I didnt get to see the match and I haven't heard much at all about how and what Martins did. Can y'all tighten my up on this?
He had a terrific game for you guys. Held the ball up really well and caused problems for the Metros defense all game. Blew a 2 v. 1 opportunity with Cerritos on this left but besides that, I don't see how you can have too many complaints. Nice pickup. Gives you many more options heading down the stretch and into the playoffs.
He has speed and strength that was giving Pope and Jolley problems. Held the ball well, blew a wide open chance that I am going to write off as first MLS game jitters. Looks to be a very good pickup.
Agreed. Martins was solid and you can just feel that he has several goals in him still. He also meshes well with Cerritos, Stewart, Olsen and Convey. As an option, he's in front of Esky easily.
I thought Martins had a great first outing. He is strong to the ball and is a good target forward. A little more time with the team and he should score. He blew by defenders at least of couple of times so he is deceptively fast also. As stated earlier he did blow a 2 on 2 break, with a shot well wide of the goal. First game jitters maybe or just a bad touch. I agree with Ursula - he is way in front a Esky. Martins seemed to be giving defenders trouble with his size and strength and also worried them in the air. That along with Stewert's service really made out set plays and corners kicks look dangerous. -The Far Side
Damning with faint praise Rating ahead of Esky is no prize. I think Stewart is obviously better in mid than forward, but Q2 has played extremely well and deserves to get back in the lineup. Martins should be the odd man out, with Stewart moving up top, though it wouldn't surprise me to see Convey benched. I think Martins would be better coming off the bench if we need offense.
After clamoring for a while for the team to sign him, I was just really happy last night that he didn't make me look bad! Though, I did take it kinda personally when he muffed that breakaway. Seriously, it was a nice first game and he showed he can bring a dimension to this team that it doesn't have up top and he showed he's not out of place at this level.
He sinks one on the next breakaway, and there'll be a chant. Of course, if he misses the next one, there might be a different chant. BTW, I thought he was right to take the shot. The defender was waiting for the pass the whole time. He just shanked the shot. Next time...
I'll forgive him the breakaway muff. Both Olsen and Stewart had clear shots on goal that they hit weakly at the keeper. Happens.
I was really really impressed with Martins. Looks like he just had some jitters or something but once that gets worked out he's going to be great. I was very surprised with how fast he is. His body size speaks for itself but it's hard to find a guy who can move like he can.
Martins is someone who should definitely stay with this team. The combination of talent and hard work is fun to watch.
Considering DC United was playing against their biggest rival, on their home turf, Thiago did very good. Thiago was a physical presence up front that DC United has lacked for a long time.
Well, those of us who traveled to the Swamp last night improvised one when he was subbed out of the match - chanting "Thi-a-go" in the style of our "Di-a-blo" chant Martins was wonderful last night. Very strong, great in the air, and superb at holding defenders off the ball. When he gets the ball with his back to goal, a Mack truck can't push him off of it. And, as another poster noted, deceptively fast. He's a great pickup and, more importantly, he makes our entire team tough to defend on set pieces. If I'm the coach, he starts for the rest of the season.
i was pretty damn impressed with him. not only could he win and hold balls with his back to the goal, but he also made some very nice plays running to the goal. he is comfortable trapping and controlling balls on the run and in traffic. he certainly exceeded my expectations. he definitely added a nice dimension to the attack. i liked the fact he seemed to be comfortable playing the thinking, switching kind of game stewart/cerritos are beginning to knit together but also brought some skills/tendencies that ronald and earnie don't really have. it has been a long time since we had a player who could hold attacking space in the center of the park. if he can become someone like that, cerritos,convey,stewart,olsen,dema,marco,q2,stoich could switch out runs from the flanks and midfield. these kind of guys running behind some strong holding forward play by a guy who wins balls in dangerous space. he definitely showed some glimpses of this. i like the thought of making a stretch run with all these options. and thiago could really give us a chance to fully utilize the tremendous number of attacking options. he really took it to the scum, he didn't play like a guy in his first match. i was very impressed at his aggressiveness. he seemed a pretty heady player too. i don't really think it is overly useful to compare him to esky. he is much older than esky and is clearly more experienced and veteran pro.