Oh, I didn't count the one vs. NY b/c I figured the PK was awarded before the red card, but I guess _technically_ it was scored after. And as far as the whole math thing... serves me right for trying to do it in my head after the game. I think that it is ultimately a testament to the fact that the team cannot open up the opposition when the opposition is playing all-out defense. Being down a man isn't as big of a deal as we sometimes think it is - esp. on a small field like CAB (can't run the other team out of position to pick them apart as easily). Bottom line is - there is a problem with this team, which is a big thing for me to say since I like to be positive and supportive as much as possible. What guts me is that we did play pretty well for periods of the first half. We just didn't put away our chances - worse, most of the time we didn't even _try_... though I did see more back-heel passes attempted today than in any game I've attended before. In any case, Lopez was the MOTM, for me at least. He seemed to be everywhere at times...
this was my first game since i've been back from school and i wish i had a better story to tell. i guess the positives were the pregame tailgate (great food,) being 3 rows up, and just being happy to be back at cab. also, to whoever was leading the chants, i was standing right behind you and you did a great job--had no need to apologize to me for being in front of me most of the match.
I thought Abe looked pretty good when he came in. We got several good looks off balls he held up. Develop some chemistry with Wolff, and get those against a team that isn't bunkered and we might look dangerous. Where did Arnaud's shot go? He got at least 3 good looks and they all were weak and well off target. I don't understand the Harrington sub. Bringing him in was fine. My problem is putting him on the right running at Padula who is probably the best wide back in the league. On the other side however is Zayner a rookie... Lopez could have done just as good over on the right as harrington did, and Lopez probably would have finished one of those wide open attempts where harrington struggled to even get off a shot.
fyp. My understanding is that the "butts in seats" counting method is apparently a total myth. No one anywhere uses that standard.
I think, ultimately, we're hoping Cristman can fill this role... though I do and always have liked what Abe provided for the team. He does need to put that header on frame though (not that he's the only one not putting things where they need to go).
It's done that way in England. that's why you can have loads of sellouts, but the attendance is different. You also enter through a turnstyle at pretty much every ground - that's how they count actual attendance.
I agree. I think Harrington played pretty well but he kept trying to position to use his other foot. We all saw how this ended up. I believe he would have been far more dangerous on the left. All in all a very frustrating game. Seemed like no one wanted to take a shot until the last 15 - 20 minutes.
do it monk-style at the next home game. sit down cross-legged on the sidewalk in front of the gate there and lay the tix out in front of you. then set them ablaze in a demonstrative gesture of disgust. you might want to shave your head too. that'd help with the effect.
winner! there's no creativity and our players just aren't good enough to overcome that. it's unbelievable, but we've still never had a real creative influence since preki. couple notes i'd like to make about d&b's. they struggled with the replay, to put it mildly. i was up on the deck and they had two tv's, both barely larger than my computer monitor, and one of 'em kept getting the menu on the screen obstructing the view. after numerous freezes, the feed then died and we never got to see the deciding end to the game. the deck obviously wasn't meant as a watch party location, so i won't hold that too much against them, but it was disappointing that that's where we were instructed to head. on the positive side of things, i want to give proper respect to our own kevin hartman. he was up there watching the game with all of us and was a very good sport. not only was he very gracious at having his picture taken (at least 20-30 times), but he actually bought a round of beers (10+ pints) for my whole group. a cool cat, indeed. thanks el gato!
Ah, I misspoke. What I should have said is "No sports teams in America use that standard." I have no idea how things might be done elsewhere.
Yep, he had 2 or 3 opportunities where he could have gotten off a wide open shot right footed, but cut back to his left and by then the Crew defender recovered.
First off, I thought the scoreline flattered Columbus, but there are certainly roots that are fully on KC. From the TV angles, almost all of those shots were on-target. Columbus had a crapload of blocks, many of them of the statistic producing goalmouth variety. Yeah. That is the penalty when you allow yourself to get behind. Score the first shot, don't trip over yourselves, blah blah blah. Great point. I have not researched the stats, but I'd guess that CAB has a larger than MLS average occurance of whoever scores first winning. He played well except for shooting and corners were mostly middling floaters. At least something is working well. Good for The Cauldron. Cobalt and white robes, maybe... I always wondered about self-immolation. Hard to see how the intended message transfers to the rest of us... Um, dude, you're a briquette, what was it again we were supposed to remember?!? Never mind, you look busy with all the smoldering and stuff. Preki's multiple-cutback corkscrew was a large part of what he did. Nobody has that or if they do, they don't use it. Preki took arguably too many shots as well. The difference being, often when he missed, the ball remained dangerous or he'd later find an open guy. You give Preki enough shots and he found the upper left 90, period. It's supposed to be hard to replace a 2-time MVP. Certainly KC plays with effort and heart, occcasionally misdirected, but that happens. I think there is some creativity, it just mostly happens so slowly that it's easier to deal with the problems presented. No MLS team should have umpteen blocks in a game. That's at least in part a function of taking all day to set up a shot or to survey what is in front of you. At some point pros have to see the open spots (and arrive and/or put the ball there) before your opponent. At some point anybody playing for money has to know the "A" option before the ball arrives. That's every play of any sport. So... The Cauldron are all "cat people" now...
