I don't think Chronopoulos played that well at all. He had quite a few giveaways and pushed forward too often (as usual). I also (unlike Jack) don't think Petke did anything special. IMO, Davis was pure class last night, and the man of the match. He created numerous opportunities with his precise left foot. He kept Suarez busy all evening. Other than Davis, Faria and maybe Akwari, Metro did not have a spectacular night. Let's hope DC has a decent contingent at the swamp on Thursday.. maybe the Metros will think it's an away match.
The glass is definitely at the halfway mark. Akwari - just what the Metros need - a solid defender. Petke - it was his best game in a long time. Howard - MVP, without him, we're looking up at DC. Mathis - great header, some good passes, but he's not fully back yet. Diallo - good cross to Faria, BIGGEST faker in the world. Almost broken ankle to running freely 4 nights later, puhleeeeeze. The guy's a talented head case. Chrono - sometimes came up big, sometimes just gives the ball away. Way too inconsistent for me. Needs to concentrate more. Williams - great thru-ball to Diallo, good lead up pass to Davis for goal #1. Plus, he actually tracked back. Faria - Always hustles, put 2 in the onion bag. If he'd learn how to use his right foot, he'd be in the words of Paula Abdul - fu-nominal. With all the good stuff, there was equally bad stuff. Outside of the first 2 minutes, the whole 1st half belonged to the Burn. When they wore themselves out by halftime, the Metros were able to steal a win. Had the Burn been able to capitalize on the countless loss of posessions by Chrono in the 1st half, we'd all be singing a different tune. It was enough to give us a little hope, but we're a ways away from a championship side.
Re: Re: Metros vs. Dallas [R] Gimme a break. You think Nelson deliberately took Cerritos out? Go watch the tape.
Great 3 points for the Metros. Williams must be listening because, he did a lot less dribbling (can't recall him taking the ball into 2/3 defenders much, if at all, as has been typical). One of his best games. Yes, Akwari is fast and looks like he will be a good defender but his play was mixed last night, especially the first half. Cerritos was his man when he scored. Akwari was standing with Cerritos, when Cerritos left him with his feet planted at the 18. I still like him on the pitch and like his future with the Metros. Howard was remarkable, AGAIN! The team played like a team, for one of the few times. I hope we don't try to play Faria, Diallo and Mathis at the same time. In each of the combinations last night (Faria/Mathis and Faria/Diallo) they looked good. Though Mathis scored early, which was a good thing, he was not much of a factor after that. Diallo actually was more dangerous. Speaking of......Miraculous recovery by Diallo. Just how hurt was he in LA? Was he hurt physically, of hurt by the score of the game and decided to sit it out?
Re: Re: Re: Metros vs. Dallas [R] As if you can tell on TV...but I didn't tape the game, so I can't. But be sure Ronald is going to get to watch it from his couch for a long time.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Metros vs. Dallas [R] They replayed it over and over again last night, like it was the Zapruder film. It was not deliberate.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Metros vs. Dallas [R] I taped it. Want a copy? You can tell. Because, as has been said, they showed it several times. Honestly, being a Quake fan, I have respect for Ronald. But this is soccer, these things happen. I'm sorry he got hurt and it may be serious. But it's part of the game.
The saddest part of the game for me was the final 10-15 minutes, when the Metros lazily kicked the ball back and forth knowing that Dallas didn't have the legs to even contest it. Even on the 2v2 breaks late, NY would just pull back, not even trying to score, and play more keepaway. To put it mildly, Jeffries did not manage this difficult stretch of games very well for us. For NY, I thought Akwari looked pretty good too. However, I think Davis is probably your most promising player. He is great. And Diallo just looked like a men among boys as soon as he came in. That was the turning point of the game.
Good effort by the boys and a much needed 3 points. All the stipulation of Diallo being out the rest of the season, etc etc. Obviously he's not hte one who said, hey i have a high ankle sprain im gonna be out 2-4 ok? He was obviously evaluated by the trainer or someone, so igive him credit for coming out last nite and giving it a whirl when the team needed him.
