Re: DC United vs FC Dallas Fri 3/30 730pm This is what had me thinking Santos was our MOTM. Santos was trapping long balls cleanly and holding off the defender very well. Deleon's performance was also MOTM material. I thought Willis had a great match with one brain fart when he came out for the ball and got beat to it by the Dallas player only for it to end up in his hands. Sort of a "look what I found" moment. I can't imagine what the game would have been like if he didn't make the first two or three stops. Lots of guys clicking on all cylinders last night. What a great match for DCU. Agree with Knave, the awesome has been unleashed. Would like to see this type of play continue.
Re: DC United vs FC Dallas Fri 3/30 730pm One great game and three poor ones might be OK. I've seen people suggesting that Santos is good for one or two wonder-games like this a year. The other 30 odd games? Don't ask ... We'll just have to see.
Who was that team that showed up last night and what have they done with DCU? Why is it threads of when we win are so much shorter than when we lose?
Because of all the gnashing of teeth and wringing of hands when we lose, of course. We get those after a victory, too, of course, just not as much. Heck, even our SHORT match threads are thrice those of our opponents, generally.
Re: DC United vs FC Dallas Fri 3/30 730pm You got me all wrong! I love the guy. I know he worked incredibly hard to get where he has I just feel like there's been a lot of unreasonable pressure put on him that amplifies any mistakes he has. He was just thrown in the spotlight really fast that's all. As for the game. Wow Awesome! So many great performances last night. But I think we're overlooking just how good kitchen looked on both sides of the ball. Also Boskovic looked Pretty sharp imo.
I don't have anything to say, but I'll push us to PAGE 12!!! But seriously I think it's always like this when it's a home game. Everyone's at the game so the only ones posting are out of towners like me, and the handful of people that stay sober enough to go home after the game and log on.
In another forum, there was a question regarding how Cruz and DeLeon's strong play would affect the playing situation for Najar and Pontius. I decided to copy my reply over here, since it's a decent fraction of what I'd say here. === Actually, if they keep playing strong, it might make Najar play better. I've had a sense lately when Najar plays that he's forcing things too much -- that he feels like he has to win the match every time he's got the ball -- and I wouldn't be surprised if he's developed that sense given how pretty much everyone on the team other than DeRo has played in the last season or two. If we have multiple scoring threats on the pitch, then maybe he'll play within himself a bit more. Pontius, OTOH, I dunno. I haven't seen anything good from him in his admittedly limited time since the season started. I'm very, very worried that his leg break from last season has had a lasting/permanent effect. He seems slow and clumsy right now. One thing I liked very much about DeLeon's play last night was how willing he was to work the touchline. The Opta "heat map" for the match, available on MLS' website, is telling: DeLeon spent most of his time out along the touchline, to a *much* greater degree than Pontius and Najar tend to do. This stretched the pitch and created all sorts of opportunities for us, both on the outside and in the middle of the pitch. Cruz' play reminded me of a hybrid of Ben Olsen and Josh Gros -- he worked tirelessly like Gros did for us; but had much more comfort with the ball at his feet, a softer touch, and better field vision. I hope they're able to build from this, and it isn't just a one-off.
Just how bad was Pontius' injury? I thought it was similar to Fabregas' broken leg and certainly not like Aaron Ramsey's or Steve Zakuani's horror tackle injuries. Granted, there are always fitness issues and a susceptibility to other, unrelated injuries when coming off a long layoff. For example, I wouldn't doubt it if some of Fabregas' hamstring problems his last season at Arsenal may have been caused by his broken leg. I think it's probably too soon to judge the long lasting effect of Pontius' injury. I have always thought he was a pretty streaky player who needed significant game time to get into a groove anyway.
I don't know...although he doesn't seem quite back to full form, I think he still makes very intelligent positioning and play decisions. What Cruz did for United's attacking play, in the time he was in Pontius did for United's possession maintenance and pressure in midfield. Like I said, maybe not full form, but I don't think we've seen enough.
Re: DC United vs FC Dallas Fri 3/30 730pm I wouldn't worry about it he will be gone for a fair amount of the summer at the Olympics. Unbelievable. The US can't win such a weak group as Cuba, El Salvador and Canada. Hamid and Kitchen were atrocious at the Olympic Qualifying Tournament. I was really concerned how Kitchen was going to play on Friday. Given the effort he put in Friday, it really makes you wonder what on Earth was Porter doing playing him as a Center back. Hamid on the other hand had no such excuses. He was just flat out terrible. I think that Willis has the job for the time being. Goalkeeping is as much understanding the game, and being a leader as physical tools. I am seeing those characteristics in Willis and not in Hamid, at least to date.
