I never said that. All things being equal, I'd like us to have them all. To deny MetroScum from a title would make it even better.
What a horrible night, just after I start celebrating Cerritos's goal to tie it up, the webcast goes out. I then go to watcht he Colorado/Chicago game on the shootout and Cox didn't program the game right so I got screwed out of another game on the shootout, if I wasn't mad enougha bout that I came back to check the DC score and we lose 3-2. We put up a fight, lets knock the Metros out of the playoffs for Nicky and Benny and tradition!
I think it was a 3-gamer, Pitt, VB and Wilm. Coach's decision this time, I guess. Thanks. If ever there was a reason to get a senior membership for that sig file... I really hated being the bearer of bad news. At first the announcer on crystal meth wasn't sure. But I gather there was mass confusion on the corner. MSG didn't have any highlights on their SportsDesk, 9:30-10:30 nor at the end of the 11:30 broadcast. And I didn't see anything on Comcast Sports Nite. So I don't think it's likely that the Metro Soccer Report will have any video. Thx, Jay!
Remember, it is possible that DC committed fouls that deserved the cards, but I don't want to go nuts by suggesting something like that. The ref was solid, and he waved at players (on both sides) to get up after dives, and kept good control of the match (unlike Sunday). From being at the match: Warren's red was for tackling Woly on a breakaway, as the last man back. Wasn't a horrible challenge, but Woly was so free you have to give a red there for taking out the player. Tough break for Warren as he really took one for the defense that let him down on that play. Had he held his ground, it would have been a 1 man break and an easy goal scoring opportunity, though being Woly I don't want to presume a goal would have actually been scored there. It was 2-1 at that point and I think he was just trying to keep his team in it. Nelsen got into a pushing match after a slide tackle along the touchline with Guevara, just after Metro scored. Nelsen was clearly pissed, and Amado just stood there with his arms stretched doing nothing while Nelsen went at him, trying to get him into a fight. Nelsen was venting and pushed him again, but that was the only retaliation (and it wasn't really in response to anything other than losing in the 94th minute). The yellow there didn't matter, game was over. It was right in front of us and Nelsen was getting pretty mad. Earnie had to come over and yell at him to cut it out, as there was little time left in stoppage. The other two cards were just hard fouls, nothing major, though Quintanilla's was a bit more harsh of the two, though again, nothing major. By and large, Metro had the better of the play (shots, possession, etc), so the cards were results of playing defense more than anything else. Hristo almost pulled one back in the 90th minute though...
About WMET Losing Webcast Did anyone try to email them to see what happened? With at least 25 people in the chat room listening, maybe the station never gets so many listeners at one time and couldn't handle the demand. I'll send an email now to see what they say if no one else has a response. Thx, Jay!
Well you can't always have it your way, you spoiled baby! Metro won two things the supporters could care less about, the Atlantic Cup and USOC bragging rights. Until we win an MLS Cup, we will not be satisfied!
....goddamn mother*#*#*#*#ing metroshit. im having some serious mike tyson like feelings towards everything and everybody metro. i REALLY do want them all to die. horribly.
Just got back. I saw Red&Black, Grillmaster, K & Mike Martins among the DC United fans, there were about 30 (about 15 in the bottom and 15 all the way at the top). (sorry I didn't stop and say hi) I sat all the way up section 4 (very close to Steve Zack), the biggest group sat up front in section 4. After the red card, and while the goalie was warming up, I had a nature call and when I came back I sat in section 1. There were 4 other DC United fans there. The first goal was on a well placed corner by Stewart. Amodo's first goal was a defensive breakdown as nobody was marking him about 6 yards out. He headed a cross in. Warren had no chance. The second Amodo goal was on a direct kick just outside the box. Very well placed. Again Warren had no chance. Convey started the second half as the A-mid. Stoi came in and had the low cross which Cerritos finished. Then the heart-breaking goal. Geddes is smaller than Rimando, believe it or not! Congrats to the Metrostars. Goodnight.
Why is that spoiled? Every fan expects their team to win it all. To not want that would mean that you have less than a 100% interest in your team. You won the Atlantic Cup. Feel proud about your team. It's as close as you're getting to any real hardware.
etcheverry was rested for saturday's game at columbus. warren's red was indeed well deserved. united man of match could very well have been hristo. was almost unstoppable but walker flubbed the cross that cerritos tapped in. walker was also out of position for hristo's last second cross and needed to back peddle and push it away.
