Official Pre/In/PostMatch Thread:: DC United @ Harrisburg Islanders USOC July 11 2007

Let's all revisit this old thread topic:

"Of all the competitions DC United is scheduled to compete in this year, how would you prioritize them?"

As I recall, no one had US Open Cup at the top of their lists. In fact, most had it as the last, or next-to-last on their list.

I bring this up because there are a number of OTT posts on this thread about the result. Sure, many made the trip (good for you!), and you are disappointed in the result, but does it really matter?

<ducks>

 

I believe that the custom in those parts is to just put a hex on offenders.

 

I am not sure what was funnier - the kids standing in front of us routing for Harrisburg wearing Harrisburg wool ski caps or the teenage girl to our left who said we were getting worked up over a sport (and something along the lines of competition was bad).

 

Somebody rep this please... I need to spread some around first

 

Here's something, the Reserves have only played 4 games, and one more against Richmond, in 3 months of play. The First Team has played over three times that.

It's obvious that there's a talent dropoff, that should be expected (to some degree), but any chemistry isn't going to develop due to the few actual games played. Though any lack of intensity in an opportunity to impress is inexcusable in any case.

 

Detail on what - the flag chase.

Srdan had two of the big BB flags and he was sitting in the front right seat. I think it was around like the 80th minute - all the sudden we see him vault over the rail and take off running. Well, we then see a teenager (maybe 16 would be my guess) running with the flag. Well, Srdan was closing fast so the kid drops the flag and you think that is the end of it. Oh hell no, Srdan keeps running by the flag (at which time a few other guys jump down - not sure if they were going for the flag or to pull Srdan off the bloody stump of a kid). Eventually as Srdan gets behind the net he pulls up and lets the kid run free.

As for the other story - there was a girl maybe 16 who was sitting in our section (and DC and Harrisburg should have roped off a section for us) who kept looking at us and doing that eye roll thing. Her grandmother (at least I think it was her grandmother) was so much cooler. But this girl started saying something to us about getting worked up about a sport and mumbled something about competition being bad and why did we have to curse, blah, blah, blah.

However, the best moment of the night was when we started the "How Many Trophies have you won" chant. Well, some mother to our left says "Hey, theres kids around here" and one of the members of our group screams back "Yeah, there is one right here" and had his teenage daughter with him. It was great - if only the action on the field was as good.

 

I will grant you the chemistry aspect, however I guess I am most disappointed in maybe the lack of imagination. Rod had a ball out on the right last night. Took a couple of cross over steps on his defender and got no space. So he decided his best option at that point was to dribble through him. This of course did not work and he lost the ball. This really highlights the lack of imagination I am seeing. I am not sure more games will change this.

 

You must spread some Blah Blah Blah

 

Sounds like the action in the stands was FAR more entertaining than that on the pitch. Seeing Sardine run after some wonky teenage flag thief would have been worth the pirce of admission alone!

 

The real big picture: The reserves were reserving themselves for the Reserves Cup.

I think about everything that needs to be said has been said, but the fact remains... An MLS reserve team should be able to beat a USL-2 Division team. Specially if that reserve team is D.C. United's.

I'm definitely with Bootsy on his highly repped comment, as well as Shawn's. Their feelings about sums it up for me.

 

Exactly. While the USOC is a grand piece of US soccer history, they need to rethink the format. Houston played on Sunday at home vs. DC United, Tuesday in Charleston and have a game on Thursday at Chicago. Sunday-Tuesday-Thursday. League-Cup-League. It's a no-brainer as to what's going to happen and what the priority is.

And at the same time, I agree with this. While the USOC is inconvenient in a busy summer, MLS reserves should be able to win these games.

 

Do they need to re-think the format, or should MLS respect/consider the pre-published Open Cup dates when considering their schedules?

The problem is in both organizations, US Soccer, and MLS.

 

I drove up there thru the heavy traffic and I'm disappointed with the result but it wasn't unexpected.

No one on either team looked like they were trying to channel Messi, Riquelme and Tevez from the Copa America.

To me, DC's players didn't lack heart or energy or hustle. It's just that our reserves lack skill. Particularly the kind of creative skill that can help break down a defensive team that is defending a 1-goal lead. Any one of Jaime, Emilio, Gomez, Fred or Olsen probably would have raised the team's level of play significantly but Soehn chose not to use them for a midweek game.

I wish DC's management took the Cup more seriously but we had a good idea ahead of time that we'd be watching mostly a reserve team lineup.

