Congratulations. You kicked our asses. I thought we played terribly, but your guys played well, and deserved the scoreline.
I gotta get out of work now. But, I have to say two guys played better today who've been catching some flak lately... Carroll Gros Both got assists, worked the ball around, and played better D than they have been. Neither are MOTM, but better. Gomez was on fire and Moreno's goal was classic. What was the starting line up for the game? Was gomez pushed up with Moreno or still at AMid?
Gomes is just class...... Everyone did just enought to not break during the first half and finished opportunities during the 2nd. Jamie's goal was world class. How he has never been snatched up by a eruo team is beyond me.
my first impressions... -early in the match when SJ had some possession of the ball it seemed (from TV) that our shape was off. simms, carroll and to an extent dema and gross were sagging way back into defense and leaving jaime/freddy/gomez up top by themselves. So it looked like a 7-0-3. They fixed it after a while and began to show the three seperate lines (D/M/F), but im not sure if it was because we adjusted, or SJ just started playing poorly. When we fixed our shape we started playing better. -finishing needs to improve. Yes, i know we dropped three on them, but we had some other opportunites that we should have finished. -early in the year, freddy was much stronger on the ball. today he was knocked cleanly off the ball way too easily. when he recieved the ball with a defender hanging on him it was a guarunteed turnover. very frustrating. later in the match when he was able to receive the ball cleanly (and face his defender) he was able to draw some fouls, make passes, etc -DeRo was invisible in the second half. seemed like he kinda moved to forward for awhile. maybe he was tired from the gold cup, or we just did a better job of marking him. -i continue to be unimpressed by mullan. he is supposed to be a fringe guy hoping to get a look at the nats, but the last three times i've seen him he has had zero impact on the game... -kuykendol (sp?) if quite a firecracker... -good to see guppy see some minutes. he is still slow... -why does gomez, on the verge of a hatrick, get pulled so early? why does jaime, coming back from injury and not the fitest person anyway, not get pulled instead?
Great game... no major mistakes. Everyone played better than they have played recently. Adu held his own. That last goal by Gomez really showed Adu's impact. Both defenders moved to his side to cover his run and left Gomez unmarked. Great pass by Moreno. Improved teamwork all round!
Very good game by DCU, Moreno's goal should be a GOTW nominee. Gomez looked very good as well. Actually I thought Dero was one of the few Quakes doing anything out there...he was still winning some balls in the second half, but I think your D was marking him better. He just had zero support - very disappointing games by Mullan, Chung, Clark, and Moreno at forward. Cerritos did ok, but couldn't break through for anything. Agree with your comments on Mullan; some Quakes fans thought he was playing really well at the beginning of the year before he was injured (I was less impressed), but I think everyone would agree he has not been up to form since he came back from ankle surgery. Not sure if his speed has been impacted by the injury, or if he just isn't back to form yet, but he's not beating men off the dribble, his passing is average at best, and his crosses are really poor.
Any one know what time the dc united reserve team is playing tomorow at Auxiliary fields? If so can you let me know at pvanvoor@aol.com - Thanks!
Unless they're playing a scrimmage or something, there is no reserve game. San Jose didn't take their reserve team, there is no MLS game scheduled.
Nice to get the win. I can't single anyone out for playing poorly. The only player I really thought was mostly invisible was Dema. He's just not the player he was - I wonder if the talk of the trade took something out of him? No bad passes from Carroll. A few bad passes from Simms, but also several excellent plays. I think making the all-star team got Gomez even more fired up than usual. One of the things that impresses me most about Gomez is his ability to see plays before they happen. At one point Simms intercepted a pass by making a very good move, but even before he had the ball there was Gomez streaking past him for the break. Great goal from Moreno. And lots of love shown between Moreno, Gomez, and Adu. Time to put that talk to rest.
Que golazo from Moreno! I didn't see the third goal because my MLSnet feed died. I'll have to catch the highlights later. The box score says Adu and Jaime assisted Gomez. It may be time to start putting these 3 on the field together on a consistent basis.
