Just got back to the hotel after watching the game at RFK. From the look of the comments on the forum, the television feed gave you the correct view of the game. Sporting, from the start of the game, to the last whistle, looked 90% of end of season form. Their off the ball movement was night and day different (better) compared to game one last year. The problem tonight that seemed to be off was their movement around the 18; it's just not quite there yet. The difference I saw was the lack of the crafty movement that Bravo brought to the pitch that I did not see out of Convey. I think Convey will get there once he gets some games under his belt in the Vermes system. One of the things I really liked is that the SKC defense completely took the crowd out of the game. I don't know the attendance, but it looked like 20,000 +. They started out loud but after about 15 minutes it was just a low murmer for the rest of the game....
mlssoccer.com reports 16,314 for attendance. There was a good amount of noise from the supporters section on the feed but somewhat underwhelming overall. I can see why -- DC looked flat with DeRo not getting too many chances and few balls up except covering accidents in the SKC mid. How many SKC supporters made it out to RFK?
I like stealing a point at the end... fantastic start to the season... and now the countdown begins!!
I didn't count, but we had about 18 to 20. CJ had a big group of about 25 sitting right down front behind the SKC bench. There was a big cheer for him from the crowd when he was subbed in.
Makes me wonder how much of the hometown factor weighed on Vermes to sub in CJ -- I was a little surprised he did not start (though I am sure we will be short of the Boon-boo-ree for a good portion of the season and he wants all the time he can get). Looked like a somewhat chilly night but thanks to all of the SKC supporters who showed up at RFK tonight. We'll do what we can at LSP to help add another 3 points next Saturday!
We looked pretty good for an opening game. We controlled the flow of the game and forced them to play our game. That's a good sign to open on the road that way. We seemed to lack some creativity up front but hopefully that is something we can build on as the season progresses. Overall I give our guys kudos on their opening season performance. Things are rarely going to be perfect in your first game of the season so to see guys passing the ball around like that is refreshing. I didnt really see anyone stick out as having a poor performance and Espinoza had a great game. Kei could have done better on a couple of his chances but I liked him getting out there and doing something on the offensive end. I dont really like getting hopes up after 1 game but I like where things are headed after tonight.
Next Saturday is going to be a memorable day and that goal made it that much more so. Coming home with a chance to go 6 from a possible 6 is awesome. Can't wait!
I like this piece from the MLS story about the game: “We set five objectives coming into the game,” manager Peter Vermes told MLSsoccer.com by phone after Saturday night’s 1-0 First Kick victory at D.C. United. “The first was to get a shutout. The second was to get a goal from the run of play. The third was to get a goal off a set piece. The fourth was to pick up points from this game. Fifth was to get our first road win of the season. http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2012/03/10/sporting-hit-nearly-all-their-marks-1-0-win-over-dc
Fixed his quote. Because that's how we played. And I'm done with Teal. I was done with him last season. Trade him now while his value is somewhat high. Oh, and not to sound like a "Negative Nancy," but a fantastic win. Fun celebration tonight. Good way to start the season. I just figured with our experienced attack, and their subpar back line, we'd be able to do a little more. Especially if we're supposed to be the main contender in the East. It's the first game, and we still need to get back into the rhythm, but I wanted to see some more fire from players not named Roger and CJ.
I love this team - love the heart, love the hustle. I'd love to see stats, but it seems like we won a big majority of 50/50 balls, most of the air battles, and had well over half the possession. There were some first game kinks showing out there, a little sloppiness on the ball here and there, but overall thought we played really really well. Especially with it being on the road, against a team that most observers figured to be an improved squad with some real talent. Espinoza is just an Energizer bunny out there, he's everywhere and never gives up on anything. MOTM. Kamara had a great game. Defense was solid all the way across although there were a couple of bad giveaways from Myers and Sinovic; luckily nothing that ended up hurting us. The best thing you can say about the defense is DCU had I think only one shot on goal the entire game? Zusi is going to be a great playmaker. I definitely see him turning into a classic #10 attacking mid - almost every attacking play ran through him at one point. And Sapong - what more can you say about him? He's gold. What a way to start the season!!!
