Ugly match... but 3 points nonetheless. Calen Carr looked good. On WWSM 06 it shows him with Chicago having a 1 out of 20 in passing. He looked more like a 12 or 13 today to me. Still don't understand why Sanneh is playing CD especially when the later sub brings Curtain in for that spot. Was Mapp subbed at half? Didn't see hime at all, or at least I don't remember him even touching the ball. Maybe due to the blurriness of the screen. We really need him to be consistent, but it doesn't seem like Mapp and Consistency are synonyms. Dang it! I thought Dasan did well, although I think we should rename him Moony because he can't keep his shorts up Well, Good Job, Fire, nonetheless. 3 points feels good!
That ref was a walking yellow card dispensing machine. Calen Carr - yellow card for persistent infringement and it was only his second foul of the match. BS
A totally unexpected outcome !!! Let's all be happy (at least until this Wednesday. And, depending on the outcome of that game the happiness could continue.)
It's nearly impossible to watch the Fire with a 1-0 lead at the end of the game without crapping yourself...10 goals against after 75th minute mark this season which is the most in the MLS...not pretty but great to see some wins comin on
Heaps did get a yellow at the same time that Barrett did. CHI -- Chad Barrett (caution; Pushing, Holding) 31 NE -- Jay Heaps (caution; Reckless Foul) 32
What he said. If Dave Sarachan or anyone else thinks that the Fire can play 10 more games with this "play defense at all costs" mindset, and win 1 more of them, they are on crack.
The reason you have an ulcer is that 9 out of 10 times, bunkering that early on a one goal lead bites you in the ass. This is that tenth game. We should enjoy it while it lasts cuz we got damn lucky tonight to win a game where both teams had a contest to see who could suck worse.
One player that I was dissapointed in today: Chad Barrett. It seems that half of the boards wants this guy to start based on his play when he comes off of the bench. The problem as I see it is that Barrett almost never plays with that same kind of passion when he starts. Today was just another example of this.
And yet among our leading goalscorers, he's got the most goals per minute. Even more surprising is that only Andy Herron comes close to Chad's goals/minutes ratio. Go figure.
Heaps uses Barrett's face for leverage on his jump, then makes a meal out of getting pushed? What a stinking Heap.
Give the coach some credit for using his subs and putting them in early enough to make a difference. Earlier in the year he was doing neither.
Coming off the bench in the second half gives a player with fresh legs an advantage, plus you know that you only have to last for 20-30 minutes. If you start you've got to pace yourself.
Well, he's paced himself to a pace of 1 goal for every 222 minutes in games that he's started this year, counting the open cup game. 9 starts, 667 minutes, 3 goals. Interestingly enough, the fire are 4-1-4 when he starts. In the 7 games where he's come off of the bench, he's scored 2 goals (both against RSL) in 114 minutes...I goal per 57 minutes played. The Fire are 2-4-1 in these 7 games. He has not seen any action in 7 games. The Fire went 2-3-2 in those 7 games. So, while our record is much better when he starts as opposed to when he doesn't, I'm not sure that he does a ton when he's in there.
New England is a team missing it's character and soul without Dempsey. Typically when you win a game one can say, "We outplayed our opponent". Today, our opponent's effort was less than that of the FIRE. Yes, it was ugly, but it's three points so be thankful for small miracles.
I think that Dave actually used his subs very effectively today. We were getting smoked in the first 20 minutes of the second half. His subs changed the pace and allowed the Fire to hold some possession for a while. They seemed to get reorganized. Moving Sanneh up into the defensive mid position scared me, but his poise seemed to help there.
Three subs, Sega, Carr, and Curtin, all part of DS's plan to play a hover round zone-like defensive scheme, where we would allow them to pass freely and then try to shut them down if they got too close, say....in the box. A great way to wear down your defence and make your attack impotent. Even when we got a rare break, we had guys running to the corner flag to waste time with 20+min. left, or, there was noone to pass to. Great plan Dave, and good subs. With Jaqua by himself alone up top, we should have cemented the game in the 60th. I'd rather lose than watch my team sit back for shooting practice. We were fortunate to win.