Maybe not MOTM, but you have to wonder... you put Gros in that exact same situation.... Does he: A. even time his run correctly NOT to be offsides B. Bury that ball as beautifully as Earnie Hear me, I LOVE Gros, but that was class.
What's the deal with Guevara. Every Metros game I watch he's tetering on the edge of a red card. How many players in the league could get away with treating the ref like he does? Not many. It won't matter much longer. There must be no chemistry on that team, while DC looks like it has really good chemistry. When the team went over to the away fans following the game it was awesome.
Is anybody else shocked at Bradley's tactics? The last 3 times we played the Scum, we outnumbered them in midfield, clogged up the center of the field, harassed Gaven and the Diva and only really scoring off counters and set-piece situations. And guess what we did tonight? Clogged up the midfield and harassed Gaven in the Diva getting our two goals off counters. I just thought Cheatin' Bob was a better coach than that.
What a huge road win. Esky's goal was the dagger into the Metro's heart. Kudos to the Barra and Eagles!! As Ryan said in his post-game interview, "it was like a home game."
I don't think it was a sitter at all. True, there were no defenders hanging on him, but the angle was rough, and he was facing an excellent goaltender. It was a tough shot, and he hit it. I've bashed Big Ern for the last year and a half. I take it all back now.
Great result. Esky set them up so well to get that shot off his left foot!!! Gomez had a rough start on the turf but seemed to settle down. Looked like he was cramping up to me. What is the deal on yellows in the playoffs?
First playoff win in five years! I thought that the Metros played pretty well until the first goal. It was obvious they were playing defensively and were putting three people on Moreno every time he touched the ball. It was pretty irritating to see DC keep dribbling into all the traffic, rather than being able to find the open man given that there should have been people open. Once Earnie scored, however, the field really opened up as the Metros pressed to equalize. The surface, while perhaps less likely to injure than regular Astroturf, makes the game very difficult to watch. Glen is soft: what a complete baby. I did not think the officiating crew had a very good night. Dema's card was justified but Gros's was pretty harsh. Several fouls against DC just outside of its area should have gone against the Metros. Huge goal by Alecko, even if he did just get the Hasbro GI Joe haircut. Props to the supporters who made it up there, although I fear for the league when it looks like we brought more fans to the game than they did. MPF, Ha!
I don't think that's a fair statement. The Metros are a team that started out with Tab Ramos and Tony Meola...the whiny brat thing is part of their team culture.
Fantastic win. It was interesting sitting here watching Bobby B make all those attacking subs toward the end. He must not have felt he could go to RFK down 1-0 and advance. He went for broke tonight thinking he had to at least be level at night's end and it cost his team a late goal that will really hurt the club in the second leg. Sound familiar? Stewart's chance was a sitter in that he was alone on the keeper, but the move he made to try and look Walker off, then the angle and power with which he struck make it much more of a quality finish. Great stuff. Esky's shot was just a thing of beauty. What a draft pick that guy was. Great save by Rimando at his left post in the second half off the free kick. The way the ball came back, I honestly thought it had hit the post the first 2 times I saw the replay, but he got there and made a great save and is unquestionably the number-1 guy right now. The key thing is, I think Nowak knows that and more importantly, the TEAM knows that. That's an intangible in United's favor. You can't have any question who your top keeper is at this point. Another key tonight is that for the most part, United's players were disciplined enough not to get into too much of the funny stuff to earn a stupid red card. They'll have their manpower next week, Adu has an extra week to get back to 100% if need be, and as far as we can tell, there were no significant injuries tonight (I don't think Olsen's deal was that serious - I hope). Anything can happen. We all know that. The Red Sox proved that. But I don't think the MetroStars can win this thing. United could lose it, but I don't think that's gonna happen, either. Well done, lads. Well done.
