What a great play by Boz for that first goal, he stepped out to steal the ball perfectly at midfield and had the sense to keep going forward for the return pass then sent in a perfectly weighted ball to Tino, great goal. I really don't want this kid to lose his spot on the team. The rest of the league should start getting very worried cause were definitely playing our best soccer right now. 12 goals in the last four games (including USOC) and only 3 against (today was also the 10th shutout of the season) were definitely kick a**.
What was up with the banner that said "Us - 4 Cups. You - 3 wins"? On the right side someone had hung what looked like a Mexican flag partially covering it.
I know I've been to hotter games at RFK than this one on a strict farenheit scale reading but man it was brutal out there. I'm actually surprised that both teams gave the effort they did and I didn't notice any real heat related flagging until after the 80th minute. We looked flat for about the first 20 minutes and were lucky not to be behind. I was pretty seriously worried that Chivas might give us a shock but two extremely quick goals later and it was like the old days at RFK where you knew DC was going to win and the only suspense was seeing what the final score would be. The sequence on Kovalenko's goal was about as pretty as anything you'll see in MLS. Just clinical. Yonan sucked. It's a good thing his officiating didn't cost us this match. My absolute biggest pet peeve about MLS officiating is when the ref misses a blatant foul and then calls a rather ticky-tack foul against the team that just got hosed on the missed call within 10 seconds of the no-call. Yonan did that at least four times today. How on earth could he have missed Jamil being put in a headlock? Boy, I like the way we're playing lately!
Well, I don't know what the writers intended, but DCU has won 4 MLS Cups in it's history while Chivas USA TODAY! has won 3 total games in it's illustrious history.
1. Very steamy out there today--especially on the supporter's side. Kudos to the Supporters groups who were loud (as usual), enthusiastic (as usual) and going at it like it was 82 degrees in the shade. 2. Chivas is pathetic. Lots of long balls trying to get them over the head of our outside mid or backline. There was nothing there--just no creativity. And the skill seemed to be at an A-league/USL level for the most part. 3. Interesting to me how the gameplan seemed to be for Quaranta to play the Moreno role--show for the ball (often dropping back far into midfield), trying to use his vision and ability to swtich play and distribute. 4. I think Walker is great--in a very limited role. If you don't ask him to make decisions, just to use his speed and go N-S, he's great. We should have been up much earlier but for his muffed chance early in the match. I think Walker may be one of those guys who is great at one role (late game sub) but doesn't develop into much more than that. We'll see. 5. I think those claiming to be prophetic about Kovalenko need to look at the context. I thought he had a fine match. But realistically we had to move Dema or Petke--we offered both in trade and it was Petke who people jumped at. That was mostly about cap and roster space. I'm glad he's playing well and when he does, he helps the team greatly. But the same could be said of Gomez, Moreno, Gros, Olsen, Adu, Boswell, Wilson, etc.--when one of our regulars really steps it up than this hard working team gets much better. BTW, my take was that I saw a number of plays where Chivas players were seeking to goad Kovalenko into retaliating--and he did not. 6. While Chivas isn't much competition, this was a good test for us. For one, we were missing key players and yet we were still able to possess and break down their defense (granted, it didn't take much to break it down). For another, they tried to test us in the air repeatedly. Other than Boswell, we're not strong at that and it's an issue for Rimando. So to be tested that way and post a shutout, that is good for this team. 7. Props to Knave who correctly pointed out in the pregame thread that once you get a goal on the goats, they lose all defensive shape. That was certainly the case today.
I was surprised at how few Chivas fans showed up for the game. I was expecting a good showing and a game with a lot of atmosphere. But, not many fans can support what they put onto the field. I thought they were going to show MLS how to market a team. Now all we can learn is how to make a "superteam" from Alexi. On the field, Chivas made a game of it for the first thirty minutes. Then their midfield disappeared and left the defenders alone. That was the game. Nice to see Walker have a good game. I don't know if it was a coincidence that the DCU attack opened up when Olsen had to leave the game. I'll leave that up to one of you tactical geniuses to decide. The team defense was good once again. I guess that is why Rimando leads the league in shutouts and the team leads in fewest shots allowed. Now if DCU can continue LA's road troubles, get a couple of new players and some back from injury, I am optimistic for some more silverware by years end.
Yeah I know what the banner meant. it just looked like somebody tried to deliberately cover it up on one side.
Too right, mate! Sitting on the quiet side, I was seriously impressed by the Barra and the SE today. I mean, in that heat...forget about the guys on the field, I know where the real athletes are!
We now have as many wins as we had all last year. In eight fewer games. With only two (potentially) difficult games remaining. New England and Dallas. It's only going to get better, folks.
I said similar to my son about 60 minutes into the game. He is getting better by leaps and bounds. The MNT is not out of the question but probably post Germany.
All things considered, a great effort by our boys in Black! It was absolutely brutal out there, I certainly don't know how the hell they can go the full 90 in that heat. Great to see Tino, Walker and Dema get some nice lookin goals. Dema's truly was beautiful. And I think there were a couple times where Rimando looked truly bored. Oh and for anyone who says Boz doesn't deserve ROTY consideration... he's been the center back for count 'em TEN SHUTOUTS, and two goals. this kid is a stud and then some. Great job by everyone in the supporters groups, nice flag thing goin on in La Barra.
Oh and how can I forget Namoff, man, its great to see him back. Truly a bedrock on this team, extremely reliable and was playing like he hasn't missed a beat.
Well, he tied his own hands. There should only be one consideration for choosing players: quality. Yet he, on his own, decides he's going to use genealogy. If this is what he gets as a result, that's karma.
Excellent game in that we owned these guys. Even greater to see us go on a run during a difficult stretch. As for the folks expecting to see the Chivas fans, they were there. They just had nothing, absolutely nothing to cheer about. DC is looking solid to go down the stretch. How awesome it is to be a fan of DCU!
Had to return the post fixage. Chivas won't be a great team overnight with their new guys, but they're bringing in a couple of guys who could be MLS studs on their frontline, and I'm quite happy United got to play them just before it. I haven't read through the thread and this could have been said already, but in regard to your question about Kuffour, perhaps the team is taking it cautiously with him after the heat exhaustion/stroke (?) trouble he had in Missouri?
It was a little on the warm side, ayup. Thanks for your concern for G-Man in the heat. I was impressed with both sides playing in that. Just brutal going 90. Thank God they finally have a break from 2 games a week. Mark