Official DC United vs Richmond Kickers PRE Match Thread [N&A] :: [-R- All USOC Games]

Re: Official DC United vs Richmond Kickers PRE Match Thread (USOC) [N&A]

So what kind of lineup would we expect to be fielding for this game? I assume that Dema and Esky will start, considering the fact that they are both suspended for the Saturday game in Dallas. Will Rimando get another start? How about Ara?

 

Re: Official DC United vs Richmond Kickers PRE Match Thread (USOC) [N&A]

i saw the kickers play forest on friday and they had their entire starting backline and the ABMOD on the pine.

i am glad sorum wasn't there as the kicker's strikers sucked ass. their makeshift defense however got the best of forest until the very end. the goal they gave up was a soft one, a guy's cross floated over the keeper and verred into the net, clearly a fluke, however forest were knockin on the door pretty hard by that time.

i was pretty impressed with the discpline that kickers showed, they remained organized and gave people fits. i believe the keeper who let in the goal was on loan from dallas or somebody and not likely to play wednesday.

they seemed a large team--they must have thought Forest would play a lot through the air. they scored on corner against forest--although apparently forest has as much luck defending corners as we do scoring off them.

this will likely be a hard match. i didn't think they were overly fit, but there were a lot of reserves and they had a match on sunday or soemthing.

they actually also had a little group of supporters--had a drum, shirts and the like. several of them swore at me and threatened certain death (as well as a united loss) on wednesday. i liked it.

 

Re: Official DC United vs Richmond Kickers PRE Match Thread (USOC) [N&A]

I'm really curious to see what line-up we field for this game. I was mildly curious until all of the sudden everyone is injured. I think Tino sees more time than Peter may have wanted him to so early. Stokes has got to see time - he should be somewhat used to this team, didn't he play with them against Forrest?
Richmond are a good, well organized team who can hurt us on the counter if we let them.
I think the key to this game is not letting Richmond stay in the game very long. If we score early and maybe often, then we should take the game easy. If we let it stay 0-0 til halftime, it just makes them feel like they can knock us off.
I'm worried about United team chemistry right now and giving Richmond any slack may harm that, an upset might be devastating.
I say we crush them and let them concentrate on winning the East in the A-League instead of having to worry about the Open Cup ...
Best thing about UofR stadium - hard choice between them actually having an Arby's Beef-n-Cheddar - and the fairly good BBQ with the Virginia mustard bbq sauce

my guess at a line-up:

.................Rimando.............
...Petke/Stokes.....Ezra..........Namoff
..........Ara...............Dema
Gros/EZ.........Olsen...........Adu
..........Q1...............Esky

 

Re: Official DC United vs Richmond Kickers PRE Match Thread (USOC) [N&A]

The team that the Kickers fielded against Forest on Friday was a complete reserve side, including guest players and guys called up from the PDL team. A couple regulars got in for the end of the game. This wasn't necessarily resting for the Open Cup, but rather our match against Rochester last night. And if that is any indication of what is to come on Wednesday, DC will roll easily. Assuming our usual starting lineup plays (which I think is not necessarily going to happen based upon post-match comments), we're a fairly small team, with the exception of Delicate up top, who sort of plays a McBride type game.

I think it should be a good match, although not being sure of what sort of lineup Nowak will employ makes it a bit difficult to predict how the game will flow. As long as fatigue from fixture congestion doesn't set in on the Kickers they should be able to stick with DC. I wouldn't be surprised to see the match go to extra time, with all bets off at that point.

 

Re: Official DC United vs Richmond Kickers PRE Match Thread (USOC) [N&A]

A little added incentive for both teams: according to the USSF site, the winner of DC/Richmond will host the winner of Chicago @ Columbus in the quarterfinals. The quarterfinal will be on August 4th at either RFK at 7:30 or UR Stadium at 7:00.

 

Re: Official DC United vs Richmond Kickers PRE Match Thread (USOC) [N&A]

Knave you can update this, I just heard from Doug Hicks at DCU that Tony Limarzi will be doing audio for this game (click on the link at www.dcunited.com)

K

 

Re: Official DC United vs Richmond Kickers PRE Match Thread (USOC) [N&A]

I think injuries and suspensions dictate the starting lineup.