I am just waking up with a Wizards hangover trying to forget what I saw last night but the images still haunt me of three wizards running into each other while a lone Columbus player easily knocks the ball into the net. Ouch! OK here is the report card for the Wizards as I saw it: Hustle: B There was a lot of movement and lot of challanges, just not much accomplishment. Creativity: D- The ball movement was so predictible most of the time, it was almost like the Wizards were shouting out their plan to the other team before they made their move. Coaching: D- If you get ahold of a video of the Wizards playing any time this year, you know exactly what they are going to do, when they will do it, and who is going to do it. Something needs to change in the Wizards approach to the game. Offense: D- Outside of a couple of chances in the first 7 minutes and some at the end of the game when we were playing a man advantage, you wouldn't even guess that the Wizards had a forward on the field. Midfield: C Average game for the midfielders which could have been a lot better if they could have only connected more passes. Defence: C- It seems as though every game has one of those "brain cramp" moments when the defenders can't seem to clear a ball or know what the other defenders are doing. Goalkeeper: A- Hartman did a great job yet again. Overall: D A poor night for the Wizards. Let's face it, Columbus just has more talent, a better attack, and a defense that the Wizards couldn't break. Its too early in the season to panic, but something has got to change....
Maybe I'm glad I couldn't watch that game last night... Sounds like it was a stinky turd of a game...
I won't say much about the game, cause it's already been said. Though I will add that Harrington needs to drill that weak foot of his. But travelling 5 1/2 hours, my family and I sat in Section 111. Just so freaking quiet. Next time we come up though, kids or not, we're sitting in the cauldron. They wanted to go over there bad because you folks were putting on a good show, chants and all. I can tolerate (and explain later) the rough talk. At home I raise kids, at games...I raise future fans!
Did I just miss it, or is there not one gripe about how soft that PK call was? Last season we got creamed early on by C-bus and NE at home. Fast forward to this season: one down, and the other is getting hot and visiting us next week. Anybody want to guess early on what the result will be? This team is not fun to watch this season, and that's just sad. I used to get psyched up about going to games, but now it feels kinda the same as going to work.
It's not really worth complaining about - we weren't going to come back from one goal down last night. Two was just academic... But yeah, it was hardly worth calling a foul..
I'm not going to complain about the foul, cause I've seen that sort of thing called before. My problem is that I'm not sure if the contact actually occurred inside the box. It looks like the initial contact could have started outside.
It sucks for Besler b/c he had know idea that someone was there, but someone on the team has got to let him know. Really, though - he kicked Robinson(?)... he may not have meant to or known about it, but he did kick him. If we had scored at all, maybe we'd be talking about it - but hardly worth getting up-in-arms about when it didn't really affect the outcome.
http://www.kansascity.com/sports/story/1238853.html Star article this morning. Glad to see they lost some sleep over their performance. I found this statement interesting: I am curious to see what changes are made, and if they can spark us to shake off our recent form.
He kicked Gavin. Gavin fell over. You can watch any C-bus game or several other plays from our game for more examples. My favorite examples come against the Fire in the playoffs last year. He got several people yellows and one guy 2 yellows for a red. He created all the contact NBA style and went down. The crew scored directly off one of the free kicks too. Gavin is really good at it. The sad part is if he stayed up and played the game straight he would probably be a great player. On a side note, in the game against Seattle a couple weeks ago Kennedy didn't call any fouls against the Sounders for Gavin and Rogers flops, and even carded one of them for diving. It really is most C-bus' offensive game plan most day. Gavin or Rogers create a free kick in a good spot and Schelotto puts the free kick on marshall's head.
I'm guessing Thompson is one of the players, the other was probably Zusi or Harrington. It was surprising yesterday to see Onalfo actually coaching the reserve game a bit, he usually leaves all that to Kelderman.