Really looking forward to getting the season started. Cheers for a great 2013. Being as it is preseason, do we know if they have increased the number of sustitutes allowed or made any other modifications to the rules?
The first half Tampa Bay was playing very well. My opinion compared to Orlando, Tampa Bay started their preseason training rather late compared to Orlando which started in the first week.
First half yes. Second half not so much. Fontein didn't look very Attinella-esqe on a couple of those goals. To his credit, the defense got carved up quite nicely by DCU in the second half. The first week of what? Good God in heaven, please send us some grammar teachers. I know all the Rowdies fans were geeked to be playing MLS squads this preseason instead of college sides, but don't read to much into this one. The Rowdies have had just one week of practice and United has been together for two or three. They were a bit shaky in the back at times and just couldn't find their stride in the final third on offense, but they held their own against a MLS Cup Semifinalist. Will be interesting to watch how Fontein bounces back from this one (or how the trialists fare). Cox had plenty of speed, but didn't quite make his mark on the flank. Frimpong is going to be the Evans Wise of the Rowdies. Lots of dazzling runs, but nothing to show for it. Sad to see Shane Hill taking free kicks. Ever.
I'm glad we played one of the top 3 teams in MLS, my take out of this game is we need a striker like Antoniuk and Shane Hill needs to stop taking free kicks.
The trialists up top are going to see most of the action early on. Carl Cort is already under contract and is the new Atoniuk.
That would be hard for him to do since he didn't play. Cort started to show something at the end of last season, but Antoniuk's production will be hard to replace.
I rewatched the game today and things are a little more positive than they seemed live and from a better vantage point of the camera man. We played well in the first half, but we lacked a killer touch in the final third. We held a good percentage of possession and defensively were working very hard to limit DC's chances. This enabled Fontein to show he can make big stops and I think we might be able to relax a little about him. It's only one game, but I like the look of him so far. He was hung out to dry on all the D.C. goals in the 2nd half, I really don't see what he could have done differently. Hill continues to frustrate. He doesn't have bad vision of the field and he completes a fair number of passes, but he is slow, prone to stupid fouls and I don't want him anywhere near free kicks. I don't think he is starter caliber, yet there he is game after game. Do we just give up and deal with it? Apparently so. All in all, we looked like a team that has had less than week together and which has only half a squad under contract. Plus, D.C. were able to make a complete team substitution after going up 2-0 in the 2nd half and there was no way we were going to be able to keep up with a full squad of fresh legs. I don't know if we'll see a much better performance on Wednesday, but I'd expect to see a more cohesive team by the 3rd and 4th games of this tournament and certainly by the I-4 Derby matches next month.
Orlando City has been training together for a long while now. They had to prepare for the Roma friendly and have weeks and weeks of training on the Rowdies right now. It shouldn't be a surprise that they managed a draw vs a weaker MLS team while the Rowdies ended up getting nailed on the scoreboard by one of the stronger teams in the tournament. There really is no way or need to compare the two results. Although I do wish the Rowdies had called in players at least two weeks ahead of this tournament. I feel like the extra week of preparation and fitness might have both benefited the team on the field as well as the fans and supporters being asked to spend a good deal of money and time supporting the team in this tournament.
Agreed with speedy on his takes. I am willing to bet if the rowdies gotten together a few weeks sooner it would have been a better result. Not being a homer here. Iwas actually meaning a draw or losing by at least 1 goal. I am not too concerned with our GK situation , as like speedy mentioned our back line was torched several times. It's still preseason, so we have time to get the backline right. I like what Fontein showed last night. With Shane Hill: I have no idea why he's taking free kicks. He does set up some balls nicely, but he is still erratic and is a liability. I like how Del Do looked in the attack, and if he makes the team Del Do + Ambersley + Mulholland will (should) equal a pretty formidable attack..and I love the Cox and Del Do chants, my dad was dying with laughter. (as well with the Andrew fontein...AAAAHHHHHH! Chant too). I havent read anywhere the status on Antoniuk, is he still on the roster? Or is he a free agent? I have only found that he is playing indoor for the Sockers. I am going to remain positive after the blowout loss. We played well for 50+ minutes. So we can build on that. Actually we can build on everything since its preseason. I am stoked to go to Citrus Bowl in a few weeks. Bring on Orlando City and their fans ( except Mr. Thompson, he's my favorite city fan.) there fans had good support as well as us. Very stoked to defend the title.
Agree with everyone else. In no way, should anyone be hitting the panic button. It is preseason against a good MLS side. We held their first team scoreless in the first half. If we had lost 4-0 to Rollins College, then we are having a whole different discussion. Hill has shown that he tends to stick to a very consistent lineup. I would suspect that he is going to use this tournament to figure out which trialists are going to stick and then the two OC matches will look like our real lineup.
Match photos. http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/rHKVgjuMJo_/Tampa+Bay+Rowdies+v+DC+United+Disney+Pro+Soccer/browse