I can't complain about the LL...though I was damn Teed-off about it at the time! Good play, nothing to add here, but more than anything, I was impressed that our guys didn't seem the slightest bit defeated or anything about the season so far. Good for them, good fight...now let's let the 'moral victories' by and get the three points next time! PS I've finally returned Stateside and am now getting settled in the area. I'll be living in Woodbridge VA, with frequent trips into DC. Of course I'll be going to RFK for home games, but are there any soccer-friendly pubs around here? I'm asking because I learned the hard way today that Logan's on Sudley Ave. in Manassas ain't one! (Me watching the game with about thirty-or-so not so happy NASCAR fans). Seriously, I'll be getting cable, a dish or something, but I'd still like to watch a game with other people once in awhile. Anybody know Woodbride? I can head into the city as well.
Well done DC you played well..and arguably should have won the game...BUT...so could SJ..I think a draw was a fair result considering that Prideaux should have been off...retaliation of any kind should be a straight red so it could be no argument and yes Donavan should have had a yellow...I guess you guys will agree with me after last week in saying "I just love refs!!"...but like I said it was generally a well played game, exciting and fair I would like to wish you the best for the rest of the way (except Aug 31st - and I hope to see you there), becasue you are no where as bad as the points and league position says..just very, very unlucky. -Richard
Re: Player Ratings I was trying toi come up with the right word for Olsen's game today, but couldn't. Tron did: "tactically aware" hits it on the head. He makes us such a smarter team.
Thanks Jaime 3 decent chances to score today Moreno. He put on good hustle and work ethic, but at least put one in the back of the net. DCU played real well for being at San Jose's Stadium where they're practically unbeatable. This DCU team is better than its record. Some kind of jinx on the team. The Rongen curse. Whats with the mens team in this area. Both the women's teams in Mystics and Freedom are in the playoffs and both won today.
DC played well, but you have to remember SJ is in a slump right now for some of time. Good talents in DC, but since everyone says good things, I have to pick some of weakness: 1) Defense lapse. Rimando has to make too many of those stunning saves. That's not a good sign for defense. 2) Too many dangerous freekicks giving in top of boxes. Etch/Convey cheated most of times when the ref look away, they are moving little by little forward (very funny scene, in the fact), so couple of times, the ball hit the wall. The offense is actually good.
All of the fouls in front of the goal were unfortunate, but the diving by SJ's players set up most of those free kicks. They should play like men instead of diving around looking for the ref to bail them out. It is effective though.
While I'm not an ardent DC fan, I always keep an eye on them out of interest. I just wanted to pop in and congratulate your side on participating in one of the best televised MLS matches I've seen. The crowd and sound really added to an already exciting battle on the pitch. It's also great to see Olsen back, as a fan of him and an even bigger fan of the Nats. Well done.
After watching the game twice now, here is the first post for the MetroDonkeys game... DC United 4 MetroDonkeys 0 Olsen 2, Q2 1, and Moreno 'Ain't No Stoppin Us Now!"
What a great effort by the lads today. Q2 was Rammel-esque on that second goal. Etch was truly beautiful today hustling, creating, cheating up on kicks. Olsen goes 90. And we scored! Yeah!
OK, now that the beer and happy pills have worn off, I would like to point out the only disappointing thing about the game. What happend within 15 minutes of each of our goals? A San Jose goal. And how did they score those goals? On free kicks due to bad fouls. Sounds like the ghost of WrongOne is still haunting this team if you ask me.
Right! I really hope he was dangled out before the trading deadline. His choking has cost us our 3rd match of the season. Columbus, Kansas City, and now San Jose. Chris I know you're quickly become the Jaime Moreno apologist, but he needs to leave now. 2 horribly taken PKs cannot be attributed to match fitness, especially considering one was 2 min. after halftime. And then today in SJ...that is 8 year old stuff, finishing those. People talk about how he needs to get back to fitness. Well maybe if he weren't such a lazy ************ he'd be able to do that faster. Say what you want about "when he's in form" he's the best striker in MLS. That may be true, but he's NEVER in form these days. And it's doubtful as to whether or not he will be again. Ben Olsen has been out for 2 years and has played much better in all the games he's been back than his teammate Moreno. Eddie Pope always seems to have lingering injuries but now after a little time off after the Cup he has played nothing short of stellar. Marco Etcheverry, out of form for years now, is seemingly finding his touch once again. Bobby Convey is playing with a seperated shoulder, and he is still playing better. Jaime Moreno needs to shape up, in more ways than one. He needs to get himself fixed mentally, so he doesn't botch PKs anymore. Or open net shots for that matter. If he can't get it together mentally, which would also motivate him to get it done physically,then there is no reason that DC United should be paying him that much money to do nothing for us. I was very critical of Etcheverry after his stellar performance in the All-Star game. But since then, as Eddie Pope said he would do, he has backed up that play with above average performances. Maybe Jaime is bitter he wasn't picked for the game or something, but he really sucks at the moment and maybe he needs a benching just like Convey got in the beginning of the year to turn him around. We have 3 games against the Metros left. If we can win those we are very likely going to make the playoffs. We won't make it that far if Jaime doesn't step it up soon.
Moreno hasn't done anything for us at all this season. I think it's time to trade him. He's playing as if he doesn't care anymore. His head is not in the game. He not only missed an open net, he also botched two other solid scoring opportunities.
Too bad it's 2 days too late to trade him. Hopefully this offseason...while he's getting fat on beer and ice cream. Maybe we can send him to the Crew for a box of brats or something.
You guys realize that as soon as we trade Moreno he will become the Moreno of old and score hat tricks against DC every time he plays us. I don't think Moreno is going anywhere. All players of every sport go into slumps. Yes, even ones that last an entire year.
