I was sorry to hear about Hamdi Salihi's untimely death. Well, I didn't hear it exactly, but that's the only reason I can think to put Tan in there when DC needed a goal in a hurry.
NYRB announcer about the Atlantic Cup "I go surf fishing- blue fish and striped bass and things like that- that's what I'd use that cup for". RBs trophy closet is soo full right now they are casting off minor trophies.
That shot was ridiculous. Nothing Hamid could do about it. A well played game at least. Some very good opportunities and great saves on both sides.
Another tie that feels like a loss. We really could have used all three points. Conde freaking wide open on that last goal. Hamid's view was shielded. I don't think he had a chance on that one regardless. sucks.
One point from the last two games is unacceptable, period. That was a spectacular finish by Conde to tie the game. DCU got lucky in some regards; both United goals would have been stopped if NYRB had decided to start a goalkeeper tonight. We can't hold the ball in the midfield without Bosko, full stop. If DCU is to be successful this season, he has to play a big role. Ben has two choices: Sink or swim with Bosko, or slowly drown with the Kitchen/Saragosa pairing. Salihi ... what else can be said? 30 minutes of play in the last six matches, including four DNP. In a stretch of four games in 11 days, he only saw significant minutes in the first one. I don't know if that's on Olsen or Kasper, but to have a designated player be so insignificant a presence is a major, major failure. R.
Very confusing. Pajoy worked his ass off, he even had a few nice plays with his back to goal. However, strikers need to score goals not just defend and run around. We could have used a real striker with a nose for goal on a few of those counterattacks in the second half. I can't believe that Tan and Pajoy are actually better goal scorers that Salihi. Something else must be going on here.
Oh my gosh, I spit my water all over the screen when I read that first sentence. i'll be sending you the bill for a new laptop. Good thing we rested Bosko and Salihi in Montreal for this game. I don't know if their legs could have taken that game AND the huge amount of minutes they logged in this one as well. Good rotation Ben.
It was a good effort, but still, we're starting Saragosa and Korb and playing Tan. We need to fix this. With this tie and Columbus's win, the standings are close as hell. 1.58 PPG for DC and 1.56 PPG for Columbus and the Crew have a game at hand.
Hamdi Salihi is still 28 years. Sometimes it takes a while for players & teams to gel. Maybe that's the case.
And I hate to say this, but the Federico Higuain pickup for Columbus is reminding me of a certain team picking up a certain number 10 when they were floundering in 2004 and went on to do some pretty decent things. I think we better be hoping for a Chicago collapse because i don't see this Crew team missing the playoffs.
De Leon had a pretty good game. The ref had a pretty bad game. DC came up one penalty kick short of 3 points. DC must not be tipping the refs properly.
In a more measured tone - there are things to like. Likes: Yes, DC tied and it felt like a loss. But they also came from a goal down and that's good to know that they can do that. Granted, Gaudette brought his own band to play "Yakety-Sax" for him, but those chance did have to be fashioned in the first place. The defense did reasonably well against RBNY's 50 million dollar attack. Conde's strike was good the moment it left his foot. Lindpere's. . . well, there were mistakes there and I would hope that Hamid saves that as well, but it was a well-hit shot. We worry a lot about DeRo and his form, but I really think Kitchen is the real lynch pin to this team. When DC looks awful, I want to strangle Kitchen and wonder why everyone thinks he is so good. He gets pushed around, panics with the ball at his feet, and clogs up space going forward. Tonight, he looked strong, confident, calm, and really kept possession, and generally moved the ball positively. I don't know if he's a bell-weather or lynch pin, but when he's good DC look good. When he's bad, DC look bad. Dislikes: I really really don't like what's going on with Salihi. If Olsen is freezing him out, this is the second "big" striker in two years and that's unacceptable. Olsen has to manage these guys and get the best out of all of them, not just the guys he likes. If this was tactical, I don't get it. Fine, Tan "puts in a good shift" but DC didn't need a good shift. With only a couple minutes left, they needed a guy, first to move intelligently off the ball and maybe get in a position to poach a nice dagger to finish off the game since it was obvious that NY was pouring on the attack and leaving the defense vulnerable. Then, DC had even fewer minutes to recover the lead and Olsen didn't put in the guy who has scored a number of goals off the bench, selecting Tan who has twice tripped over the ball on the goal line and failed to put it in - doesn't seem like a clutch player to me. Pajoy has big pluses and minuses. I think he is useful, but he can't be the tip of the spear. I wonder if a Santos-Pajoy combination would work. Just a comment and I don't want to be too harsh: DeLeon is a rookie. His breakaway at the end that finished with a soft lob into the keeper's hands was evidence of that. If he didn't have a clear cut finish or pass, he should have taken the ball into the corner. Conceding possession like that was absolutely the wrong move. IIRC, that's not the first time he has done that when he should have been killing off the clock. Otherwise, he looked pretty good out there (Actually, he looked like a beast; has he put on mass as the season has gone on?)
