38' and Kamara wastes a chance by saying the ball from 6 yds. The corner kick was short and okay eventually saw the ball slip through to the striker, who couldn't set.
Araujo sends a shot over, and on the ensuing break from DC Paredes gets lose with ball about 30 yds out. Stripes defense scrambles to recover and the DC teen hits weakly at Guzan.
So on the shoulda-been PK... Moreno gets the ball in the Atlanta half, on the wide left. Lofts a ball over a defender to Barco, who sprints to the left of the box, holds up just enough for the defender to go by, then slots it into the middle for an on rushing Josef. Josef makes a touch to avoid the keeper, whose boot catches Josef's foot. It's light, but it's clear. No way that should not be called. Ref has made other dodgy decisions, but right now his calls have leaned against Atlanta.
Jason longshore is a fair radio and TV commentator, but he HAS to lose the tam when on TV. Dude, if you're bald then live with it. (Like me!).
Okay, 2nd half about to start. DCU brings on Reyna to upgrade the attack. Let's see if Atlanta can adapt to an opponents change in tactics better than the past 2 matches.
Alfaro gets a yellow for blatantly holding Araujo's shirt. Stripes needing some possession to provide relief from DC pressure.
1-1 Free kick from the wide left, Reyna makes a great shot seeing Guzan out and he goes for goal. Atlanta looking lost. Again.
61' and Rossetto comes on for Sejdic. Assume that means Atlanta's intent is to try and force the match more onto DC's half. Gonna take much better passing than we're seeing so far.
72' sees Campbell on for Franco, who has strained something. Means Atlanta has only one more chance to make subs tonight.
Atlanta enjoys a rare spell of possession in the DC third. Moreno receives a ball outside the key, dribbles to the right, then sends a slow roller to the opposite corner that simply catches everyone flat footed.
Whew! That Atlanta again struggled in the 2nd half of a match is worrying. Sooner or later that will cost them if they can't undo that trend. They continue to struggle against the press, especially in terms of getting their midfielders into restoring control and possession. Not sure how much of this is fatigue but players are not moving to get open and help the back line have outlets for getting out of pressure. Guzan should not have been caught out on the free kick golazo, but he did make up for it with other great saves. Even took one in the nards, so kudos to him. Both teams had a few opportunities blown, so while DCU can feel slighted that Kamara missed two sitters they should also feel lucky that Josef wasn't given a PK and that he missed the breakaway at the 80'. Bottom line, Stripes win. They held on and did end with a flourish, so props to them.
Why do players like Moreno run away from teammates after scoring a goal. Call me blind, but I rather have Kann in goal than Guzan, I look forward to national team call ups.[
At this point it's probably a wash between the goalkeepers. Kann is very good. Guzan's distribution is not great, but he showed he's still capable of making great saves. Definitely on the back end of his career, though. Guzan is a defensive leader, and right now I'd prefer to have his experience and even his 36-year-old skills on the back line. Undoubtedly, too, Guzan sells more jerseys. If Kann beat him out for the starting job under Pineda, though, I wouldn't be too broken up about it. Kann is also quite capable and really should be a starting goalkeeper somewhere (see, e.g., Guzan for much of his career). As for international callups, I think Guzan is like the #3 or #4 keeper on the roster right now. Steffen, Horvath, and Turner are pretty solidly ahead of him right now (I'm personally not a big fan of Steffen, but I suspect Manchester City's scouting department knows more than I do). He might get a bench job occasionally or a run out for a friendly, but I suspect his days as the preferred USA keeper are done.