Half the Barra went to La Norte at the end of regulation. Both groups went hard but couldn't overcome some terrible reffing. Props to the CSC for getting those NY phucks out safely and on their short bus back home...
I quite respectfully disagree. ... Warren may not have made great save after great save - but what he did do was play confidently. The charge he made to slide a dangerous ball away from Gaven (who was awesome tonight) and the way he charged out for punches and a couple catches were quite impressive. They might not have been "tests" in the traditional sense of the phrase, but I thought he was asked many questions and answered most of the them. Given the deflection on the goal, I'm not sure what he could have done. Cheers, ECM
Ben Olsen being out for that long is going to hurt DC United. Heartbreaking tie, but we got 4 out of a possible 6 points in the two games against the Metrostars, and they only got 1. Good game by Warren, I am comfortable with him between the pipes. The tying goal was scored at 5 minutes 30 seconds (watch the tape). 5 minutes of stoppage time means 5 minutes, not until the Metrostars score a goal. Wednesday's game should be fun!
From my vantage point, I can't say if Ivanov made enough contact for a foul to be called ... what made it questionable was, and forgive me for not remembering the players involved ... there was Metro-initiated contact seconds before that on a player other than Ivanov that should have been a foul but wasn't called. This made the subsequent call on Ivanov rather harsh. Ivanov did not defend well tonight, though I'm not sure it would have mattered who the United player was in the foul situation. Cheers, ECM
There are at least three ways to view the recent results: 1. Strategically: we're in a playoff race, faced the team right above us twice and got 4 out of 6 points from them. That's good. 2. Just Desserts: mixed. We kicked their butts and were clearly the better team on Thursday. We expected more of the same here in RFK. Instead, we regressed (attribute that to what you will--that issue is OT to my point here) and let them steal a point in the closing seconds. That stings regardless of the strategic perspective. We could have taken 6 from them and didn't--especially since we're the better team (whether we played like it is another matter). 3. Playoff Insights and Implications: Unclear. On the one hand, we didn't lose ground in the playoffs. We're playing better soccer over the past month than Metros. OTOH, Metro (regardless of the opposition) find ways to grab late goals. Does that mean they're a team living on borrowed time, a team that can find a way to get it done in clutch time or just much better coached? While there are a range of opinions on those questions (I think the answer to all three is "yes" which doesn't clarify much), it will be interesting to see what things look like come the playoffs (and assuming we're matched up against them). Because it will tell us alot about the coaches--what lessons each one takes from these matches and how the teams and tactics change.
There is no stoppage time in overtime. It has always been that way. At most Jonny wasted 15 seconds, less than that. I think that was a harsh call, as were many others throughout the game.
Re: The ref didn't beat us BS. How can you make such an ignorant comment? The refs added entirely too much extra time and NY/NJ should have been playing with 8 men. Leatch and Clark should have been sent off and if you disagree you have no clue what you are talking about. You can't play with urgency when people are tugging at your jersey, kicking at your ankles, and hacking you from behind. The officiating in this league is absolutely piss poor and I hope that DC fans are bombarding the league office with emails critical of today's officiating.
I agree, we're still in pretty good shape for the playoffs. Also, CSC actually did something well for once, managing to get between the Metro "fans" and La Norte very quickly. That had the potential to get very ugly.
WRONG!! There is stoppage time until the game is over. If someone goes down in OT the clock keeps running until they get scrapped off the field or the ref deems that the MetroPukes need a little more time to score. Article 1 Subsection 44578 Paragraph 3
Tough way to drop points for sure.. I'm not nearly as down on the overall effort as most of you are saying.. I think we all knew that the Mutts team that played on Thursday wasn't going to be the same team we played today.. I can't think of a team that has scored more dramatic late goals to either tie or win games than the Mutts.. I think the've done this on no less than 9 occasions this season where they would have either lost the match or drawn and they come up with a goal somehow.. Kudos to them for putting the pressure on United while being a man down.. As for United, I was extremely impressed with Warren's command of the box and his willingness to go above players to snag crosses.. Good stuff from him today.. I thought the defense played well overall and the midfield to me was rather pedestrian.. As good as we looked on Thursday, we looked a lot worse today.. Quintanilla didn't figure out until the second half today that we wore the black jerseys.. He settled nicely into the game after.. I thought Marco was up and down today.. I thought he was very active in getting in position to get the ball and move it along quickly, but he was pulled out of position way too many times and left gaping holes in the middle for the Mutts to counter on.. Nothing came of it in the end, but the space was there.. I thought Earnie and Ronald were nuetralized very effectively today and didn't give us much.. It was bound to happen.. Tough road ahead with two matches at Columbus where Kovalenko and Petke will be out (as well as Olsen for probably the remainder of the season).. Columbus will be fully pissed off as well as they blew a two goal lead late to the Revs who won in OT on a free kick by Chucky Doll Franchino.. As it stands now: All teams have four matches left 1) Chicago - 43 pts 2) Mutts - 38 pts 3) DC - 37 pts 4) Revs - 33 pts 5) Crew - 31 pts Upcoming matches: Mutts at San Jose United at Columbus New England at Dallas We'll still be in third regardless of the results of next weekend but New England will primed to make a good run at us.. They should win at Dallas seeing as Dallas has nothing to play for now and with our depleted crew going into Columbus, we will struggle to get a result.. Damn those 3 point would have been huge had we held on to win today.....