Re: DC United vs FC Dallas Fri 3/30 730pm I'm going to defend Hamid to a degree. The first goal he gave up against Canada was a ghastly error, the kind that in and of itself can earn a keeper a trip to the bench. On the second Canada goal, Hamid was simply left out to dry by the defense. Hamid's post-match interview about the El Salvador game indicates that El Salvador got two quick goals before he could be subbed out. If true, you can blame Porter and the rest of the coaching staff for not getting the sub ready quickly enough, but the defense again deserves blame for putting a wounded keeper in harm's way twice within just a couple of minutes. Of the four goals Hamid allowed, one was the result of a very serious error on his part and the other three should be on what was obviously a poor defensive effort by the outfield players. I don't mind seeing Willis hold onto the starting job but Hamid's performance at the Olympic qualifying tournament also has to be judged by the hideous defense in front of him.
A couple thoughts: Santos - Even in the past games, I've thought that Santos makes this team better, which is why all those misses were so frustrating because all the other things he does are meaningless if he isn't a scoring threat. If he can be consistent in his finishing, then he'll be a big addition because he can receive and hold the ball and get himself into dangerous and scoring positions. His versatility compared to many of DC's past strikers who were pure poachers or hold-up strikers who never got the ball in the box or put a shot on goal will help this team win more games. DeLeon - Talented young man. For various reasons, I will be surprised if he doesn't lose the starting spot for an extended period this season. That said, having him as an option starting or for the bench could make a big difference when DC gets into the heart of the season and heat of the summer. Salihi - Disappointed that he's not keeping up his strike rate; Hartman did well, but I sort of expected a DP to convert a one-on-one with the keeper. But I can't fault his work rate on the field which wins him points (and time) in my book.
I finally saw the highlights of the match and his contributions, especially with his first goal and then setting up the other, were his meat and drink. Coming back deep on both occasions, on the first he put on a little "shake and bake" dribble and quick burst to afford him enough space to launch that big time left foot shot of his, and then on the second he hit that cross to the far post for the coming into the space from a deeper position. Big positives for your club, for sure. Here's a negative to watch for in the future: health. I don't think he's the fittest of athletes and thus making him prone to injury or, if he does get hurt, slow to recover to full effectiveness. Hopefully it's all positives for him and you guys! I watch all the Canadian MLS teams but I am especially looking forward to your matches with TFC: they should be a raucous affair with De Ro returning to BMO on May 5th.
That was a lot of fun, and thanks to the pregame stuff, I understood the bronie reference in today's "Foxtrot."
Re: DC United vs FC Dallas Fri 3/30 730pm Really? Marc Burch doesn't strike fear into your soul? I feel like I'm tempting fate with that comment. I wouldn't underestimate Seattle (and I doubt DC is, given Olsen's comments) though. They've only played at home so far, no? I guess we'll see how well they do on grass this weekend.
Re: DC United vs FC Dallas Fri 3/30 730pm No -- it looks like an ambiguity with the markup language (bbCode) we use. In other words, it looks like one poster was careless with removing a "QUOTE" tag. Note, for instance, that your post has an extra quote tag (citing DCUSA) before the quote from Murr. When I hit reply to write the reply I'm typing right now, Murr's quote was stripped out as normal, leaving the rest of your post enclosed in quote tags. But your post had an unclosed "QUOTE" tag in it -- the one citing DCUSA! The outermost "QUOTE" tag auto-generated for my reply cited you, as it should; but the quoted text from you included that extra "QUOTE" tag you left in there, from DCUSA. When the bbCode processor finds a "/QUOTE" tag, it goes *backwards* through the post to find the opener for that close. In this case, if I hadn't deleted it, it would have found the one from DCUSA. So my reply would quote you, but cite that quote to DCUSA; and it would have an extra "QUOTE" tag at the beginning citing you. In other words, someone who replied didn't clean up their "QUOTE" tags; and the nature of bbCode parsing is that each reply repeats the mistake . . .until someone notices and cleans it up, as I have here by deleting the extra "QUOTE" tag you left in your post.