Great time and a HUGE win. I did not think Olsen played well at all except for the goal. He worked hard but did not do much. 3 very wimpy plays he did not go in on when he should have. 1 was in our box a ball that ended up Cerritos had to play back outside instead of Ben taking it to goal. One in their box when he let DeRo get the shot off and one a tmidfield. Hopefully the goals will get his confidence up and he will move on. Marco was excellent for 50 minutes. There were a whole lot of Hispanic type people (I won't insult anyone by guessing the country of origin) on the quiet side where Cien fans had been last week. I don't want to say maybe we have gotten the fans froma certain country back on our side but we will see.
And I cannot beleive Ronald missed that header in the second half. Great cross by Etch and he was wide open. I think he was susrprised that no one from the Quakes marked him or jumped for the ball.
Offsides There were at least two SJ players in an offside position when the goal was scored. I could see that clearly. What I didn't see was where they were when the ball was kicked. It all happened so fast -- I saw the ball coming, looked toward the goal, saw the two SJ players there, clearly offside, and expected a flag. I cannot say for certain that they were offside at the time of the kick, but for them to have been onside, they both would have to have moved laterally very, very quickly, and a DCU player would have had to have moved up after the kick, also very quickly, to put them onside. My guess is the linesman blew it, and Ben bailed him, as well as us, out. First thing I did when I got home was fast forward the tape to watch it -- big disappointment. Comcast got caught too, and really didn't have a good shot of the play. Johnson and Rongen both said it looked offside, but then Ben scored so fast that the subject was changed. I'd be interested to know if anyone watched/taped the shoot-out coverage with the SJ commentators. Did they have anything to say about it?
Thoughts from the front row Last night, I brought a newbie and some regulars down and sat in La Norte. Pretty cool vantage point and a lot of fun to ride the keeper the whole time. Thanks Sachin, Darth, and Ian for making us feel welcome - I'm still finding confetti. The first 10 minutes were unbelievable, watching Earnie and Ronald work from that close was pretty amazing. I thought El Diablo had that old black magic working and I just love Dema's effort, you know Jamir was jumping out of the way when he saw it was Dema and to top it off, the entire defense was amazing. I also thought it was awesome that DC's PA guys played the Smurf song when the Quakes came out for warmups.
Great game. I don't have any brilliant insights to add or anything, but I'd say we're in pretty good position now. The team is coming together, there are some pretty good players sitting on the bench waiting to come in if needed. Etch played some defense last night, took one for the team and saved a sure goal. The D was solid, Q2 looked hairier than ever... The Barra experience was intense once again. The smell of the banner, the roar of the crowd... The beer shampoo, my 7 year walking back to the car saying, "I yelled F*** YOU REF 5 times!" I think Dema likes us. Excellent pyrotechnics after the game as well. Needless to say, we will keep drinking our lucky Dutch beer before the game - it seems to work for Earnie.
Big win. San Jose seemed to have most of the possession after the first goal, but DC still looked much more dangerous and had the better chances. This team is only going to get better. I have to believe this is the deepest DC team since 98. Stoich Esky Namoff Santino Convey Martins Stokes Carroll I love the competition for playing time all over the field.
For those that think Stewart didn't accomplish much after his score, you're ignoring his tireless defensive effort. He was all over the field. And when Convey moved up to play in a forward position later in the game, Stewart slotted into the center of midfield where he actually tried to organize the midfield defense, point to players and telling them who to cover. Stewart is fast. He is dogged. He produced against SJ in a lot of ways that don't show up on the score board. It is interesting how fluid DC is playing now. While Olsen was on the left side, there were times when he was all the way over on the right. Forwards also moved up and back a lot. Maybe DC is starting to get a little of Ray Hudson's total soccer figured out. The counter attacks were really noticable tonight. There were plenty of times, particularly in the second half when DC would break three of four players out of their own end. Usually Convey, Cerritos, Quintanilla, and sometimes Olsen and Stewart. They played very intellengently. If Cerritos got the ball and was really outnumbered he held the ball while double or tripple teamed to wait for support. Other times they attacked the goal quickly and directly. No unnecessary lingering with the ball. While it didn't result in any scores, the outside defenders did some nice overlaps. Kovalenko linked the defense and the attack very well in the first half. DC did a lot of subtle things tonight that were solid. Plus with the bodies on the mend, there were actually some difficult choices about who to bring in as substitutes. Hudson didn't make any, but he had a solid Namoff that could add to the back line or midfield, Quaranta could have come in on the flank or up front, and Esky and Martins up front. Alegria could have come in at midfield too. Let's hope everyone stays healthy from here on out. As for the number of hispanics at the game, it was Hispanic Heritage Night, though it didn't seem to make that much difference to me. One thing I didn notice was a guy with an El Salvador flag draped over his shoulders. Usually you only see that on nights when people come out to cheer against DC. I think the Cerritos/Quintanilla effect is starting to take root.