Not good enough, not nearly good enough. Olsen has to go, he is overmatched. It took DCU 5 minutes to get Bosko on the field after they had decided to sub him in. Backe got all 3 subs in with no problems. You could tell DeRo, Pontius and Saragosa were sucking wind after the 70th minute and Ben just sits glued to the bench talking to Yoda-Ashton. Why DCU won't make the playoffs -- Backe goes to the bench for a substitute forward and selects LeToux, Ben selects Long Tan. How you let a central defender get an uncontested shot in the last 2 minutes of regulation amazes me. Props to Conde for the shot -- but ********ing failure on DCU not to mark him. This team is regressing to the mean and assembling a group of "regressing to the mean players" like Pajoy, Long Tan, Saragosa and Neal. Really, on DCU who is a difference maker? Pontius, DeRo but he's showing his age and Najar, that's it. Some other players are OK like Kitchen, DeLeon and Jackovic. The rest, including Hamid -- blah. The poster who said Columbus is getting 5th has it nailed. They got Higuain, DCU got Pajoy, Long Tan and some ********ing Brazilian who just started practicing with the team. I hope the "Machete" chops Payne, Kasper and Olsen out of their jobs in the off season. Folks, we're looking at 5 consecutive years of no playoff presence in a league where more than half the teams qualify. That's why attendance is down, that's why enthusiasm at the stadium is down and that is why the FO and coaches should be gone.
Some good, some bad, but mostly miss those 3 points. Good: Pajoy had a really good game. DeRo was everywhere, that's his role and he will probably shine if allowed to continue in it. Henry had to get wide to do damage, they handled him tonight. NY wasn't allowed to come straight down the middle. They had to be patient and work it around in order to find the holes. Amazing save by Hamid on that Cahill header. DeLeon looked strong and full of running. Bad: This team can't pass a lick at the moment. They have to play faster, too much lingering on the ball. Possession is lost too easily. This team is too impatient. Kitchen and Saragosa are available, even if the ball just moves a little more across or comes right back. Work the ball around, back and forth, way too much boot ball. Sure, mix it in, but it can't be the go-to play. Pontius was owned by Lade. If there is a set piece, the first person to consider marking has to be Tim Cahill. Why, oh why, would Saragosa be the one chosen to mark him? This infuriates me. Soft goal near post from Lindpere. DeLeon has to do better at the end there, when a goal puts the game away he gets cute and lobs it right to Gaudette. Najar needs to learn how to pick his moments to be tricky, sometimes the simple play is the best. Deserved result, probably. Great goal from Conde, gotta tip the cap. But Kitchen really shouldn't have headed that ball back into the middle. Sure he was under pressure, but unless he was shoved he has to head it wide.
I don't think this helps ... https://twitter.com/SoccerInsider/status/241003791627984896 https://twitter.com/SoccerInsider/status/241003537444786176
Long Tan is the new Joesph Ngwena. When he comes on, you scream and yell and know that no goals are coming.
Which is what we deserve if we can't hold a lead at home in the 88th minute. What a ********ing shit show that was. TFKAM has three fresh attackers on the field and we still have two substitutes to use. WTF, Ben Olsen! Terrible, terrible management and terrible scouting and signings if we have three foreign slots sitting on the bench, one of them a DP another one a former DP. You've got to be kidding me...and neither Payne nor Kasper pays the price for this crap.