Props to DC for the great game.. they played good.. and yes almost.. ALMOST... beat the earthquakes... but i do have to say the earthquakes can DEF play better than that.. but stilll undefeated at home since aug. 18th of last year... DC almost took it away...
I wish I had your faith, but I don't think Jaime's spots are going to change this offseason. I need another drink! BTW, I don't think there are allocations any more -- well, unless you're in New Jersey or LA. Get well soon, Mike. I hope you regain full use of your arms. GM
No, the real Jaime Moreno, the one who is deadly in front of goal. Not the watered-down-version-of-your-regular-Jaime Moreno that was on TV on Saturday.
Wow. Do you think we could trade Jaime for Albright? I can't tell the difference between them any more. OK, Jaime is still much better. But, it was a disappointing game that mirrors the rest of his season.
ooooohhhh.......HIM!!!! I think the voodoo doctor in Bolivia was a MetroDonkey fan at heart. This must be DopplegangerJaime that has come back to play for us.
I don't know if its been on this thread, but this is from another one: "Chris Albright has snatched and invaded the body of Jaime Moreno."
I actually disagree. I think Prideaux did deserve the second yellow, because of the second push. It was a petulant action, and despite Donovan's diving and baiting that particular incident, both players deserved a yellow. That said, I love it that Donovan's dive and foul got caught and Prideaux got off scot free...not even a talking to. Considering some of the calls to go against us, I thought it was justice served. He didn't have to make that many. Our defense is and has been excellent. You're right, we do give away too many freekicks. However, the cheating you point to is done by every team everywhere. Right now his confidence is completely shot. I don't think he needs to be gone...honestly, I bet he's missing chances in practice too. He's just cold. Really really cold...but that's fixable. It's not like he's Albright cold. Barrett was playing as a center back. I do agree with what you mean, but Saturday he wasn't playing wide so his chances to get forward were much lower. I disagree. Alegria doesn't have the physical tools, but he's the most tactically aware of the three, easily. I'm not as enthusiastic about Mapp as you've been...I've actually been a bit disappointed. Yesterday was his best performance by far, but it still wasn't much to speak about. Convey and Quaranta, when thrown to the wolves, responded like men. Convey was a man as far as his vision and the maturity in his use of the ball went, while Tino was a man physically and his attitude towards scoring. Mapp still seems like a 16 year old boy to me, and that's an absolutely crucial difference. The 1998 vintage Jaime Moreno was far better than anyone on that list, save possibly Mathis during the 5 goal game vs. Dallas. Agreed. It was unbelievable. No one would argue that point, but I would definitely argue the "Jaime should be gone" posts. He's got 6 games and the offseason to prove himself. If I was Hudson, I would be Moreno's shadow all offseason, making him train constantly to keep his fitness (physical and mental). If Moreno slacks off in the offseason, then I would agree and say we should move him. Until then, we're stuck with him, so there's no use going nuts over it. *** This is getting too long. There are many other things I could argue or out-and-out reject, but frankly dinner's going to be ready soon. This was a great match. As has been said, from the neutral's perspective it had everything. Both teams played well. From DC's perspective, this was a game we could have won. Obviously Moreno's chances (to be honest, only one of which was a must-score...the other two were a bit difficult) should have amounted to something, but we also could have lost this game. Lagos hit the bar, Rimando had clearly the save of the year to stop Donovan, and Prideaux could have been sent off. I'd say a draw was fair, and an encouraging result for the team. And now, taking a cue from others as far as form is concerned... Ratings: Rimando-7.5 Absolutely amazing save on Donovan, and a couple other quality saves. The wall on Ekelund's goal was questionable, but Rimando was still brilliant. Reyes-7.5 A force all game long. As good a wide defender as you'll find in MLS. Pope-7.5 2 assists, the first one excellent. Dominant in the air all game long. Nelsen-7 Great organizing and leadership, and showed good positioning as well. Definitely a future captain for this team. Prideaux-6.5 Did well defensively, and got under Donovan's skin, but he needs to keep the temper in check. Looks a little uncomfortable as a true left back, but he's still pretty solid. Olsen-7 As has been said, he showed great tactical awareness. His offensive impact was limited, but his defensive impact was crucial. This team is much better with Ben. McKinley-7 Considering his lack of speed, he did well. His outlet passes were good, and he gave his all. Definitely gave Hudson more to think about as far as defensive midfield is concerned. Etcheverry-7.5 Played like the Etcheverry that showed up at the all star game. Not to steal from Hudson, but he was very menacing. Nearly scored on the excellent freekick, and was in on both goals. Convey-6.5 Full credit to him playing with the shoulder injury, but you could see that and the lack of width hurt his game. Still did well. Moreno-4 You just don't get chances better than that early one. He did well in everything he did except the finishing, but that's what matters. Quintanilla-7.5 Did a great job on both goals, one skill and one poacher-style. Disappeared a bit, but 2 goals is all you can ask for from a forward. Subs: Mapp-6 His best performance yet, though that isn't saying much. A decent tackle and starting a counter was nice, but with SJ only using 1 sub, he should have done more against tired players. A very encouraging match...if we play like this against the metros, we will get the results.
