DC United 2- Houston Dynamo 0. Three points, another clean sheet and until Saturday at least, 2nd place in the Eastern Conference! This match was all about partnerships blossoming- Rolfe and Espindola- up top, each with an assist for each goal they each scored. It doesn't get any better than that to demonstrate what being a team is all about. Boswell and Parke- stout again, putting out fires and doing the best to simplify the game for Bill Stretch-Armstrong Hamid, a very clean sheet tonight. Korb and Cristian- balancing act getting forward and giving good service repeatedly. Kudos to Korb tonight- exceptional defending and keeping his offense simple, playing within himself. All of Arnaud, DeLeon and Neal- their interchangeability confused and confounded Houston all night. All in all, probably the best complete performance from this team this year.
Wasn't in a place to see it, but why is there suddenly chemistry when there was none? Did Beninho get that smart that fast?
From what I could see, we had a workmen team tonight, it just clicked all over. Rolfe and Espindola were special to watch tonight, giving constant high pressure, and class service and finishes on each of their goals. Their pressure on Houston's back 4 set the tone- lit a fire into DeLeon who looked more of his rookie-year self, making hard runs and nearly finishing a couple chances. Pairing him like this with Korb on the same side- is going to wear some teams out. That, and one of Houston's top forwards Sherrod got injured and subbed out very early in the match.
Rolfe -- MOTM I used hate the little so and so but when he is on your team one has to appreciate the skill and work rate . The rest of the team looked like a top class MLS team for long periods.
Seeing them frustrate Houston to ensure the win was the best part. It reminded me of when Ben would irritate a player to get into his head then completely unhinge him by making a borderline tackle, give him crazy eyes and a shit eating grin and skip away like a madman.
That was refreshing. We beat Houston. I mean we beat them but good. I remember too many nights our boys getting bullied off the park. Rolfe has been a godsend. Espindola looks better than ever. The defense was solid. I feel.....good. I feel good after a DC United game!
Great win (from what I could see) - I'm still trying to figure out why Doyle who yet again got a good ball on the 18 turned and ran away from goal. I understand the need to hold possession but no one else seemed to do that when they got in scoring position. It is infuriating. James
It's interesting to see what a team is really made of when the chips are down. We're so used to seeing Houston be all smiles when playing United, but tonight when it didn't go their way, they didn't handle it too well. Part of it is they hate losing and I respect that, but the chippiness and jawing just tells me they aren't as mentally tough as I thought they were.
If I had one player to bitch about, it would be Doyle. I thought he was poor once again. He had one good play when he came back, won a ball, kept it and moved it, but otherwise he played scared or just turned it over. I'm beginning to lose faith that Doyle will ever turn into a useful striker.
Espindola is great fun to watch and Rolfe is amazing - not just his goal and assist but his clever flick-ons. One time he threw his body horizontally and redirected a header into Espindola's path. Pure class. But perhaps the best thing about tonight was how quickly we would regain possession after we lost it. Very aggressive. And speaking of aggression, can someone tell me what Ownby did to get tossed?
Ownby took a shot at Neal. I think it was a slap, and it didn't connect, but it was right in front of the AR, and it was enough.
I have several comments Espindola is GOD. This team will go as far as he takes us. I've always liked him, but correct me if I'm wrong, this is the best he's ever played in MLS and I've seen him tons before. He's on track to be our best assist man since the Gomito days. Gotta comment on Fernandez since he was a hot topic last week. He had an idiotic brain fart around the 20-30 minute mark. Parke flips out on him and my gut was telling me that the discord between those two could mess with our mojo. But the next 60 minutes Fernandez really put together a perfectly clean performance on both sides of the ball ... including his signature crosses and even a 30+ yard blast on goal. That's the response of a guy who is trying and is progressing. There's no way the guy gets benched. My next comment is NDL. WTF? How can you play so well and be so incompetent when it's time to finish? Second game in a row he misses wide open chance from 6 yards out. Don't get me wrong ... I'd play him every game too ... he's really in great form beating people 1v1 consistently. Just a little more finished product please And finally I have to comment on Olsen. Congratulations to the coach (and Kasper? ). Looks like there's a plan in progress and the whole team is on the right track. My only criticism is the subs (or lack thereof). There were plenty of opportunities late in the game to get some guys minutes, if nothing else just to slow the tempo by the actual act of substitution. Not to mention that we have a super tough game in 3 days and a couple of guys could of used a breather. And of course it's always a risk riding the guys sitting on yellows into the 90th minute when you really don't have to
The 4th, who notified the ref via his headset. That's why the timing caught everyone off guard that a card was being issued.
Couldn't make it tonight unfortunately, too bad for me but I'm really happy we beat those motherf@ckers... We have again a real team, good and motivated players, but it would be foolish not to admit that Espindola and Rolfe have completely flipped out our game quality. I am a very happy person tonight.
Was traveling back from Arkansas and missed the game. Checked the score when I landed and was very pleasantly surprised. Seems like there are 5 guys out there with chips on their shoulders, Boswell, Parke, Arnaud, Espindola and Rolfe, who are determined to prove to their former decisionmakers that they had something left in the tank. Never underestimate the value of revenge as a motivating factor. The goal Rolfe scored was sublime, he faked Horst out of his jock and then fired that laser past Hall. Rolfe's quick release on shots with power and accuracy is something DCU hasn't had in a long time.
Looking at it from a standings POV this was huge. Getting a draw at home last week is more palatable when its followed by 3 points. Averaging 2 pts. per game at home and 1 pt. per game away puts you in the playoffs. And of course it keeps the home unbeaten streak which is huge for confidence. And obviously any win against Houston is really a 6 pointer since they're always a legit playoff contender.
Based on these quotes, I dont think Kinnear was particularly pleased with his team tonight. Houston Dynamo Head Coach Dominic Kinnear On what is coming up next week “We have San Jose on Sunday.” On talking to players before San Jose “Lets go win on Sunday.” On strikers injury update “He has hurt his knee and we will get more diagnoses later on.”
Great match. NDL please shoot the ball on the first touch more often. You spend too much time applying 3-4 jukes to get the perfect shot around the defender that the keeper and another defender plenty of time narrow that shooting window. Nail off a couple of shots early in the match to suck the defense in and you'll get that space to exploit them off the first move ya make. wingbacks looked good and didn't turn the ball over in bad spots too many times.