bloodbath.
If Ben is really going to "test our bench" against a full-strength MTL, this gets ugly fast. 4-0 to the bad.
Still - most top CL and EL teams do that regularly and don't rest half of their team. I guess it is more of an indictment as to the quality of the league. Usually this is seen in league cup matches against lower division opponents. Perhaps are starters are only MLS fit and not USMNT fit james
I do tend to agree that the defenders at least should be able to handle the schedule, but I will say the travel here in the US is really more the problem more than the actual days of rest between games. These guys are pretty high class athletes and two 5 hour plane flights and border crossings and whatnot between games are legitimately hard to endure for some of these guys. You see it in Champions League too by the way when travel is excessive. And one other consideration is the level of pay these guys have to use to prepare for the stress their bodies face. Multi-millionaire players in Europe have many more resources and supplementation than guys in the US making a median income of about 80-100K. That said, the boys are actually getting it done. These kids are alright. Hamid snuffs out Piatti and Buscher with a wicked tackle on Piatti and we get a fairly well deserved PK. Opare and Birnbaum looking pretty good against Drogba too. 1-0 is a huge overachievement so far. Fingers crossed.