I saw Ekelund's foul as the point where the game started to lose it's shine a bit. He had been talking to Etcheverry for awhile, and I knew one of them was going to lash out. It's a very good sign to me that Etcheverry not only didn't lash out, but really kept calm through the whole thing. Ok, I can agree to this. The referee made a judgement call in the spirit of the game, and it did pan out. However, let's say a SJ player gets even more pissed that Prideaux isn't sent off, and does his "Mike Burns of last week" impression. The game could just have easily boiled over as it did calm down. Referees making this sort of decision are walking extremely thin ice.
The ref took a gamble and he saved the game IMO. He changed the course of an increasingly thuggish game. For that moment the ref was inspired IMO. (Unfortunately he wasn't so inspired the whole game but that's another story.) How many WC refs were able to accomplish that? How many WC refs were able to keep their games under control? That list was woefully short and includes- get this- an MLS ref! I only hope that: 1) When SJ visits in two weeks the ref then will be up for the task of dealing with two very intense teams who won't be backing down and, 2) When the metros visit here playing the third game with us in three weeks and the second within three days the ref then will know that these two teams will be so totally sicvk of each other that homicide will probably be on their minds that the ref can handle it. Maybe for that game MLS should borrow Collina. It's gonna be a war.
"Some times, looking for something and finding something ealse is not a bad thing".This is exactlly what happened to DCU in this game. IMHO, Ray told the players to score no matter what(loosing the game included).The DCU started the game in attacking mood.They got lucky and have scored.At this point, SJ forced forward and they scored, as well.Than, was the Moreno's missplaying.After that,SJ was still attacking but, without the defenders,they(SJ) got scarred in the defense.DCU second goal, really pulled "the rug" under their defense,despite the fact that they have scored very shortly aftrer that.So, the SJ's mid and forwards were not able to take advantage of the home field and the game ended in a tie.SJ did not want to take any chance and lose the game.On the phychological side their defense got really scared by the new player( to them) who allready scored twice before they even can evaluate him. About Moreno,IMHO, those who are suggesting to cut him off are very WRONG !! He is still the only true attack player that we have.He is the only player able to turn around a game ( remember the home game against the Metros when from 0-2,we end up winning the game, mostly, because of Moreno).He is the only one able to carry the ball in the oponent's penalty area, his ability to run the ball in an unpredictible way proves his talent and this is a permanent source of danger for the other teams.He generates most of our scoring opportunities, one way or the other. Some of the posters, have shown that without Moreno our attack is nothing, I do subscribe to this point of view.To compare him with Serna is not appropiate,Moreno is more like an attacking midfielder than a true stricker, most of the time. About the Donovan,Prideaux incident : like I have said before,there is no inforced discipline in this team.The BP's reaction was stupid ,IMHO,(9 out of 10 referee would send him out.) It is a matter of principle not to tolerate any intentional strike,especially,after the game was stopped.There is no excuse for such behavior.He should be benched by RAY for the next game,so he would remember next time around.Because, we could have lose the game playing 10 people on the field for the rest of the game and also,we would have an incomplete defense the next game.How stupid that would it be?? What is that for,to jeopardize the result of two games !!!.... I do not share the generale opinion that the midfield played very well.On the contrary,if they had played well we would beat SJ.Neither Convey nor Ech or Olsen played to the standards.I really have a "problem" with people who are saying "they did a solid defense,they have some good runs,they kept their direct oponents in check and so on".So what,it was their duty to do all those things and more.But,how about their poor finishing,their lost chances to score ( Convey,Ech and Olsen), how about those unmarked SJ midfielders playing in the center of our defense,how about those long passes to Cannon etc.).Nobody is willing to criticize them for those things." We tied the game, good result!!" So,what? the way the SJ's defense was playing we should have won the game!! if, it was not for our mediocre midfield.Why judgeing them by what they have done and not by what they should have done,or by what others midfielders,usually do.( in the leaque). Despite the general opinion, except for Moreno, Eliseo and somehow Olsen, I have not seen an any improvement in the midfielders' game, no energy ,no nice combinations, no nothing.The SJ midfielders played a better game,IMHO.
