Post-match: Crew vs. Toluca :: CCL QF Second Leg

I'm just glad it wasn't a blowout, like Crewfan said, Cruz Azul was embarassing. At least we know we can hold our own in the Champs League. It leaves me excited for the next tourney

 

The 5-0 loss to Cruz Azul killed our spirits for quite some time last season. We have nothing to be embarrassed about after this game. We were beat by a damn good team and one amazing player.

This is a game the guys can take and say to themselves "If we play like this game in and game out we can win MLS."

 

Rogers' pass to Danny that set up goal 2 was pretty sweet though. But for the most part I agree. Could we just get a transporter and merge Robbie and Ekpo's good halves? The bad part would be Szetela....

 

I think you're pretty much on target with most of this. I thought the exact same thing about GBS and his gut (not that I'm one to talk).

I disagree with you on Hesmer though. the PK was near perfect. As was the first free kick. To get that ball up and over the wall, bending near post and dipping too...holy christ that was a nice ball. As for the second one..the CONCACAF feed sort of sucked, so it was hard to tell. It looked like Will was a little more central than he probably should have been given the position of the ball, but there's no doubt in mind that he was thinking of the first free kick goal. That being said, the only way he saves that ball is to be standing in that corner. That ball was also perfect. If he was standing in the corner, then the dude would have done just what he did on the first one, and people would have been pillaging him for letting it happen twice in a row.

If we have a season, I think we're going to be very, very, scary good.

 

The rest of MLS should be terrified of the Crew right now.

 

yea it makes me excited for this coming season if we have a season because this team looks really good. I think Lenhart is going to have a big year and im excited.

 

And if it's the last game for a while (my guess, unfortunately), at least we saw a couple good ones.

 

Who just got cut.....again...this time from DC. Maybe we sign hi----nah..can't complete the sarcasm!!

 

I'm definitely not calling an obvious 5 yard pass down the line to an overlapping player "pretty sweet". Well, maybe in the local U8 rec league. I would call it finally making the right decision; something I expect from someone getting paid to be on the field.

 

Everyone is disappointed about losing and that is great, but I was proud of the way this team played and hung in there. Sure they sort of caved when the inevitable insane attack came in the beginning of the second half, but they didn't quit, get down, or look winded. I am reminding myself the Crew, who have not played all year, battled on equal terms a premier Mexican League team in mid-season form in their OWN HOUSE 6,750 FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL and almost beat them. That just blows me away. This was a statement to MLS and indeed to the rest of North America that US professional soccer is getting more competitive and credible. It is awesome the Crew made that statement.

 

Anybody else find it depressing that Ekpo's one cross with his left foot was better than any of the crosses Robbie had?

Robbie had a good game though and got himself into great positions.

 

Overall it was two good matches against Toluca. I am impressed considering that we are in pre-season form playing against a great team in the heart of their club season.

Robbie did have the nice pass to Danny that set up Danny's goal making cross, otherwise Robbie was not impressive. He does not know when to pass, when to slow down, when to trap the ball, how to cross, or when to shoot. He looks confused when he gets the ball typically. He has alot of talent and he needs some serious mentoring from the likes of GBS. Did you see the look on GBS's face when Robbie took that miserable high/wide shot instead of dumping the ball to a wide open GBS?

Bright spots: Danny, Renteria, GBS

How did Hesmer get stuck on the near post when the free kick went to the far post? Wasn't the wall covering the near post? Both free kick goals were great shots, the second one was well placed, considering where Hesmer was standing.

Sad to see the red card form Lenhart, what would have happened if we had 11 for the entire match?

I liked the high chain link fence and barbed wire around the pitch.

Overall we had a decent match.

 

I was watching with my wife and I called both Sinha goals before they happened. As soon as the foul was called on the first one, I had a feeling. The first shot was magic. The second was Country Club Willie "Give Us Our Rights!" Hesmer standing behind his fucking wall. Additionally, Brian Carroll had the unnecessary foul on #1, but who was the poor schlub who gave up stupid foul #2?

