Well, I sure didn't expect that. As @NicktheGreek noted, this was a Sampdoria thrashing of Napoli (minus the Quagliarella back heel golazo). While the entire team showed "grit", the difference here was two individual feats of brilliance by Acosta and Hamid being Bill Hamid and standing on his head in goal. Opare still can't move the ball to save his life and Stieber isn't playing like a guy trying to regain his starting job. Arriola was very good at RB and I also thought Segura and Moreno put in very good shifts. Segura held possesion in tight spaces and really didn't put a foot wrong all night. I have come to really appreciate Moreno paired with Canouse -- they work well together. Rooney had some bad touches, but that flick on to Acosta for his second goal was sublime. Acosta really is maturing. On both of those goals he waited, held possession and took his shot when he saw the opening -- no fancy flicks, dribbles or whatnot, just a cold calculating goal scorer. Getting Rooney has freed both he and Acosta to try some daring things. Delighted in the result, still can't figure out how it happened.
I like Atlanta generally but the moment of the match was Moreno calmly staring down Almirón after his blatant tactical foul in the 2nd half. I can't remember a recent DCU player who could pull that off without losing their OWN cool in the process
This is a team that's fun to watch. I've been liking Arriola, and today he had a monster game. It's fun to watch everyone start to click now that Rooney is here. Before his arrival, I could see moments of quality, but I could also see exasperation as we gave up soft goals. Now with Hamid and the defense playing better, this is a team that can win any game. However, you could see Atlanta's a top team - if they make those early missed shots, this is a different game. And when they get Garza back, well.
Very happy to be so wrong. Though I was thinking the boys were looking a bit gassed after three games in in one week (and was wondering where the subs were), they poured it on when they had to. Two sublime finishes by Acosta.
Arriola was constantly out of position in the first half. To the point even Ben Olsen noticed it and mentioned it to the FOX broadcasters. I think he got lucky going forward and that’s what broke Atlanta’s back. It could have been us with better tactical acumen from the ATL midfield. Thx, Jay!
A heck of a game. Hamid a security, Acosta on fire, Segura really precise, Rooney orchestra director, Arriola a 360 degrees player, where you put him, in front, in the middle, in the back, he always delivers and never stops running, he has seven lungs. Great game. Like many, I didn't see this coming, especially after the Bennyball show of wednesday. Three golden points.
This game is a reminder that Brad Guzan should never be on the USMNT. The better keeper was wearing red.
Hamid whiffed on a cross, fell back into his goal on Atl goal, but was awesome after that. Great.job. When Arriola channels his intense energy to winning battles, he's a favorite. Deck chairs having their best moment. I know Moreno/Canouse put Olsen in his happy place. Its basically s two striker system now, someone has to run off Rooney. It's an instant press breaker. Lucho and his new shooting boots are a total surprise to me, he was a top performer tonight (motm).
In praise of Lucho, think of the goals he's been scoring lately. The Christian Gomez like header against the grain to beat Orlando. Making a long and hard far post run and hammering a left foot shot at a tight angle upper 90. Very DeRo. And then these two tonight, looked a lot Jaime. Let the ball run, dance around it, quick, tight touch, goal. If he will just keep making runs off Rooney, along with everything else he does, he'll be an even littler Giovinco, with a matching price tag.
If he keeps it up many will be tempted to describe goals from Gomez, DeRo, and Jaime as very Lucho-like.
Not every day you see Ta-Ta out curse Olsen. His explosive Fuk You Too! was caught clearly on audio and video and drew an apology from the announcers. What was that about?
That was the other thing that caught me by surprise. I've not seen Atlanta much at all given the amount I was traveling this summer. (Not as much as DCU though...groan). But they certainly didn't play like a team that had their stuff together enough to be on top of the league. They seemed super easy to get unhinged. Ben as a coach seemed to do what Ben as a player did so well. Get into an opponent's headspace and undo their calm.
Not to mention he was playing a position he hasn't played before. His play was really smart, and for someone who likes to attack up the wing, he knew when to get back into position to defend.
See my comment about them losing their cool when they're losing, LOL. I have no doubt Atlanta came to DC expecting to roll over us -- and win by several goals. Hell, I sort of expected it. Good thing the team didn't get the memo.
For what it's worth- this, from the Atlanta Urinal Constipation: On a hot, humid night, made worse by playing on grass that looked thick, tall and therefore slow, D.C. United took a 1-0 lead on a goal from Acosta . . . I was wondering that, too. While standing in line to get through Audi-TSA, I noticed they were watering the grass. Makes sense-- it hasn't rain here in ages . . . poor grass. Fixing the drainage on the pitch needs to be item #17 on the ever-burgeoning Audi "to do" list this off season. Then again, WTF would the folks in Atlanta know about playing on actual grass . . .
As if its not hot and humid in Atlanta - But then they play indoors - I thought for the most part our midfield was better than theirs even though we conceded possession. Stieber a played very a good if quiet game. He had to pay attention to positioning on defense and switching off with Mora, but nothing dangerous came from that side. Segura showed his speed a number of times. As a team Atlanta has a lot of attacking talent and speed and has more than we do overall. Fortunately, Segura stymied several fast breaks with his speed. Over the coming weekend, we will need Assad back.
Ben’s tactics always give Atlanta a hard time. They are a team that thrives on transitions. Their high press and counter press are how they score. A low block makes that difficult. The best chances Atlanta had were the few times we turned it over. It’s how old teams would beat us under Arena.
And they said "bodacious" TaTa wasn't comfortable speaking English! Good game. Nobody mentioned it, but I think a big part of it was Martinez lit them up for 3 goals last time - and the guys remembered. I think 3 points out of the last 2 games would have been a reasonable prediction, it just didn't happen in the way you would have expected. What happened to Fisher?
First and last goal almost identical in execution. So at least the Atlanta fans who didn't see the first one very well bcs too far, could get an almost exact replica in front of their eyes.
Which makes also think how Guzan gave away two almost identical goals. Once, your fault; twice, my fault.
When you get worked on the road, blame it on the grass, LOL. As for the drainage, I think the pitch drains well -- we've had a couple t-storms already this season that would've turned RFK into a lake. If you water the grass when it's this humid, it's not going to evaporate.
I was thinking that last night (actually this morning) when I finally got home and watched the replays. I've never been a Guzon fan, but Acosta made him look absolutely silly. asitis