Good point. He's just have to going to be ready-teddy when he does get the chance. And, yes, I know that sjqf has constantly said that JoCo was up to it. You've always had confidence in him.
Now, wait a minute, you give me too much credit. I was one of the first to panic when Pat got called to Canada.
Great performance by Conway. Definitely man of the match. Must admit to being one of those with relatively little confidence in him, but he came up big. Kudos to Mullan for playing the right back position admirably. Nice to see the speed in that spot, but a couple tackles were somewhat unconventional. Didn't really look like a defender at times, and I don't blame him for hoping our defense heals. I also suspect he's the only guy who's started at forward, midfield, and defense for us this year. Lagos is slow and frustrating to watch. Seems to give away the ball too often. Wouldn't be surprised if this is his last season. Tough location for Faria's first start--at altitude in Denver. I'm hopeful he'll be a contributor in the playoffs once he's back to full form. I'm somewhat concerned about the fact that we haven't scored in two games. Sure, we lit it up the two matches before that, but it's still a bit worrisome. Over all, I'll take the point at Colorado. They're a hot team, and we were missing some guys.
Ok effort by the Quakes. Congratulations Jon on a fine performanace. However, like many, I'm still in a wait in see mode. The positive sign was his composure and attitude... Unfortunately, I don't think the Quakes match up well with Colorado in this game. Lagos and Corrales were too slow. Plus, our build up game doesn't work as well against them. We need to be faster getting into transition. Ekelund was caught too often between plays and seemed even slower than normal. Not a good game from him. I'm not too worry that we haven't scored the goals (not many goals were scored this past weekend). However, I'm concerned that we are getting little knocks (Agoos, Mulronney, Donovan, Corrales) which has players not playing at 100%. It appears our strategy was to sit back and slowly build up on offense (I.e. not get burned by the Rapids counterattack). Understandable, but frustrating to watch. Agoos and Waibel were sitting too far back in the penalty box. We gave up a free kick and Spencer almost had the goal of the week.
QA really hit the nail on the head with the comments on Ekelund who did not play well. I was hoping FY would move Donovan back to midfield, but I understand wanting Donovan and Faria to get some playing time together. Tony
I know that this may sound like heresy, but Donovan did not play well at all against Colorado. His shooting was off, his creativity was hidden and he did not at all gel with Rodrigo. He was a bit of a disappointment. I would also say that Waibel on the field really does hurt the whole squad, the Quakes build up from the back, with his preference to clear first pass last the Quakes end up giving away way to much possession. I am really looking forward to having Eddie back in the line-up. The last disappointment that I would state is that the Quakes looked as if they were playing for a tie from the middle of the second half. Don't get me wrong I am absolutely jazzed about the 50 POINTS! But, we need to get some shooting going. This could all be symptomatic of the MLS playoff format, what are we playing for now? Yeah I want the supporters sheild along side the Cup, but perhaps the team figures that the Cup is the only important goal.
Well good for Conway for stepping it up. Wouldnt have predicted it. Conway having a good performance actually isnt all that great a thing in my book. He still makes me nervous, you cant erase the kind of keeping he has shown this year with one good game, it takes several. What worries me about the single good game is that it further clouds the goalkeeping situation next year. I think we are only going to be able to keep two GKs of the three we currently have, and in some ways Id rather it be a slam dunk decision then one in which a single good game could tilt the balance in the wrong direction. Of course if Conway can consistently show good form then obviously their is no concern. And I wish him well as a player. But it really isnt about what I hope he can do, but what I think hes more likely to do. If the Quakes do keep him I hope he proves me wrong. BTW, is Mullan the only player in the league this year to start at Forward, Midfield and Defender? I know that quite a few players have played forward and midfield, and midfield and defender but cant think of one to play all 3.
My theory du jour on Conway is that he's probably a good player who had been a bit tight in his previous matches. When he made a nice save or two early in the Colorado match, he may have relaxed a bit and got some confidence, and that allowed him to continue to play well. As GK, seems like you have just a handful of critical plays in a game where you have to make split-second decisions. If you're relaxed and confident, seems like you'd have a good chance to allow your instincts to take over and do the right thing. If you're tight, you're probably not going to make the play. So at this point I'm still willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that, with a few more matches under his belt to build his confidence, he'll be a good player in the league. I attended training once and was surprised at how he yelled out stuff to his team during the scrimmage. He was loud and intense and his yelling completely dominated the scrimmage. I had to be convinced by people more familiar with the team that it was really him and not a coach. So assuming his instructions were helpful and not just annoying to his teammates, seems like he has excellent leadership qualities. Also doesn't hurt that he's 6'6".