Goal - Rimando
Good chance to keep his game sharpand get him some minutes

Defense - Namoff - Petke----Brandon
We can not afford to risk Nelson against an A-League team. He is to important to our team. I am just adverse to playing Stokes period. Especially since he turned down assignment to Richmond. I assume Namoff will be back from his injury. I would prefer to rest him but that means playing Stokes.

DM - Ara
Chance for some minutes and an oppurtunity to rest Carroll

Mid - EZ----Dema--Nana-----Gros

First a look at who is out:
Benny - unless he is 100% we can not risk further injury. Since he is out for the Dallas game give him the additional time to recover.
Convey - thigh injury
Stewart - If he is 100% let him start. Otherwise we have to many injuries and suspensions for saturday to risk him
EZ - Gets pushed into the midfield or maybe Namoff does because of a lack of man power.
Dema - is out saturday and should start
Nana - if healthy should play because of a lack of manpower
Gros - is a machine and will start

F-------Esky-------Adu
Esky - is out saturday and therefore should start
Adu - Good chance for some minutes from the start of the game
Jamie - Should sit out. He did not look good in Dallas after the Rhinos game and we need him healthy with a full tank of gas
Q1 - Hopefully he will get substantial minutes in the midfield and/or at foward

 

Re: Official DC United vs Richmond Kickers PRE Match Thread (USOC) [N&A]

i guess i am in a bit of minority on this one but i personally feel that wednesday's match is more important than saturdays. if we screw up on saturday we have other chances to make up points. if we lose wednesday, we're out of the cup. i love the cup, its damn important to win the cup.

 

Re: Official DC United vs Richmond Kickers PRE Match Thread (USOC) [N&A]

I guess i will stand side by side with you on this one. we still have 13 league games left. we have 0 cup games left if we lose on wednesday. dammit, i wanna see a home cup game this year. we need to win this one to do that!

 

Re: Official DC United vs Richmond Kickers PRE Match Thread (USOC) [N&A]

Picked up my tickets today at the Kicker office and asked how many presell tickets they had sold and was told over a thousand. Pretty damn good for a Wednesday night. A side note in the Richmond paper today saw a big quarter page ad featuring (you already know who) Adu. Headline text said "Freddy Adu....And You!!! Come See What Everyone Has Been Talking About" then in really tiny print at the bottom "Freddy Adu - DC United Forward (Scheduled to appear but not guaranteed.) Although I doubt it will happen I hope that Freddy has a break out game and wins us some converts down here. Also the Kickers had a horrible game last night. This from the coach "There are no excuses, it disgraced the club to put on a performance like that, with so much at stake right now." I expect they will be a little fired up for the match.

 

Re: Official DC United vs Richmond Kickers PRE Match Thread (USOC) [N&A]

And another disapointment for Kickers coming up on Wednesday

 

Re: Official DC United vs Richmond Kickers PRE Match Thread (USOC) [N&A]

i would agree that the cup game is bigger than the game on saturday...last year the open cup was the most fun all year...b/c we actually had a chance to win it...i want my team to win every game possible...but a loss on wed would suck extra hard...plus its another home game at rfk if they win!!!

 

Re: Official DC United vs Richmond Kickers PRE Match Thread (USOC) [N&A]

I hope Santino gets a start and Ara again. But man we need to rest Carroll as well.

 

Re: Official DC United vs Richmond Kickers PRE Match Thread (USOC) [N&A]

Is it a sure thing that the 8/4 game would be at RFK (let's hope so) or might it be played at the Germantown Soccerplex like last year?

 

Re: Official DC United vs Richmond Kickers PRE Match Thread (USOC) [N&A]

It will be at RFK. Season ticket holders got an email saying that it would be Special Event Ticket C on the season ticket plan.

 

Re: Official DC United vs Richmond Kickers PRE Match Thread (USOC) [N&A]

'Zactly.

 

Re: Official DC United vs Richmond Kickers PRE Match Thread (USOC) [N&A]

Yeah, I don't think the Rhinos game was indicative of the Kickers usual result. It should be an excellent match. You think Stokes will come and play against Richmond now, since he won't play for them? Wouldn't it be gloriously ironic if one of his trademark booboos cost DC the Cup?

