Both sets of players are struggling on that artificial turf. The bounces are inconsistent and players are getting hurt just trying to make a turn on it.
Ferriera off with what looks like anankle injury.....and GOAL by George John on the ensuing play. Avila on for injured Ferriera Alexander on for Martin Chavez 78 minute and we are tied at 1 - FCD looking to press the attack. As an aside, former FCD man, Blake Wagner is playing for Vancouver. The Vancouver fans are vocal in their boos every time an FCD player gets knocked down and doesn't pop right back up.
I was watching on Direct Kick, and we got the Rogers Sportsnet Pacific feed. At one point, they were bragging about how this was the first match that was simulcast in Cantonese on some local cable channel in Vancouver and they went to the Cantonese commentary briefly. I got to hear the call of the George John goal in Cantonese, which was pretty cool.
I hope Avila gets the chance to take DF's spot. He's the natural replacement. How bout those classy Vancouver scum booing at DF for not sucking it up and running on a broken ankle. Good result for the hoops. Hope USSF stops teams from physically assaulting FCD players.
Of course Avila scoring a weak goal changes everything. What was I thinking? Peter, where the hell ARE you?
Well, I'm very very proud of this team for responding with an impressive finish to the game. The word has been out in the league since the Cup Final last year. "Thug on FCD, we'll let you do it. Otherwise, you won't be able to keep up." Unfortunately, teams have bought in without reservation. Thanks, USSF referees. We are now forced to adapt and overcome, and my hope is that Avila can sustain his level for 90+ minutes. Get the proper care, David, we will be missing you. Please don't come back too early and do any further damage. You're too important to this team.
Avila was invisible for the 15 minutes or so he spent in Ferreira's position on Saturday. They subbed in Alexander and he moved to right mid looking much better. Will be very interesting to see what Schellas does here...
when does castillo leave to start getting ready for the sub-20? I'm assuming since Colombia is the host they will probably have a extra extensive preperations.
Good point.... So.... Is this what you're thinking? .................Castillo................ Shea......?Alexander?.....Chavez .............Jacobsen................. .............Hernandez............... Jair...Ihemelu....John...Jackson/Loyd ............Hartman...................
Me personally? --------Castillo------Luna Shea--Alexander---Jacobson---Chavez Jair-------Ugo------John------Loyd But that'll never happen. I'm veeeery skeptical that Daniel Hernandez can play at a high level in a 4-4-2 setup.
I'm torn about next Sunday. Part of me is worried - no DF, team hasn't really clicked outside the first half against Chicago and the Colorado game. But part of me recognizes that in every game, this team has shown flashes of what made it so dangerous last year. Because of where they are in the standings, a result against LA would be really really good. It isn't a must-win, but a loss would really put the team behind the 8-ball.
Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but after Ferreira went out, it appeared to me that the team was moving the ball around very well, while too often, they look to pass the ball to him as their first, second, and third options. Hence, we got really dependent on Ferreira and were susceptible to the "hassle Ferreira constantly with multiple players" defense that other teams throw at us. In other words, if we can manage to move the ball around and maintain possession and competently create chances without Ferreira, we might be able to really make things happen when he gets back.