Despite only playing 50 minutes, Marco is MOTM last night. His assist on the Stewart goal was a 65 yard, backspun pass that laid down nicely for Cerritos to run onto. The pass was so perfect that Ronald was able to scan the field while running flat out, and his cross to Earnie hit the latter in the forehead. A magnificent goal! Minutes later, Etch puts a 40 yard driven ball into the center of Cerritos' chest. All Ronald had to do was put the ball to sleep (which he did), and he could concentrate on that because he didn't have to move an inch to get to the ball. Minutes later, Etch makes a last defender tackle in the box to deny a good SJ chance. On that tackle he strained his calf, which tightened up over half time. He motioned to Ray for the sub. Convey's sub-par play served to emphasize that Marco still has it. C'mon Bobby, you're "finishing" reminds me of your first year. Also, those of you thinking Earnie is not working for 50-50 balls may I respectfully suggest you schedule an eye examination. GM
The great thing about DC playing as a team, is that when everyone is playing their role, the whole team looks good. We don't have a "stand-out" superstar anymore. We are literally united as one. I think we are finally experiencing synergy. This may be why Ray is hesitant to start Bobby (i.e, Convey hasn't sank into his role quite yet), but he's getting minutes that will help. We are definitely a team that can compete with anyone. Our defense is as solid as it has been all season, if not more. Our forwards are producing points, and our wings are active in the game. Everyone is playing as expected. Next week is a big game for us because we need to establish our presence on the road.. especially with the New Jersey away game shortly after LA. Let this be the start of the storm! DC United is coming! We are loud, we are proud, and we will win! The team looked great last night! The supporters sounded great! and the Quiet Side wasn't quiet! We are all part of Hudson's Army, and We are out to win the league! BRING IT ON! VAMOS UNITED!
I know this has nothing to do with United's "Post" game, but this is just kind of funny... From the Gals/Fire post game summary "Chris Albright had the best chance for the Galaxy in the first half, coming within inches of giving Los Angeles the early lead. Mauricio Cienfuegos started the play in the 15th minute, beginning to carry the ball into the Chicago penalty area. As the Fire defenders closed in, Cienfuegos laid the ball off wide to a waiting Cobi Jones, who drove a low one-time cross through the box. Albright was in perfect position to send the ball past a handcuffed Zach Thornton, but his off-balance effort drifted wide of the post." some things never change...
Great time. Watching the replay on CSN right now as I'm reading everybody's comments. We completely controlled the pace. San Jose were reduced to playing Route 1, hoof-and-chase. Nothing from Mullan or Corrales on the wings. Donovan dropped back to try to help out Ekelund, but was closed down by at least two defenders on every touch. We're playing offense right now. Not the "get the ball in the lower third, shoot the ball into someone's ankles and hope for a deflection" variety of the beginning of the season, but threatening, creative offense. A lot of that flowed through Marco last night. Lovely game by him. Edited to say that a highlight of my night was serenading Petke and Prideaux with a chorus of "You can stick Landon up your ass" when they entered Fado's.
One more thing I think should be pointed out was that, apart from a few late decisions (like Robinson's non-yellow on Olsen), Kevin Stott did a very good job last night. We spend so much time compaining about the refs that it should be noted when one actually performs well.
Overall it was a decent performance but still some flaws. We played well the first 20 minutes and the last 20 minutes but in between didn't look so hot. The defense was alright but they were completely caught off guard on the goal, offside or not. Also if not for a flubbed shot by Walker SJ might have tied the game. They're getting better but have yet to put together a full performance, although this might be the best of the season so far. Olsen was practicing before the game cutting in from the left on the dribble and shooting from distance, looks like it paid off. Kovalenko is a beast, in the 85th or so he made a 65 yard sprint to go support Cerritos who had gotten forward on a counter, that guy has some serious stamina.
It looks like Ray Hudson is dressing up like Johnny Cash. During Ben Olsen's goal celebration (in which he took of his jersey adn was tackled by Kovalenko) I noticed that he had two whip marks on his upper right hand side of his back. Is he into S&M!?!
When the ball got to them, yes they looked offside.. However, the ball was flicked on and you have to actually watch Petke on that play.. Petke is right on the 6 yard box and Walker is about a half step into the box when he struck the ball.. Walker wasn't simply standing there, he ran on to the ball which suggests to me that Petke most probably kept him on onside.. The AR was in perfect position to call an offside if there was one and I rather think that at such an important time in the match, had Walker been offside, he would have called it..
The one thing I thought about after watching the game was Marco's "We are DC United, A big club/big occasions" quote. I think this team is really believing in each other right now. I think that spells trouble for the scum.
Considering we were playing San Jose, I was hoping that he would reveal a Gatorade t-shirt underneath...