We won 54% of duels, had 56.6% of possession, 17 shots with 8 on goal versus their 7 with 1 on goal. We had 76% pass accuracy and 450 total passes compared to their 336.
Also, we are the 2nd youngest team in MLS. So awesome. Also also, I thought Geiger did a great job tonight. Let 'em play, kept a handle on things that needed a handle, and while he could've given out more than the two cards that got shown, he kept the game under control and ended up not needing to.
I dont think that is how we played at all. I think we showed patience in our attack instead of trying to force things which was one of our problem areas last season. Instead of trying to force the ball forward we would play it back if needed to create space and a better opportunity. I think our players showed more maturity in doing so instead of it being the appearance of us playing for the draw. We had long strings of passes put together and moved the ball forward with fluid passed versus hopeless long balls. During the game I was thinking back to the game that ended the season last year and us getting impatient trying to force things forward only to have it punched right back at us because they were not good opportunities. I was happy to see players willing to pass it around and create space rather than rush things only to ruin any chance at all. I agree on the part about Teal. CJ should have started in his position to begin with but I dont agree with your changes in the quotes by PV. I dont think we played for the draw at all. However, I am a fan of a more patient attack. One that slowly creates better opportunities versus trying to force something that isnt there. I think our shots taken and majority of possession is a good indicator of not playing for the draw. I think had we been more creative when getting the ball in towards the box, we could have scored at least another goal, if not more. Hamid made a couple of solid saves as well. I just hope lack of creativity doesnt hurt us this season without Bravo. How fortunate was DC for Kei's header to hit the bottom of Hamid's feet? That would have been an entertaining goal had it hopped right under his feet and into the net.
This. We had the advantage of watching the plays build up from behind the end line. You could really appreciate how well the squad played together when seeing the passing and how it frustrated DC's defense. The one thing that did puzzle me was why we kept pounding the right side of the field. There were long stretches of time when Convey never saw the ball in the first half. The attack seemed better balanced in the second half.
We noticed that last night, one of the times when Convey got the ball, the comment was "hey we do know we have a left hand side"
There was a nice section, I've got a good photo of it. 20 or so sounds right. There's a real nice "Boulevard Battery" banner.
I was very pleased with the team's performance last night. The patience they showed in building plays throughout the game I think bodes well for the rest of the season. And what a treat to CJ to score the winning goal in stoppage time. I want to see him play more this season.
The second half was much more watchable than the first, but a good performance. Convey looked much better than he's looked all preseason. Zusi and Espinoza had great games, and Collin just dominated on defense. I do think it's only going to be a matter of time before we see CJ starting over Teal.
Kind of upset I couldn't go to this game as it's likely the only one I'd be able to attend all season. (Unless we meet DC in the playoffs @RFK) I think we played quite well. Our finishing could have been a little better but that's about all I can complain about. We did win after all, even if it gave me half a heart attack in the process. Can't wait for the home opener. Wish I was there. 3 points from an away game.
It's funny that that highlight isn't even in the highlights of the game (at least it wasn't last night).
Kudos to team. We were boss last night. I too was a little puzzled over Convey. There were maybe a few opportunities to switch the ball to his side last night, but still very little presence from him. During the first, Kamara switched to he left, and naturally, the ball seemed to follow him that way. Convey's second half was better than his first, but thats not saying a lot. I didnt like it when we signed him, but you have to give him some time. At this point, He and Bravo strike me as almost night and day opposites. I could be wrong, but I just dont see Convey getting into the box with any regularity like we saw from Bravo. Thats not necessarily a criticism though. Convey and Sinovic are going to have to work together a lot to improve that wing. BTW, did anyone else see the animated verbal discussion between Kamara/Zusi in the first half? I thought Kamara/Zusi/Meyers were doing well attacking on the right in the first half, but at some point someone mustve done something? A well deserved 3 points.
Four out of five is pretty good. If Hamid had not gotten lucky on Kamara's header, it would have been a clean sweep!