Good news, 3 points. Bad news... we were awful. Playing a man up and literally smothered for our lives. Kamara out with who knows what with a guy who had not one.. 2 chances to bury it and completely screwed it up. Flores' free kick was a thing of beauty. This is going to be painful..
I didn't think Asad would be able to go 90 today before the game, but why not sub in Yow at that point? What better time to get a young player minutes then when you're up a man, and the other team is pushing forward. The instructions to Yow would be really simple. If you get the ball and there is only 1 or 2 defenders between you and the goal go at them, otherwise head to the corner and keep possession. Olsen is way, way too conservative a coach, not that I expect him to change at this point.
I feel like Asad has lost his first step, Flores has lost his craftiness, Gressel has lost his accuracy and Felipe has lost his ability to move off the ball. Let's hope Pipa is a Wiz.
I agree with the sentiment that those players weren't as advertised today, but I think they'll play better. Except Felipe, I thought he was pretty good today and was one of the only hopes to link play. I'd have to rewatch to really see what Moreno is doing out there. Seems invisible, but I don't want to judge because I wasn't looking for him like I was Flores and Gressel.
DC hasn’t had an impact player like Pizarro since Gomez. That’s a DP. We have DPs that are good but not game changing. Flores is better than DC can seem to get out of him as I watched him in LMX (not him specifically but you can see that he can play better with tactics and players that understand tactics). Pizarro is a Vela style DP. Flores isn’t. Miami without Pizarro would be Cincinnati and DC without Flores or Gressel wouldn’t look much different.
Back from the match -- finally. In the words of the late, great Trailer Park Supervisor Jim Lahey, " boys, that was a shitpuzzle of a game." So, pregrame, I go to my garage, a prepaid season pass, and it's closed. Call Parking Panda, they say no one's home -- no shit. Go to the lot on Half Street, way to go DCU, sign up with parking contractors who take your money but don't deliver the product. So the game starts. Gressel with a great hockey assist on Miami's goal. Then Kamara goes down, then Mora. So I say to my daughter, we're down to the Estonian Messi at forward and this team now has no natural left back after knowing that position was an issue since the end of last year. At the half, I figured this team may not be good enough for the Wooden Spoon. Second half begins and my daughter says the first 5 minutes will be the tell. Of course she's right. Miami's second goal is wiped out and Torres is red carded. DCU equalizes. The guy in the row in front of me says, quite a bathroom break I took. So, understanding the forces at work, I get up to go piss. Of course, Brillant gets the second while I'm at urinal. At this point, the DCU strategy should be ply their customers with beer and have them in a continuous line at the men's room. Supporters' Shield I say. Some observations: Fisher crying uncontrollably at the end of the match. He played great and what a job coming back from that knee injury. You really had to feel for the guy -- MOTM for sheet guts. Flores looks good and getting more aggressive. Gressel still looks like an overpayment. He really benefited from Martinez, there is no one on DCU even remotely similar. Best moment of the match, Ref does a drop ball near the DCU goal late in the second half. Hamid picks the ball up and goes to whip it to Fisher. Ball sticks to his hand and he almost throws it into his own net. All this match needed was an outbreak of coronavirus to hit the trifecta.
Can you imagine the howling from fans if Olsen had subbed in a forward with the lead and given up the tying goal?
Keeping in mind DC United was at home in its 25th year against an expansion team that hadn't yet scored a goal, the Washington Post headline begins "D.C. United survives..." And keeping in mind Ben Olsen has been with the team for the past 23 years as a player or coach, Ben: "We are still figuring it out."
Second game out top attacking players have been together. Then the big guy goes down. Then a defender. All in the first half. Yes, its all Ben's fault. - ARE YOU ********ING SERIOUS ??
I take issue with whoever ragged on Sorga for messing up two chances. I thought he played like a genuine striker - he stretched the field, got himself open, and showed some good ball control. Yes, he should have taken his first shot a step earlier, but all in all I will be disappointed if Kamara returns to the starting lineup.