I think people are giving Chronopolous too much credit. He is extremely inconsistent, and I still think we might be better defensively with Addo and Petke in the middle, Akwari on the left, and Jolley on the right. Another main concern I have is we still concede too much in the midfield. Last week the announcers commented on how effective LA is at nicking people before they get into a dangerous spot. I don't think we do enough of that. Instead we seem to wait until people are right near the top of the box, where they really are dangerous and the risk of tackling is too great. Last night was a huge improvement in this regard, but I think we need to do more at closing down the midfield. Howard was definitely man of the match, but Mathis, Faria, Davis, Akwari, Paule, Diallo and Moore all played very well. Davis's skill are awesome. One thing I don't think was mentioned is the non-call that went Metros way on what could have been a penalty kick. In the end, this win seemed more decisive than it was.
Which is why the Cuckhold in Yellow got so much venom for the rest of the game. That was a gross non-call. Ironic considering Tuesday's game.
I think what went wrong for Broome was making a lengthy dive into the penalty area. He took a bit of contact outside the box that probably should have given Dallas a good free kick chance, and drew it out into an implausible dive.
Is my mind playing tricks on me or was there another instance where there may have been a handball in the box?
Point well taken. But I think the overall consistency of the backline would be better with Addo. Addo's not infallible, but mentally I think he's more aware than Chrono., and he's definitely more level headed than Petke.
Congrats to Metros fans on last night's game. Please excuse the following little rant: Is Clint Mathis a punk? Is he embarassed when he calls himself a professional? What I saw out there from an alleged US National team player was a good header and 58 minutes of dogging it. I saw him griping to the referee while Howard was begging him to mark someone on a corner kick. I saw him look uninspired with the ball at his feet, and uninterested in making runs up or back to create space. What I saw was a lazy man running around in a Sunday pick-up game. Ok, the previous was a bit harsh, but it did seem obvious to me that Mathis was not showing the same 100% effort I'd like to see of all professional athletes. This is more frustrating because of who he supposedly is, the wunderkind for the US team. I think he's got another year or two of these kind of antics before he's in real danger of being just another wasted talent. Any Metros fans see the same thing I'm seeing?
Sorry to hear that. I guess that Luis Hernandez "trade" may turn out to be pretty even after all, if he's going to keep this up.
Kinda like the Hristo dive in the Cotton Bowl a couple weeks ago? Kinda like the Cienfuegos dive on Tuesday? Akwari held him back with his shirt. That is all that is needed to be called. Grabbing a shirt to slow down a player is a cardable offense. It's a travesty to the game when Refs don't call it. It's a red card when there's nothing but keeper between the player and the net, which was the case here (and in LA, by the way). It was the case two games ago when Kreis went down and drew a penalty kick. Yea, he dove on that one, but the dive was beside the point--the foul had been committed. The Cuckhold Salazar made the same mistake in midfield 10 minutes before. Kreis was turning to break into the offensive half, and someone grabbed his jersey hard enough to stop him. Not slow him, stop him. Kreis went down, and Cuckhold Salazar made it a play on. No foul, no card, nothing. Does this guy know how to read? Does he have a rulebook? I doubt either.
Come on. I won't dispute a foul, and a direct free kick, and a yellow card, all could have been called, but there were Metros players in the penalty area-- Akwari was hardly the last player on a breakaway. And Broome was demanding a penalty. His histrionics, more than anything, seemed to inflame the crowd. It was an ordinary bad call, the sort that go either way, all season. And do you really think it changed the game? Dallas looked exhausted for the entire second half, and absolutely did not deserve a result.
I reviewed that play this morning and I think that maybe there was a weak foul by Nelson, but only because they were both holding/tugging on each other and were almost side by side when this happened and Nelson 'won' the tugging contest therefore appearing to have been at fault. Many refs feel that if both players are going to play 'dirty' then why not let them sort it out as long as there is no intent to harm or extremely straight forword fouling. I can't stand the way that players foul. I think that it is dishonorable but that is the way the game is played. I think that if a player gets beat or messes up, then they should face the music.