Overall, the referee was largely correct on the big calls, but made some strange decisions on some of the minor stuff. The first couple of yellows seemed pretty soft, too. Not a great performance from Mr. Ward, though at least he didn't consistently favor either team.

Our midfield, especially in the second half, was lethargic. Many times we'd take decades to turn the ball upfield, and when we did, we simply jogged the ball out, looking indecisive despite Toluca often giving miles of space to advance. What does it say when Danny ********ing O'Rourke as a stand-in left back is the one most willing to attack with speed and decisiveness? It paid off with a very good goal. When you are given space, TAKE IT! At times I thought I was watching my O-30 team struggle to mentally process that forward is a good thing sometimes.

Did Eddie Gaven play tonight?

 

Hopefully he does on the Dr. Jekyll side, because his Mr. Hyde side leaves him open for other teams to scout his lack of maturity. Get under his skin and he's sure to throw 'dem bows' or make rash challenges.

Danny O'Rourke (like his mentor Gattuso) has grown on me. He was solid in the back flank.

We now know what to expect for the next Champions League (I just got a shiver thinking about that, us in the next Champion's League).

I was hoping that Gaven had worked on his legs to core strength in the offseas, but he remains, Shaggy Doo.

IMHO Herrera learns by doing, and that means actually playing on the field. about that.

 

I thought the ref had a good game. It was obvious that he watched the first match and had no intention of letting this one become a slug fest. Thus the flurry of yellows and probably Lenhart's straight red. The ref did a good job of keeping control of the game.

 

I thought that guy looked familiar.

 

I was watching with mute on so I may have missed a few things, but I thought his rather random-seeming card policy was making things worse. There was a point when I thought it was going to all kick off.

 

This.

We lost this game because Sinha put up to two absolutely world class free kicks.
Those ranking on Hesmer for not handling them - don't. Brad Friedel in his prime wouldn't have saved those two.
For my money, the PK given to Toluca was complete bull. There was contact, but the guy dove, period.
We showed a ton of character and spirit in a very, very difficult place to play. We did look a bit out on our feet in the last 10 minutes, but in 8,000-ft altitude, anyone who doesn't is superhuman.
That referee was useless. He was literally in the passing lanes several times during the game. Until a video replay of what Steve got the red card for, I putting the blame on him. How the hell did GBS pick up the yellow after the PK goal?
Speaking of GBS, to every other MLS squad.... we got him, you don't. That's why the shield is staying put and cup is coming home.....


If there is a season. I really hope all this brinksmanship is just that. I NEED to be singing later this month, not drinking myself to get over the absence.,

 

At least he would have given himself a shot at making a save on the second one if he didn't totally defeat the purpose of a wall and stand steadfastly behind it.

Nah. But say Mr. Ward had agreed. They scored anyway, and it wasn't like they stopped playing instantly as soon as the whistle went. In fact, I'm taking back my praise on that call a bit because he very easily could have allowed advantage.

I almost guarantee it was for giving the goalkeeper the business for being a cocky ******** who tried to mess with one of the greatest players this hemisphere has ever produced by giving him almost the entire left side of the goal. Guille don't play that way.

 

No.

In the past I've been something of a Gaven apologist/defender. Especially when I've made it to the games, it seems that he does a lot off the ball, defends soundly and positions well. But none of that can be said tonight (although, admittedly, I could only see what FSC saw fit to show us). Routine passes missed the mark, speed was gone, and no noticeable defensive play of which to speak. Pure crap, in fact.

Traditionally, just when lots of fans start really tearing into Eddie, he seems to find his A game and some redemption. The pattern is growing tiresome.

 

Unless Warzycha or someone else who was at the game speaks up and clues us in, we may never know who was responisble for the foul that led to the winning goal, or what Lenhart did to get red carded.

And speaking of the red card, I was kind of under the impression that maybe the assisstant ref (linesman) was the guy who actually told the ref to give Lenhart a red. Maybe. It wasn't really clear though.

 

I agree. IMHO, we looked way better in the CCL quarters than Houston did last year. It's a long season with lots of ups and downs, but we would have mopped the unpaved, pond-tacular Crew stadium lot with any MLS team the way we've been playing lately. Bring it.