Ben is garbage as a coach. We should be zipping the ball all over the place with a man advantage and going for the 3rd goal. Instead, Miami pinned us back and we were lucky to get out of there with the win. DC was completely outplayed. If their defender doesn't get the handball Miami finds a way to win even if DCU gets a goal on that breakaway -- which you know wouldn't have happened.
I went to AF today, probably one of the not many games I am going to see this season, in the first half I thought we were back in 2013, then I liked the comeback but way too much sufference against a team playing one man down; one more reason to cheer other than the win, the guy with the red card was Roman Torres, the former Sounders thug. Last but not least, I have to give credit to Felipe, something I thought I would have never done: knowing everybody hated him with a passion in DC, he arrived on his tip toes last year, played well and especially giving it all, I think he always does his part, and today he came under the goalstand to fire up the crowd, obviously he cares. I couldn't say the same for all other players, present and past.
I was in the DC area for work this weekend and decided to go to the game. I do greatly appreciate y'all building the stadium literally across the street from an Army base with free parking. My thoughts on the game: The DC United attack looks... awful. It looked awful before Kamara went off. Throughout the game, DCU got the ball in dangerous spaces and then just failed to turn it toward goal, failed to shoot, failed to look for the incisive pass. The buildup and energy improved substantially when Fisher got on the pitch. He looked quicker, he looked like he wanted to go upfield with the ball instead of just holding the ball. I don't know much about him, but he was way more fun to watch. What is Canouse's purpose on the field? He was lined up as a defender, but he didn't actually do much defending. He also added precisely zero to the attack. Several times, Gressel would make a run, be totally ignored, watch Canouse give the ball away, and glare at him. Gressel gave the ball away a couple of times in bad areas, but he and Flores looked like the only two in black on the pitch who were consistently trying to build offensive momentum. I'd love to see Fisher and Gressel on the same side of the field with Flores in the middle and a true striker up top. If Asad can return to some kind of form (he was not great today) on the other wing, you wouldn't even need your striker to be world-class. Just willing to make a run and take a shot. Thanks for the hospitality and congrats on the win!
It was dispiriting to see us back on our heels even with a man advantage, And when we did find ourselves in the attacking third it was usually only because of a long ball to Sorga, who had few teammates in a position to help. I'll take the win, gratefully, but foresee a long, painful season ahead. Can Ben put his ego aside and ask for Higuain's help with the entire squad and its tactics, and not just be a mentor to younger players? He may not be fit to play but he's surely fit enough to coach!
Actually, I thought we were awful. Yes we scored 2 goals on set pieces but other than that we were pretty bad. I still don't see where the goals are going to come from. This team lacks ideas in the front 3rd. We desperately need a DP level striker. We were dominated for large stretches of the game by an expansion team with a TOTAL of several weeks together, playing a man down. You really see how much this team misses Paul Arriola. His work rate and industry just opened up space in the attack. Without him DC are very static. The midfield is disconnected from the forwards and just doesn't provide sufficient service in dangerous areas.
I went to my first United game yesterday! As a neutral soccer fan, I feel bad for y'all, but I was equally impressed by the fans and the game-day experience. You're a class act. The proverbial icing on the cake was the fresh pupusa stand. That was amazing.
The team looks like they're playing against their best instincts. I saw a lot of hesitation. Also, these guys are pros, but how many times did a player play a short pass when the direct play was better and vice versa? I'll bet if I couldn't find a prostitute to whip me for an hour straight and decided to watch the match again I'd be able to count 30 times we did that. This is going to be the highlight of the season.
I've known high school coaches that could better direct a lost team. In his 10th year as coach, he's "still figuring it out" ???? Seriously. Don't you think an expansion side may say something like that? What was the strategy there? Does this team practice? Why bother with the preseason? Maybe send the whole team to France with Chad Ashton so they can at least learn to spread brie and drink a proper Bordeaux. #OLSENout #KASPERtoo.
Just gallows humor. Actually, I couldn't watch the MIA game. I'm sure it was awful. I hope it wasn't as awful as the Cincy game. That was the worst offensive performance I've ever seen.
I've known a high school coach who I think could do better - Keith Tabatznik (later a college coach at Georgetown, ODP coach, etc.).