 

Re: Official DC United vs Richmond Kickers PRE Match Thread (USOC) [N&A]

No it would be funny if he headed home the goal to beat that A-League team from Richmond.

 

Re: Official DC United vs Richmond Kickers PRE Match Thread (USOC) [N&A]

Thanks - I guess that I did not get my season-ticket info mailing as of yet. Perhaps a good run in the cup will land the championship in DC (we surely can get a bigger gate than the joke of a crowd that the MetroStars had when the hosted the final against Chicago last year).

 

Re: Official DC United vs Richmond Kickers PRE Match Thread (USOC) [N&A]

At today's practice, Nelsen took another knock, this one to the knee. He said that he'd like to play in Wednesday's game, but the final decision will be up to PN and the medical staff. Both Stewart and Olsen were at practice, but worked out individually. It is unlikely that either will be in tomorrow's game, but the possibility for Saturday's game is hopeful.

Q1 status has changed again. Although he is healthy and can play, the team is worried that his conditioning is lacking. PN explained that it is clear that his skills need sharpening, but they are still there. However, unless Q1 is fully fit and in game condition it is foolish to risk another injury. According to PN, Q1's performance in the Nottingham Forrest game showed that he can play, but at the end of 15 minutes it was clear that Q1's conditioning was hurting his game, as evidenced by him missing the potential game winner in the final minutes. Q1 will do a heavy load of weights and other conditioning over the next 3 or 4 weeks, and possibly see minutes in various games.

PN said, with all the injuries, now is when Ara, Stokes, and Adu can prove themselves to the club by stepping up and winning some games for DCUnited.

DK said that becoming a team GM is clearly anyone's dream, and he'd eventually like to try his hand. However, his first goal is to help DCUnited win the Cup this season.

Eskandarian, Adu, and Carroll were all on fire in practice today. For whatever reason, the goals seemed to come whenever any of the touched the ball in the 7-man, small field scrimmages.

 

Re: Official DC United vs Richmond Kickers PRE Match Thread (USOC) [N&A]

The team said any and all games it hosts for the Open Cup will be at RFK. It believes that the Soccerplex is an outstanding site for games, but difficult to control effectively. A legitimate thought with the advent of Adu and what he brings to games. The Soccerplex can't really handle more than 5K at a game, and it is likely that all the Open Cup games DCUnited plays in will draw significantly more than that amount.

 

Re: Official DC United vs Richmond Kickers PRE Match Thread (USOC) [N&A]

Thanks for the practice report Diceson.

I thought DK was the GM!?

Any update on the Convey transfer (Someone else started a thread saying that DK said that Convey to Reading was a done deal).

I think Nelsen should sit out the Wednesday game as DC United has enough defenders to play Richmond and get a result.

For the Richmond game I would sit Stewart, Olsen & Quaranta hoping that they are healthy enough for the Saturday game against Dallas.

Without the aforementioned players I still think DC United has enough manpower to get a result against Richmond.

 

Re: Official DC United vs Richmond Kickers PRE Match Thread (USOC) [N&A]

I agree with some of the other posters that this game is an important one, and one that we should do everything possible to win. However, if playing any of our injured players, too numerous to list, would risk a more severe injury, I don't think they should see the field. We proved on Saturday that we do have some depth and can handle tough opposition wihtout all of our starters, so sitting them won't hurt our chances to win this match. We do know that Richmond will come out fired up to beat us, but will that be enough to overcome their lack of form lately? I don't think so. I also wouldn't mind if our injured players sat out the Dallas game as well, and rested up for our run to the Cup final after the All-Star Break.

I wasn't surprised to hear that Q1 was out of shape and not ready for a full match. How long has it been since he's been on the field for a sgnificant length of time? Looks like Ara and Adu will get significant minutes. Stokes will probably get some time, though he doesn't deserve it. Hopefully those who were on fire in practice can keep their sights locked on the target tomorrow night. No mention of Convey, what does that mean???

Kick the sh!+ out of the Kickers!!!