Sormun Defends Moreno ... Optimist? I disagree that we started more attacking than usual. We maintained our defensive shape at all times. The difference was 3 things: 1) Etch was on form, 2) Olsen was on the pitch, and 3) Mulrooney wasn't in midfield. I agree that Olsen wasn't phenomenal and that Convey had an off game. Both were coming back from injury and I felt each did well. Also, having McKinley as Dmid generates offense, but it leaves you exposed defensively sometimes. So all in all, we had our most attacking midfield of the season on the pitch (finally). But, without Mulrooney in midfield to blunt the attack, we ran roughshod all over Ekelund and Donovan. It may have been luck that the ball bounced back out to Eliseo, but the deflection was not luck. That shot was destined for the inside of the side netting, and the final angle they showed from behind the goal verified that. Without the deflection it was an unstoppable goal. With the deflection it still went in, but wasn't really luck. If anything, I think most people woudl agree that DC United was UNlucky ... and Yallop said as much. IMHO, our midfield played well, but it wasn't really challenged. So if that was your gist, then I guess I agree with you sormun. We both agree on Moreno. I think that many people are understandbly unimpressed with Mapp right now. But I am confident that he will become a very good winger in MLS, and in time people will start singing his praises. I thought he showed OK for his first MLS minutes. Certainly better than the reports of his earlier time with United. He showed willingness to play defense, so obviously Hudson has stressed that. He also showed his speed, which many posters had been saying that they didn't notice in the friendly. In addition, he showed the tiniest glimpse of his technical skill, which is substantial. -Tron
Hmm. I'm not going to read 8 pages. 2-2 sounds decent the way we've been playing. By the way, if you ever get the chance, visit Toronto. Very nice city.
sormun we were never down 2-0 to the 'Scum. Faria scored on a PK early on, then Moreno leveled it. I believe it was 1-1 at halftime when Lisi scored off a corner in the 60th or so, and Moreno, Etcheverry, and Villegas all put goals away to end at 4-2. I could be mistaken, I didn't check any reports, that's just from memory.
I'm surprised nobody's talking about Eddie Pope's two assists -- an absolutely clinical header to set up the first goal and a sweet move in the box for the second. We've been waiting years for Eddie to upgrade the offensive dimmension of his game beyond set-piece headers -- seems like it's finally happening.
Yeah that was a nice header. I've had a lot of questions over the last few years about our set pieces. It's almost like we don't care. United should drop Prideaux and Reyes back and get Pope AND Nelsen in the box one way or another almost every time. We should look for Pope the way Chicago looks for Bocanegra or LA does Lalas. Let Convey and Olsen make late runs and be the flick-on/redirect target like Eliseo was on that play. We should play it short and have everyone in the box run away from goal with a couple of guys outside the box (Convey & Olsen) runing into the box. The guy that receives the short corner then chips it over the defenders to one of the two runners while the defenders are caught moving in the wrong direction. With any practice this would be onsides every time. Nothing, nada, zero, zilch. That's the amount of creativity we have on corner kicks. At least if you're going to be predictable have set plays so that the kicker knows exactly who and where his target will be. I bet if you totalled all of our scores off corner-kicks in the last 3 years you would have a single digit number ... which is incredibly sad. -Tron
As far as Ray is concerned, BP got away with it, and Ray will repeat it. If Ursula is right, the ref was inspired in his Solomonic judgement to do the unorthodox thing in not red-carding Prideaux for retaliation and thereby saving the game from degenerating further because in this way San Jose's goading wasn't rewarded. Yet, others here have admitted that Ray's entire team had been hacking at Donovan all game. Ursula alludes to the reminder of just how Ray's team got beaten in last year's semi-finals- he clearly told them to hack Donovan, they did, they got away with it for one game, but not another. How inspired was the ref not to put a stop to this persistent infringement? The rematch will be ugly, because Hudson's track record suggests he'll tell your boys to make it so, and they'll do it...congratulations, Ursula, I know you think the ref saved that particular game, but the law of unintended consequences already looms over both teams. DougO