It doesnt matter, right now we have a SLIM chance of making it to 1st, if we end up second then we prob play DC in a home/home series. If we end up 3rd(which is ours to lose), then we still play DC in a home/home. SO theres no difference there unless you count playing the second game "home field advantage". Theres no way we should end up 4th as we play NE and they are basically the 4th place team. THe only advatage we can get right now is to come in 1st and that entails Chicago to lose ALL their remaining games. And dont you think Chicago knows that? So instead of striving for something that has a 10% chance of happening and risk injury and fatigue on the eve of the most important game in history, I say just sit as many as the starters that we can and play all the scrubs.
Bingo. The first commercial they got, they went straight to San Jose. This is normal operating procedure for ESPN. Of course, they could have told us this (as I was flipping out that I wasn't going to see the game.) I think St. Silva might be the least liked ref in MLS, which is saying alot. The game : Gaven looks really good. Could he play for the U-20s? Guevara has cut down on his antics. Our D, solid as usual - Pope gets to everything. SJ must have been very frustrated, I don't remember them being a bunch of cheap hacks like they were today. Donovan should have been tossed twice. Who forced the turnover that led to the first goal, Clark? Whoever it was should get credit (and an assist). All and all an excellent road performance by the Metros, and a well deserved three points.
you know what, i bet gaven could definitely play for the u20's except d0uchey Rongen is the coach...the idiot was set on excluding Adu from the team, saying he hadnt been with the team and wouldnt have chemistry...i have a feeling USSF stepped in because he's on the team anyway
Wynalda was a moron in that piece for the simple reason that it didn't hold water. The Metrostars have recently gained a lot of momentum in the DC United series. You could harly say they were falling. If you want to say that two weeks ago, fine. As for Donovan, both were clear reds. The Gueverra trip was very late, and flagrant. Sure he acted all nice after that, but it should have been red. The Walker incident was even worse, as Walker had the ball, and Donovan stuck his elbow out. The league has to look at this. They have to give him a fine, adn suspend him for at least a game. Just because he's Donovan doesn't mean he should get away for stuff like that, especially when they are more flagrant then Clint's. Also, what was up with Wynalda saying that it was alright for Landon, he's just angry, etc. Give me a break. "The Golden Boy" is the biggest whiner out there. Again, brilliantly managed match on the part of Bradley. Yallop, for all the hoopla on these boards, was simply out managed. For some reason, he couldn't get his team to spread the ball out wide. The Metros played compact in the middle, and we owned them throughout the game. That was 4, count them, 4 rookies on the field. I simply cannot wait til next year, when these guys mature even more. This team is 100% better with Leitch and Edgar on the field instead of Zidi and Digi. Did you see how they were involved in the attack? The fact they were making defensive stops? That means that SJ had to adjust even more so to those two players. That wouldn't have happened if Digi was out there, and Ziade was banging crosses to no one in particular. A couple of more notes. I thought Regan, had a quiet but impressive match. He never got into trouble, and played the smart ball. That's all he had to do. He could be the better option instead of Richie. Sure he missed that shot, but I dont' remember one mistouch on the ball. Also, wasn't it awesome seeing Faria being tossed onto the ground by Jolley???? This Saturday is huge. The Burn were just thrashed by the Revs. That was after, a first half, in which the Burn should have been up about 3-0. The Revs were absolutely dominated. Clint is going to be back, and I'll bet he is going to be motivated as hell to put on a good showing. Personally, I think Bradley should get coach of the year. He took a team, that had no heart, basically a pathetic bunch. His team might not play the prettiest, or have the most talent. However, the Metros are the gutsiest team in MLS. Do go into San Jose, and completely outplay the Quakes, while they are on a super hot streak, is absolutely brilliant. He is getting 110% out of every guy on the team. No one else in MLS can say that. He gets my vote for Coach of the Year. Yallop is a great coach, but he was outclassed today.
Wow, you really are a good sport. We played well, and considering the absences very well. I thought Woly could've done a bit better (is he reading his press ?), but Magee was sold and Gaven was great. As far as I'm concered, he should be in all of our games from here on out. He dribbles well, passes well, and attacks instead of making those endless square passes that Metro seem to get addicted to at times. Scary how good he could be in 4 years if he continues to improve, he is clearly talented enough to start now. Defense was good, and I like Lietch over Ziadie by a long shot. Solid play by Barto, and I enjoyed the Williams-less midfield. I still think we are better with Mathis, but this might be our starting lineup next year, when he is gone. He is, when he plays well, the best player on our team, but there have been so many games this year where, for whatever reason, that is not the case.
