He should have been awarded a PK late in the match. His first touch was very good last night. Seemed like a different guy.
. . . and a red card for a terrible foul on Castillo shortly after that. But yes, a very good game overall.
I thought Sabo looked much more motivated than he has lately with RSL; also a lot nastier with late hits and cheap shots (which seemed to be the Costa Rican game plan, and it worked). I'm wondering if Kreis reins that side of him in for RSL?
Two in a row is nice after going through this tough patch. And, heading to a very tough game in Seattle, nice to have the wins handled. I felt the overall run of play favored Philly, they just didn't finish their chances, didn't find the last touch they needed. Our back line seemed confused. I have a feeling we won't see Russell next week, starting to look banged up. Seeing Saborio on the sideline was nice given some of the feelings that he's not really 'with' the team. Over 40 points! Woo Hoo! At worst, the second best season in RSL history.
seeing sabo on the sideline SMILING and seeming into the action was nice. i wasnt at all expecting him to be at the game, let alone suited up, stretching and looking like a likely substitute. i wonder if russell didnt go limp if sabo would have come on.
http://www.mlssoccer.com/playoffstandings This says we'd play NYDP and then Cbus. Not the worst news. Nevertheless, win them all.
I want to mention that Kreis said in the post-game that Sabo asked to be included in the 18 tonight, in fact he implied that Sabo really wanted to be there (aka begged) so that he can show his commitment to the team. I thinks thats 180 from where we visualized Sabo just a month ago. Nice.
If Edu doesn't get one for his tackle in the first half (I dont care how much ball he got, he got a ton of leg with his studs) then Sabo doesn't deserve one either. I thought the foul on Castillo was really late and hard. What I wonder, though, is how much of him he actually caught. Castillo was back up after he realized he wasn't getting the foul and wasn't showing signs of an injury at all.
http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2011/09/05/five-other-candidates-us-left-back-position I would love to see Wingert get more of a chance with that Nats. His strengths do seem to fit with the need there.
Beltran can not only play both sides, but is fairly confident with both feet. If anyone deserves a shot for his play this season, its Tony. I'm sure Donovan will vouch for him, Tony has shut down LD multiple times (and Shea)
Beltran has played very well the last few games, but I still don't see him playing as consistently well defensively as Wingert. He is getting better all the time tho and has much more upside.
IMO - Beltran is a better 1v1 defender, but isn't as productive getting forward. He had a stretch this season where he was really adding to the attack, but I haven't really seen it in his last few outings. If he can consistently put that together then I think he may enter the discussion.
I agree 1v1 Beltran is better, but I also think he gets caught out of position more frequently than Wingert. I'm glad we have them both tho. Unlike Russel who I think may be coming to the end of the road. Topic for another thread tho.
who crossed the ball in when Espy put his header right at Mondragon? Which wing did we build down all last night? The kid adds to the attack. I personally think that because he is such a good 1v1 defender he typically gets left out of the attack more than he should or would on a different team. We like to go down Russells wing because he can whip in a ball, sure. At the same time, there is a lot more confidence in defending a counter with Tony back there vs Robbie. I'd be really interested in what Tony could do on the Yanks. Couldn't be much worse than Castillo, could he?
What Beltran has really added this year is his 1v1 in the offense. He's been taking on defenders in dangerous positions up front in the attack and getting the ball in to good places. Love his improvement.
Looking ahead, the KC attendance is going to suck. Head to head with BYU v. Utah? Time to hit up the art crowd at work to see if they want free tickets. Sucks because I'd love to see both games.
my parents are going. lol. my mom sounded really excited, i think they have only been to two other games this year.
Even as a Utah fan, I have low expectations for their game against USC this weekend. Similarly, the kittens struggled against a really bad SEC team that lost its only form of attack on essentially the first play of the game. Going to Texas? Good luck with that... When both of them come in with 1-1 records, the game will lose a little luster. It'll still be a huge event, for sure, but not what it would have been. I think/hope RSL will do just fine. Scheduling the concert, despite my complaints about it earlier, might have been the best thing to do to compete.
So BYU played a really bad SEC team and Utah played a really good High School team? I can't stand either fan base anymore. I will be at the RioT with the rest of RSL's fans. Enjoy the game down there and sneaking in booze or telling on people. You know what I'm talking about.