I agree with Cweedchop, Moreno is not someone to trade. He is simply too good, and even when he's got no match fitness and entirely no finishing touch yet, he's still able to get behind the defense fairly consistently despite being double-marked. I do believe he will be healthy next season, but we need another first string forward. Considering we have acquired a bevy of good players for relatively cheap prices (Reyes, Santino, Convey, Rimando, Prideaux, Nelsen, etc.) and that we'll likely have 4 additions from the SuperDraft (with 1 first round pick and 2 second round picks and a high third rounder in a very deep draft), we should be able to clear the cap space to get a decent finisher. I'm not counting on getting one in the SuperDraft. Depth, that's the main thing that is lacking right now. Next season Olsen should be healthy (he was seldom injured prior to the ankle injury) and Mapp will have a full offseason and training camp to adjust and should contribute, so there are two more wings, one starter and one reserve. McKinley will be a reserve next season, but has shown he can fill in for Williams in the midfield if needed. Santino, Eliseo and Moreno should produce 2 healthy players for most of the season, so only one more finisher is required. -Tron
Great effort by all the lads. Reyes had his usual game. SUPERB. Rimando came up huge in the closing minutes. Marco? He's still the man. Great game from El Diablo. Outside of their second goal on a free kick the defense played well. If anybody is ready to ship Moreno out you're dillusional. I saw Jaime hustle his ass off but could not finish. Do you really think he won't put those away in the future. Or would you prefer to line up against him?
Cweedchop, I agree...watching on TV I could hear Rimando yelling "Eddie, step off!". Pope did what he was told, but then Ekelund shot it right where Pope had been lined up!
Re: .. Anything? Interesting proposition. I taped the game but haven't been home to see it yet (I went straight from the game to work). PM me or go to my forum and leave me a message. If I got the game, I'm sure we could work it out.
A couple of random thoughts about the game after seeing it firsthand and then watching it again on tape. First, the game was a lot of fun to watch -- the weather was great and the crowd was decent -- but it was actually somewhat better on TV than in person (except for Veronica Paysee, of course; she is da bomb up close). ESPN did a nice job of capturing the drama and the sight lines are usually better on TV than in the lower deck of Spartan. Second, as Ursula commented, Olsen clearly wasn't fit and has lost at least a step, but he is very tactically aware and savvy on the field. The yellow card for yanking LD's jersey is a good example: Olsen saw the danger and the positioning of our midfield (ITT in particular) and stopped the play before it could even develop. It was also great to see him serve in a dangerous cross in the second half; it reminded me of his stint at Forest just before the injury. However, other than that, he wasn't really dangerous in the attack. Third, regarding Convey, he played a solid, but unspectacular, game. He made a number of intelligent off-the-ball runs (most of which were not rewarded) and passes and rarely gave up the ball. He also played outstanding defense throughout the game. The best example I can think of is the play where he collided with Cannon -- he won the ball in defense and helped start the attack and then was in a position to receive the ball at the other end for a chance on goal. All that said, he didn't seem to have the killer instinct, the "fizz", today. Fourth, Moreno. You can't fault him for trying, because he was all over the field today, attacking from the left, right and center and dropping back into midfield to win balls. But as far as his finishing was concerned, Rob Stone got it right: "Oi-Vay!" Finally, the defense. We really played three in the back most of the game despite what Ty said (Reyes was forward more often than not) and Pope, Nelsen and Prideaux were generally rock solid. Pope on Graziani was an interesting battle to watch (Pope won it in a landslide); Nelsen was a horse in the center and stopped numerous attempts to serve balls over the top to try and exploit our overall lack of pace in the back. The biggest defensive problem we had was acres of space in front of our center backs for Donovan and Ekeland to exploit. Etch tracked back pretty well (as did Reyes, Convey and Olsen who pinched in at times), but ITT really didn't cover much territory or break up runs. Yallop likes Lagos and Russell to attack from the wings and that didn't really happen today, so Convey and Reyes/Olsen generally did their jobs on the defensive side of the ball. I've watched a bunch of good MLS team get their hats handed to them at Spartan over the last two seasons, so there's no shame in walking away with a point. If you want a sign of progress, keep in mind that the 2002 Quakes are better than the 2001 Quakes and DCU lost to the Quakes in 2001 at Spartan by a score of 4-0.
Good points Todd, but panicking is not the answer.. I may be a Moreno apologist (although I think I was quite critical of him today and for the last match at home) but it is for good reason.. It's one thing to want to drive a player out of town because of bad play, but to do it to a player, who when healthy, is arguably the best player in the league is a little short sighted.. This isn't Richie Williams were talking about here, it's Jaime Moreno.. Yes, Jaime missed two PK's... Yes, Jaime missed the breakaway today But we simply can't run every player out of town because of bad matches.. It simply doesn't work that way.. Give Moreno and opportunity to get healthy next season and I gaurantee you we will see much much better from him.. That's all I ask.. We have seen enough player turnover the past few seasons because of poor play and nothing has improved.... As for your own comments about Etcheverry and his seemingly improved game despite being "out of form for years", this logic flies in the face of your point about Moreno... You can't have it both ways.. If Moreno gets healthy (a seemingly big if at this point) and then sucks eggs, then I say yes, ship him out.. Jaime deserves more than a fair share of a chance to prove himself next season.. I can almost gaurantee that he feels much more embarrased and hurt about his play this year than anyone else... And for what it's worth, Moreno was most certainly NOT lazy at all today, he just had terrible luck finishing.... Moreno worked hard all day to come back for the ball and put himself in dangerous scoring positions, something Lassiter and Curtis can only dream of doing...
One of my favorite things was to see the 'old' Ben back. it seems like he doesn't like Donovan much. Anyone else read his lips at around the 92nd min when he told LD to Frcuk off? hahahah. That's our Beninho!