Post-match: DC vs. Houston Dynamo 5/21/14

I saw that, too. Say what you will about Olsen, win or lose he has time for the media, he doesn't act like a big baby.

 

I don't blame Kinnear. It's not often his team gets beat physically like that. They may lose their share but they don't knocked off the ball as easily as we did tonight.

 

So was it worth the pain, nobletea? I bet it was!

 

This was one of those games that makes me think Ben might actually have a plan. We had a similar game against NY two years ago where everyone looked to have a little bit of the spirit of Ben in them and we didn't just outplay the opposition but we pushed them around and antagonized them without playing dirty.

I think everyone remembers Ben's hustle but he wasn't just another in a long line of US college players who gave 100% - he was the top young American player. He was skillful and tricky and smart. Not skillful enough to become a star but he was far more than just another blue collar player. When the team is playing well this is what I see - lots of bite but also some good teamwork and some freedom for skillful players to do what they do. Espindola is the epitome of this (and I wondered last year why we didn't make an effort to get him since he seemed exactly like Ben's type of player).

So happy to beat Houston.

 

Also, Bruin was schooled by Boswell tonight for 90 minutes. He'll have his chances later on to redeem himself but Boswell read him on almost every run and head ball opportunity Bruin had. Its nice to finally have a defense that can hold its own with almost any MLS team's offense.

 

Had my first night of class so I had to check my phone during breaks. I did wear my jersey to class, though

Rolfe absolutely shook Horst en route to scoring. Awesome little cut.

Espindola continues to impress.

Very, very pleased.

 

I was wondering how the match would be Geiger'd.

 

I will be honest, I did not think that Espindola would have this much of an impact. I was wrong.


He and Rolfe are the engine of this attack right now.

 

Eddie who?

 

How'd you feel getting up on the big screen at RFK in your Rolfe jersey?

 

That was a fairly complete performance.

Oh, there are things that I could pick at, most notably the lack of substitutions, but that was really enjoyable game to watch. I had forgotten how much I dislike Sarkodie and Will Bruin and just how pleasant it is to see them sad and frustrated.

I don't think Saturday in Boston will go as smoothly, but I don't rule out DC's chances. If they have the energy left to play like they did last night, they won't be going into New England looking for a draw.

 

That was a lot of fun, especially after one of the weirdest tailgates in a long time. Ben looks a lot smarter when there are good players on the team.

 

This was the other highlight of the game for me (Espindola's channeling of Benny's madness inducing skill being the top highlight).

"Revenge of the DotCom" against Bruin. Bobby knows the history between Bruin and DC having been on both teams. Now that he's wearing our colors again, he took it to task to shut him down.

 

Rolfe is a huge surprise for me. I can't say I follwoed him much while at Chicago, I thought he was goign to be half done when he arrived here.

He still has plenty left in the tank and has great tidy touch, passing ability, and works great with espindola as a winger who cuts in and can score goals as a forward too when playing from that position.

Espindola was FANTASTIC last night, but his temper worries me. He was getting into it with Houston's #8.

Beyond that though, the step over gaol was SEX. I hope EJ can start gel'ing with this team , because if we can start finding the net...those 3 would be hell for any team to play against.

I still want a more 'creative' mid to provide opportunities for Espindola, Rolfe, and EJ...but right now I am happy where we are. Lets keep adding to this.

 

Fantastic, attractive stuff last night. I was wrong about this team early on, I admit it, although we still look worse with EJ in.

 

Starring: That was our most complete game of the year.

Also: Glad Ben does not do sideline interviews anymore.

With: Espindola and Rolfe, excellent.

And: As said on Twitter a few games ago, this team is "Island of Misfit Toys" and not in a bad way.

 

Both goals were very well taken. Rolfe's shake and bake move was a great piece of skill. To channel my inner Quaranta, Espy's goal was "magic". Just a phenominal finish, I think Espindola is the kind of finisher we haven't seen since Emilio.

 

I loved emilio for the goals he scored, but he was no finisher. I would say more of a poacher. Espindola is lethal with his break away speed and ability to break guys 1v1. Emilio was amazing at being right place, right time to finish clutch goals similar to Wondo.

But yes--I hope we can get a 'emilio' season out of him, because he's a huge part of our attack right now. Happy for the guy as he's been thrown out of NY because they didn't think he was 'worth it'.

 

I read this entire post as if you were whispering seductively into a microphone.

 

I was driving back from Norfolk during the game so I was only able to keep track of things through the PBP in Match Center. Really wish I could have watched it live!

Something I keep in the back of my mind when ever I see our lineup is that we STILL have Pontius on his loooong injured stint and when he comes back we could easily slot him in on the wing with last nights lineup and it would be devastating! (That's if he can regain form as well...)

 

LOL that was great.

Good point. That is very Olsen'esqe.

 

We had a 2-0 lead and were killing off the game in the dying minutes. Playing "keep away" was the right thing to do in my opinion.