No. You guys figured out how to stop him when you packed it in at RFK, and do we really want a guy on his last legs getting chased around and kicked by Richie Williams for 90 minutes twice in the space of 3 days? I'm fairly sure that suspension ended after we beat Pittsburgh. Now, I have to qualify this by saying I wasn't there. Perhaps Guevara turned over a new leaf and didn't get up to his usual antics. However, based on previous experience, I have to at least wonder if Guevara provoked Nelsen at some point. I'm not saying it happened, I'm just saying I don't see Nelsen trying to start a fight at the end of a tough loss for just the loss itself. *** From the portion of the game that the webcast worked, it seemed like a tough game that either team could have won. We gifted them the first goal, but the second was just one of those things. A goal from a freekick is just quality and you can't complain about giving it up. Warren did the right thing on the breakaway, and we even managed to score while down a man. Unlike the last game, where the metros would have made Steve Nicol proud with their anti-soccer, both teams came to win it. The playoffs are still ahead, and something tells me we're going to play them again. I think everyone here would trade the spot in the Open Cup final to knock them out of the playoffs, right?
I'm not going into the cup final thinking the Metros are the favorites, but some of you really have to learn something about making guarantees that come back to make you look really stupid. One of the things you learn, as an anti-supporter of another team, is when not to run your mouth. You have absolutely nothing to gain, and a lot of pride to lose, by making foolish predictions.
Just got back from the match. Red&Black, K, GrillMaster, and I all in a car was a lot of fun. Quick late-night recap: I'm neither a Bobby booster or basher, but Convey was utter crap tonight. He was a black hole when he had the ball, and kept drifting towards the middle of the pitch, leaving his man with acres of space on the wing. This led indirectly to the first Metros goal - the ball was played to the wing, and when the defense shifted over to cover for Convey, the Metros (very nicely) switched play quickly to the other side for a cross into the box and a headed finish. Hristo looked excellent in his late sub role, and led a 2 on 1 break (with Cerritos) when the score was tied at 2 late in the game. The chance was flubbed mainly because the two of them weren't on the same page. If only... Warren has nothing to be ashamed of - he played well, and it was a tough but legit red card call on a play where the D let him down. Actually, Geddes has nothing to be ashamed of either - he made a couple of nice saves and didn't embarrass himself. Dema was excellent tonight, and Earnie was menacing up front. Brandon was solid as well. Quintanilla was a massive disappointment. Etch didn't make the trip - so he wasn't even on the bench for Hudson to use. Guevara is still a great player, and still a Oscar candidate. In the first half, he took a horrendously bad shot from 25 yards with no one near him. After the crappy shot had dribbled harmlessly over the end line, he proceeded to roll around on the ground as though he had somehow injured himself on the shot. Scrub. Did I mention that Convey was crap?
I just wanted to pip in here with this, if you think the USOC doesn't mean anything kindly *#*#*#*# off. It's the second oldest cup competition in the world, for which this country should be rightly proud. Well done to the Muttros.
Yeah really, I mean the open's not the league championship, but why would fans not care about winning it? And as far as the Atlantic Cup goes that's what really appeals to me about this rivalry, it gives a little added zest to the season. I guess it's good and all that DC got this far, but dude, I am really bummed, and pretty fired up for DC to clinch that playoff spot.
A useless, hypothetical "what if" question: If we had won and gone on to the final, what could we have done for a back-up keeper? Rimando out with his knee; Warren suspended. Could we add a back-up to our roster? Would a field player have had to prepare to step in for Geddes in an emergency?
I was there and saw the play clearly. What the Metro fan forgot to mention is that it was a Guevara dive that started all the festivities from Nelsen, even though it was well deserved yellow card. The play happened when Nelsen and Guevara were chasing a ball that was on it's way out of bounds. Neither player could reach it and it would have been a DC throw, so Guevara was trying to get in Nellie's way to prevent him getting there quickly to throw it in. Nelsen elbowed him out of the way with a shove to his shoulder (not a slide tackle as the Metro mentioned) and Guevara immediately dove down holding his face in a true Rivaldo like display of theatrics. Nelsen immediately bent over to get in his face, similar to the way he did with Donovan last year, barking at him to get up and quit acting. Guevara got up and looked like he was going to try and shove Nelsen away, but Nelsen started to go right at him, and Guevara wisely backed away as quick as he could before Nelsen could inflict real damage. Not quite the unprovoked attack mentioned by the Metro fan, although no doubt some frustration played a part in his actions.