Harrisburg played hard too, of course. But I didn't see any eyecatching talent on their team. It always seemed like the kind of game where goals were likely to come off corner kicks or long throw-ins rather than from the run of play. Gros was disappointing sending lots of wild crosses in random directions. Then he finally dropped one in perfectly and Mupier hit it hard and over the crossbar when a simple tap probably would have scored a goal. The City Islanders were fit and played hard but were no more talented than our least talented players. Their fullbacks would consistently play the ball out of bounds under the slightest hint of DC pressure.

The weather was great, nothing like the sticky sauna of last year's Open Cup game against Columbus.

 

Those pre-published dates are a little vague, however and who gets the home game is downright dodgy. And the league will always be a priority. I think it's on the USOC to break, not MLS.

 

Actually, I kinda like the concept of the U.S. Open Cup. There's really nothing like it in any of the mainstream American sports. The NCAA Div. I basketball tournament might come closest. Maybe, the old Indiana High School Basketball Tournament (before it was ruined by dividing schools up into classes based on school population) was closest to the potential that the U.S. Open Cup would have if it was properly managed and promoted by MLS and the USSF.

On the face of it, our reserves losing to the Harrisburg City Isanders ought to be a sheer disaster along the lines of a varsity team from, say, Oberlin, Wooster or Earlham (my alma mater) beating a "B" team from, say, Indiana, Ohio State or Maryland in just about any varsity sport. But, since these upsets are happening up and down the line to other MLS teams, something else seems to be at play other than random chance.

Seems to me that the slew of defeats suffered by United's reserves, the Galaxy's reserves (albeit with Donovan playing for 45 minutes) and the Dynamo's reserves is proof positive that there isn't all that much difference between American-born players at the various pro levels. Rather, these upsets just go to show you how dependent MLS is on technically skilled foreign-born players.

Maybe, the end result of this defeat is that Christian Gomez' stock just went way up. Can United really afford to lose a very good technically skilled player through free agency even though he's 32 years old? Maybe, the smart move would be to resign Gomito for three years with the idea that he would be transitioning, through the course of the three year period, from being a full-time starter to being a super sub off the bench.

 

Or take a set piece. I don't remember seeing one quality one all night. Everything was either into a wall, right to a defender, or over everyone's heads. We overall played a better game but just couldn't get the ball into the box against the mythical 6-4-0 being played against us

 

1. I do think our reserves took this seriously. But we didn't have the skill, expecially against a team that was running like crazy in their biggest game in 3 years, to maintain close control and break them down. So whomever said this game was going to come down to a corner or throw-in or error was right.

2. Yeah, I wish the reserves had played better. The lack of good crosses is upsetting (b/c that's an issue for this team and you'd hope that against weaker competition, guys like Gros or DeRoux would be better). Especially upsetting is the lack of impact in the match by Addlery, Mupier, Dyachenko. Our guys in primary attacking positions just didn't get it done. Not that I expected Dyachenko to beat 5 guys and score a goal single-handedly but we didn't have anyone compensate for a relatively raw bunch of reserves (4 matches before this game).

3. I don't share the sour grapes about this competition. I think the USOC is a good thing. For us, this roster made sense at this time--regretably.

4. I'm glad we got minutes in a competitive situation to players like Burch--this beats reserves (they played in front of 5,000+ on the road against a team running hard--that's a good workout).

5. I think the U20 WC was a minor factor--Arguez would have been on the field and he'd have been our most skilled player. Kpene's injury was also bad b/c I think that would have created a major mismatch and a good chance for him to grab a goal. But credit to Harrisburg for finishing the chance they had.

 

Nolly came off his line too much for my comfort. I am not a goalkeeper and never was, but he seemed awfully jumpy and eager to get off his line. Then again, the defense was playing up and left him out to dry a couple times. Keeper-wise, I don't think we have a lot of talent in our back-ups.

The goal H-burg scored was off of a corner; Nolly came off his line to punch or catch the ball or maybe just wave his arms a bit in the air, but in doing so he jumped on one of our defenders, which left an open goal, one man on the back post unmarked and two DCU players fumbling to stand back up. Nolly simply didn't read the cross well.

This of course sounds like I'm blaming it all on Nolly, but I'm not: one guy let the goal in and ten other guys couldn't score a goal. I agree with the others that I am disappointed with the way our reserves played.

 

agreed.

 

Hey, I wanted to thank you guys for traveling up from DC for the match. You made it entertaining to listen to (when they weren't playing stupid Jock Jams music). I was rooting for Harrisburg, seeing as I am from there and am a gaLAxy fan, and I was a little disappointed with the roster provided by DC as well. I wish MLS teams would take their opening rounds a little more seriously to make the USOC a great competition, but it won't happen for a while I'm sure.

Also, thanks for the suggestion about going to Black Knights Tavern. The food and beer there before the game was excellent.

See you guys August 9th!