Re: Ivanov Sucks and shady coaching . I agree with about Ivanov, but to say we have no playmakers other than Etch is just plain stupid. Etch does not deserve to start. Name one thing he did in this game other the PK, which he didn't earn, that merits him starting over anybody else. I love Etch and he is by far the greatest player in DC United history (next to Shawn Medved, just kidding), but he is washed up now. He is a sub at best. The pin point accuracy of his passes just aren't there anymore and he offers zero on defense. There comes a time where you have to move and this is the time for Etch.
Stop blaming the ref. We didn't deserve to win. 5 minutes wasn't really that absurd considering all of the yellows, the PK and some injury stoppages. The ref would have blown the whistle moments after Galin's foul, but obviously, you can't blow the whistle when a team has a free kick. All we had to do was block that final kick and the game was over, but we didn't, and we deserved what we got. In MLS overtimes, injury time is generally only added if it accumulates to one minute. Walker's time wasting was about a 10 second delay, not worthy of an additional minute being added. Pretty much every yellow tonight on both sides was deserved. At the end of the day, the ref wasn't really that bad. It sucks that Olsen is gone because Q2 sucked tonight. Whenever he had the ball with a counter-attack chance he either fell down or had to cut back. I had a feeling Ben's injury was bad because after the trainer worked on him when he came off, he gave the sideboard a very hard kick with his healthy leg. We're still in good shape guys. We got 4 points against them, solidified our playoff spot, and showed them we can win in the swamp.
What league are you watching PSsoccer123? Stoppage time can be added at any point, including OT. It's always been that way. If that weren't true, then the game would have ended at the 90 minute mark because that is how long the game is "supposed" to last. Follow the rules more closely and you might just learn something.
I'll agree, the stadium has shown some improvement over the years in understanding how soccer fans are different that others. I just hope they don't get over-excited at the "high spirits" of the game, and over-compensate with too much security next game. As for the low attendance, what's the guess, too much WWC this week, or is there really a conflict with the 4skins game.
Injury time in MLS OTs can be added (just like it can during a half), but generally, it will only be added if there is a delay of at least 1 minute during the 5 minute period. So essentially, to get an extra minute added in one of the OTs, you need delays analagous to what would warrant 9 minutes of stoppage time during a half. Occassionally you will see the 4th official add a minute during an MLS OT period, but only if there is a major injury that takes a lot of time. You'll never see it for a 10 second time-wasting offense.
Re: Ivanov Sucks and shady coaching Really? I must have missed your other two posts. This game was blase from the first touch. I'm tired of hearing "If Ivanov this, if Earnie that." Hey, if we hadn't given up a golden goal to Gavin in the last minute of OT (sound familiar?) two months ago, we'd be in second place right now. Shoulda, coulda, woulda. Warren did great. Next week, we play Columbus, they play San Jose. If we're not in second place after next weekend, we should probably start to worry. Other than that, rest the starters on Wednesday and get ready for the palyoffs.
What? Listen you either don't know jack about soccer rules or weren't watching the same game as everyone else. Sure we didn't deserve to win and Kovalenko should have finished a wide open opportunity, but the officiating was awful. Awful is an under statement at best. Clark should have been thrown off for sure and also whoever fouled Convey for the PK. If you think any diffently let me know because you are smokin some danka** crack.
I got to the stadium 10 minutes late (holiday/family commitments) and did not know that Ben started and was subbed out. My dad, unlce and I could not for hte life of us figure out why Ray only used 2 subs (Namoff and Martins). Now we know that Ray acutally did use 3 subs. Now we know why we did not see Ben out there. We were screaming for Ray to remove Q2 all game long as he completely blew today. I guess the people around us must have thought we were nuts.
From my vantage point in the front row af 135, the ref, made several dubious calls, and missed Mathis batting a united player about the ears early in the game entirely. The officiating today was below even the "usual MLS standard". Is there a standard? I didnt think that United brought as fast paced an attack today, and lacked some of the magic of thursday night. Warren was tested a couple of times tonight, and held his composure well. He didnt give ground when harassed, and served well, props to his performance. Having not attended a match since Tottenham, it was GREAT to be back in the Barra Brava!! Thanks to all whom showed my son and I the kindnesses to numerous to list! Mark and G-Man
I knew we were in trouble the minute I saw that it was Richie Williams twin brother who was going to be the ref. I hate new york and there slimy fans. F NY and the scum beneath them in the New Jersey slime swamps. - the far side
Now after getting that last post out of my system. It sucked that we got a tie the way we did right at the end of regulation. Warren had a really good night in goal and it looked to me like he had no change at the goal. Shame about Olsen getting injured as that changed the match. We were allot slower in midifeld this game - thanks Etcheverry. I will say that the more I see of Q2 the more he impresses me. My only problem with him is that he is too short. He does send in nice crosses. though. Is Stewert the same age as Etcheverry? If so he looks like he is 10 years younger. He never stops hustling during the game. I actaully thought we looked better in midfield once Etch went out and Namoff came in. I also liked Martins play and he should of got an assist when he took the ball down to the end line and turned and sent a nice pass to Dema who should of slooted it to Bobby for the easy goal instead of shanking his shoot. Oh well, we just have to take two from them in the playoffs. -The Far Side
Just a thought... With 3 minutes of regulation, and 5+ minutes of stoppage, and 10 minutes of OT, that adds up to at least 18 minutes of a match in which DC United was up a man. I believe we even had a corner late in regulation when Pope was getting his nose fixed in which the Metros were down two men. It doesn't seem that United knows how to take advantage of being a man up. I remember other games in which this happened also (the infamous GK sub game comes to mind). Not that being up a man guarantees a win or anything, but maybe United could have a couple of plays to try when the situation comes up, to try to make something happen. Cindy