Leitch and Edgar showed me little to nothing. Involved in the attack? Leitch had one option. As soon as anyone got near him (or appeared to get near) he would dump the ball down field. Edgar did not panic as quick. SJ did not adjust to those players. If they had they might have won the game.
I disagree completely. This is especially true on the defensive side of the ball. Ziade and Digi would just collapse. Notice how many times Leitch was back, and making defensive stops? Ziade would not do that. Those plays allowed Jolley and Pope to key on Landon and Derosario. That is why you saw Landon being a spoiled brat at the end, and why derosario only had one chance the whole game, a header that was wide. On the offensive side of the ball, these guys aren't the optimal fullbacks. The both can't cross the ball well, but that doesn't matter since we have no one who can head the ball in the box (jusko if he ever sees the field). In terms of potential, Ziade and Digi are probably better, but they were just black holes, that other players had to compensate for. If you dont' think they were crucial this game, then why did SJ keep on trying to charge through the middle? Why was Corrales subbed? He obviously wasn't tired, since 4 years ago he would easily play 90 for the Metros. Yallop had to change to change his game plan, but he failed, and did it too late for it to be effective. As for my comment on involved in teh attack. I shoudl have clarified that more. I meant, that they didn't lose the ball every time they touched it on the Quakes' side of the field. Those two positions went from being 20% possesion to about 60%. That is drastic improvement in my book. As for Oz being right. I am not sure about that. This is the man who drafted Steve Shak over Boca, Garcia, DMB, Convey, etc. I think someone should check his sanity before we go into his comments. Before these last two games, Gueverra was playing just as badly as Mathis was. It was basically because the opposing teams keyed on them, and allowed the rest of our team to lose possesion. I talked about this specifically in a thread that talks about if the metros are better w/o Mathis in the lineup. In short, no.
Good win, never expected it, Metro were the better team for most of the game. Nice play all around. Several general thoughts: -- All the Shep haters owe him a bit since he's the one who said a while back that a Gaven / Guevara / Clark midfield would be a great thing to watch. First goal was Clark to Gaven to Guevara -- no coincidence there, I don't think. It seems clear that Eddie Jr. has a place on the field for the rest of the season. -- That, in turn, frees Mathis to just hang out up top and wait for service, which is what he'd prefer to be doing, anyway. People who are saying that "without Clint, we look better" are ignoring the fact that Gaven and Guevara have really stepped up during that time. We are better with Clint, provided that we are using him correctly. -- If Guevara didn't have the reputation of a diver, Landon would have gotten ejected for that massive late hack. Oh, who the hell am I kidding? LD is never getting ejected from a game because the refs are afraid of getting pelted with little schrunchies by the angry pre-teen girls in attendance. -- Never high on Leitch, but he has stepped up tremendously over the past few weeks.
Agree completely. Mathis is the kind of player that can come out of no where and make things happen. also, i was really really impressed with Guevara tracking back on defence. I don't know about Tim Reagan, he was invisible all match, maybe thats a good thing.
Eddie Pope has helped Jolley tremendously. Pope was monstrous tonight. He completely dominated the middle of San Joses attacking third.
Hopefully not a chance. The Metros want to get home field for the first round or better. They can't slow up until all the seeds are set. We don't have to sweat it. In the playoffs. Damn nice.
Differentiate between Mathis can do no wrong and the fact that Donovan is a spoiled brat. We get on Mathis all the time for his missteps. If he had done what Donovan did he would have been given straight red. So guess what deal with it.
You can't make the direct correlation. I would say it's a more valid argument that the offense worked better due to Richies absense. We have been saying all year long he kills the attack.
it's kinda sad, there was a time when refs put up with all of clint's antics...it was fun having the US soccer darling on our team...
Would you rather face Chicago in the first round, or DC or may be even NE? Plus I believe it's still a best of three not a home and home.
hound, this is straight from the rules: "The Conference Semifinal series will be conducted under a home-and-home, aggregate goal format to determine which two teams will advance to the single elimination Conference final match. The higher-seeded team will host both the Conference Semifinal Game Two and the Conference Final." ...i did not know there was only one conference final game, which makes seeding a much bigger deal
they cite as the main reason, wanting to use a structure that the rest of the world uses...i am very much in favor of the higher seed getting the conference final, it is a well-deserved advantage...i would think it is more fair for the higher seed to also get the first game of the 2 legs, but they say it is so every playoff team gets at least one home game which makes some sense...
I'm impressed with the way Guevara has stepped it up the last two games with Mathis out. This is the time of year your stars have to shine and he's doing just that. I'd have given him MOTM instead of Gaven for his two way play, playing through a bunch of hards hits and for his goal. If he continues being a threat like this things will open up on top during the most important games of the year.