The United fan clubs looked great on TV. Didn't even see any Metros fans. I never saw a good look at Earnie's goal (given that I was depositing used beer at the time,) but he sure had a lot of space when he got the ball. That's the problem with watching soccer on TV; you just can't get the whole picture. Eskandarian's goal was a work of art. He had a good shot about 10-15 minutes before that, too. I like a guy who's not afraid to shoot. There was one time earier ( a few minutes before the 1st goal) when Moreno had the ball on his left foot 8 yards in front of the goal with no one in his way, and he cut back into a defender rather than shoot. Argh! I'm glad Stewart finished his big chance. Great game!
Gros didn't get that card--Regan bought one for dissent. I was almost dead sure on that one, and the MLS matchtracker backs me up: http://www.mlsnet.com/MLS/scoreboard/game.jsp?match=10232004_DCMET Mind you, they've got Gomez assisting Stewart's goal, not Nelsen. I only saw the good angle on Earnie's goal once--wish I'd taped it. I strongly suspect that was either a makeup call, perfectly timed, or way offside. I suspect the latter, but bad calls happen. Considering the Mutts got the benefit of every 40/60 call, let alone the 50/50s, they can't complain about one 30/70 call. Especially since Stott allowed Glen to be subbed off unbooked, instead of sending him to the showers himself for blatant diving.
True enough. Anything can happen, but the Metros are in a deep dark hole right now and we're shoveling dirt onto them. We've beaten them 3 times in a row and have a 4 game winning streak. We also smacked them back on July 3 by a score of 6-2. As Damon Runyon said, "The race may not always be to the swift nor the victory to the strong, but that's how you bet." **
In the words of Thomas Rongen. "Without a doubt." With Cowlumbus losing, their streak is over, and we are the team to beat. This was a massive win, although it looked a bit dodgy at times, our boys pulled it out. Earnie - all is forgiven ! Maybe his bashing his head in the sidewall last week after missing an open shot cleared the cobwebs out. Sweet finish on a tougher shot than it looked. Nicky was huge between the posts -slapping shots away right and left. I thought that Guevara was going to finally break thru with all the chances he got, but didn't happen. Nellie was massive too- we need to do whatever we have to to keep him. We're going to have a good time next week at RFK- * I will personally thank as many Barra/SEs/Nortenos as I can, because on Comcast at least, this looked like a home game - and you could tell the players felt it, too ! *and with a little more help from NE, the Division Championship too !
As happy as I am about the result, I'm not as exuberant as many of you seem to be. This team has ripped my guts out too many times to get cocky. Tonight's result was fabulous and I couldn't be more proud of the team and the travelling fans. However, I'm not taking anything for granted, least of all advancement to the finals.
What a great win! I can't wait for next week at RFK when we destroy the Metros. I hope we give them the beatdown of a life time. You know, one so bad that they never recover, a mythic soul crushing defeat that will make Guevara's great grandchildren embarrased. I just have to say that DC United have the best fans in all of MLS! Props to the traveling supporters!
Getting cocky is part of what it's all about. We can't go to games and cheer properly with a wishy-washy attitude, can we? We know we're the best! Live a little! I think what you're worried about is the PLAYERS getting cocky.
Esky scored and when he scores he starts scoring in bunches. I'm getting more and more excited everyday.
I didn't see a conclusive replay on Earnie's run, but the same sideline official who had flagged him twice before let it go, so I had to assume he was on side. Anyone else get nervous when Dema picked up his yellow? I get panicked because I see us shortly playing with 10 men. I was hoping Peter would pull him off before we went down a man, but somehow Dema kept himself together. Another thing. I love what Jaime has done for us this year (and the glory years also) but he is getting dispossessed too often for my tastes. I know he gets swarmed, which is one reason he is often successful, because he permits someone else to go unmarked. But he passes up shots in favor of trying to make the perfect pass. It's the old adage of letting the best be the enemy of the good. It's heresy, I know, but I think I would consider pulling him at some point in the second half, as we did early in the season.
Not true. The first two offsides calls were on the opposite wing in the first half. Yes and no. I was worried, but more about Dema getting a stupid card next week and missing the conference final. Same with Nellie.