First, this sour grapes crap I hear from both sides of fans is just foolish. The Metros belittle the Atlantic Cup b/c we got to name it the first year--b/c we won it. So for them, they'll always belittle it. It's not an MLS Championship but it means something and arguments that Barca-Real don't have a similar cup are silly: Barca doesn't have ads on the front of their kit so does that mean any team that does is amateurish? Don't think so. It's a strong and bitter rivalry and having a cup to officially rub collective noses in the dirt ain't such a bad thing. As for the USOC title, Meridian is spot-on. Again, it's not an MLS Championship. That said, I'd take a USOC title in a heart-beat. Plus, this wasn't just a loss in the semis (to Chicago or Pittsburgh or Charleston or whomever), it was to the Metros. And a loss anytime, anywhere to them, is a jab in the cut--it hurts and we bleed a little. So pretending that it doesn't count is just silly. And yes, the MLS Championship (for MLS Teams) is the big enchilada (or whatever metaphor you want to use). That doesn't belittle the other events b/c clearly both teams went for the win this match and left it on the field. And yes, I sincerely hope there is a chance for payback to the Metros for knocking us out of the USOC and winning the Atlantic Cup. I'm proud of how hard the team fought on this won. Scoring a short-handed goal with a rookie keeper back there--doesn't sound like United's players were buying into the rhetoric of the USOC doesn't count for much. And it adds to the storied past of this rivalry (what, 3 short-handed goals that tied or brought the lead in just this year alone?). It sticks in my craw to have to say this but congrats to the Metros for the win.
No one said Guevara did nothing to provoke Nelsen. There was an exchange of words between the two players, Guevara then started to walk away to restart play and was shoved by Nelsen. Guevara and Nelsen got in each others face and the ref quickly stepped in. I believe the score was 2-1 at that point and the push seemed out of frustration on Nelsen's part. The match itself was a good one. Both teams combined well on many plays and both looked dangerous from time to time. Good soccer all over the pitch. Hristo played well off the bench and was the most dangerous DC player on the field. Defensive breakdowns were the cause of all goals except for Guevara's free kick wich was unstoppable, Warren could do nothing. Warren did what he had to do on that red card, it was a definate goal and 3-1 if Warren hadn't tripped up Juskowiak on the break. I was very suprised with Geddes who made 2 key stops on Magee and Guevara who were both in on goal only to be smothered by the "little guy". Good luck in the playoffs where hopefully we shall meet again...
I think it really started with an unrelated play about 30 seconds earlier. Guevara got tackled in mid-field, and was down for awhile. Not embellishing, bu standard timewasting as would any player on any team up a goal with a few minutes left. Then the next play, he was shielding Nelson as you mentioned, and got a shove in the back for his efforts, and a little aggro afterwards to go with it. I can't blame Nelson too much - simple frustration. Either of those actions coulda drawn a yellow from a tight ref, but from previous calls the ref probably woulda let the shove go if it wasn't for the aggro afterwards. I was amazed at how different (non-diving, non-embellishing) Guevara was this time. I expected worse behavior. Just my 2cents. And it was nice to see Hristo come out to play. Tearing up the left wing, he showed why he was such a great player - and that he still can be when he puts his mind to it. Who was DC's left midfielder? He seemed absent all night - the metros right back had acres of space - up until Hristo decided to teach him a lesson in skillz.
The boxscore says Alegria came in at the 46th minute and played all of 24 minutes before being subbed himself for Stoitchkov. Was Chino hurt?
3 games in 7 days between two sides. Two away, one at home. Two late goals give them a tie and a win. Overall 1-1-1. This is really about what most neutrals would have predicted. I'm encouraged by some of our attacking. I'm discouraged by the injured in these battles. Nicky is missed, even though neither of the backups performed poorly. Benny is a great loss. He was coming on like gang busters and Q2 did not play well in his place on Sunday and again yesterday (I trust the GoCaps report). With the exception of winning the PK on Sunday Convey continues to be a let down since his return. I sincerely hope that he and Q2 can step up from now through the playoffs. I also hope Ray can find a way to use Martins and Hristo. One for some much needed strength up front and the other for his undoubted ability to bring late game magic.