Yea, Nowak made the same basic comment about 5 minutes after I posted mine. It was one of the few positive public comments I've actually heard from him about Adu.
It seemed that DC had made a deliberate decision to attack on the left and stay away from Barrett. Dema spent a lot of time wide open, but ignored as the game went down the left. It also might be a function of how Freddy was effectively playing with Josh, Jaime and Gomito on that side. In the first half we were singing for John Wilson as he defended well and also got forward for many attacking options. The left side was simply a better option than attacking through Brandon and Dema. Moreno's goal was pure class. Gomito's first was a thing of beauty. As he ran straight up the middle of the pitch two defenders went left to chase Jaime and two went right to track Freddy and the goal just opened up for his shot. Wonderful night if if it was a steam bath. Final song --Three-nil to the Champions
First game I've caught in person this year; a few remarks -Carroll played well, nothing too impressive, but swept up well -The backline had a lot of confidence stemming from Rimando, despite his not doing too much; maybe it was from the poor San Jose attack. They played very calmly and held possession well when they won tackles -The offense seemed very balanced. Nobody had the #10 role as Riquelme or Veron for Argentina, channeling every attack; this was helpful, because our attack was more fluid with the front 3 having less defined roles -Freddy checked with Jaime a couple times for advice on runs, and seemed eager to play a part in Jaime doing well, as shown by the celebration. He made a couple good off-the-ball runs, including setting up Gomez's second goal that way, and seemed to be playing more and thinking less. Still some bad decisions on when to take a man on and when to cross, but fewer, and not as bad. -Gomez has an amazing way of affecting the game with a few touches; he doesn't impose himself, but when he sees opportunities (for creating an attack, not just for breaking/finishing) he pounces on them very efficiently. He's like the poacher of central midfielders.
Did he comment about why he left Jamie in nursing an ankle injury while taking out the MOTM shooting for a hat trick.... ...some decisions still shaky.
A well played match all around. I expected our D to crack once or twice, but it was strong throughout. Boswell was composed, as usual, and Prideaux had perhaps his best game in months. He even looked more comfortable coming forward with the ball. Carroll's play picked up and Simms looked fine. Can anyone tell me what Boswell's yellow was for? Whatever it was, it was many yards away from the ball. Speaking of yellow, I was sorry to see Shawn Kuykendall pick up one only a few minutes after entering. It was iffy, too - he clearly got the ball, just before he got someone's (DeRo?) midsection. I was glad to see him out there, as it is a reward for his fine play with the reserves. It was good to see a few minutes of Guppy, too. I was hoping he would start, with Gros moving to the other side, but Dema got the nod. I am a Guppy fan, and no, he isn't too slow to play in this league. BTW, was anyone else put off by the execrable "singing" of what purported to be our National Anthem? Can she be prosecuted for the vocal equivalent of burning the flag?
DC played a lot better tonight than I expected. Wilson had a few turnovers, but he continues to impress me more with each game played. The defense was absolutely rock-solid. Very strong performances by Boswell & Prideaux, as well as Wilson. In midfield, if Carroll played every match this year like he did tonight, he would have been an all-star, too. Simms, Gros, & Adu all strong. Dema played well, but he seems to not have that fire (recklessness?) that he has played with in previous years. For long stretches, he would be wide open on the right wing, but no one would shift the play to his side. What can you say about Moreno & Gomez that hasn't already been said? Just pure quality. The attack looked better tonight that it has in a while. Throw in the fact that there was a solid performance by the Ref (except for a weak YC on Kuykendall) & ARs as well, and it was over-all a satisfying night for soccer in DC. It was good meeting Section106 and his mom. Hopefully, next time the weather will cooperate and we'll have a most excellent tailgate!
Your team played a great game and fully deserved to beat us. At times it looked like it could have been 6-0, thankfully Nowak subbed out Moreno and Gomez, who have got to be one of the most prolific attacking duos in the league. Congrats.