I just got a chance to watch the tape of the game last night and I just would like to make the following comments ... 1) Chris Armas showed why he IS the best D-Mid that the US has at this point - this has nothing to do with the goal either. He won almost every possible ball last night and completely shut down any counter that the Revs were thinking of making. He was magnificent. 2) I thnk that people who watched the game last night saw why Revs fans have been so high on Rusty Pierce lately. he has by far been solid as a rock in every game. To his credit there has also been an elimination of much of the bitching that has plagued him in the past. I think he should be considered for a call up to the Nats. 3)Beasley is by far the most explosive player on the field, but completely lacks the final ball - there were multiple opportunities for him to pick out Fire forwards from out wide and couldn't do it ... either credit should got to Uncle Ll and Rusty for playing well or it just might be that Beasley really needs to improve this facet of his game. 4)Last night was just another reason that I feel that Rasov is not the answer for the Nats up front. The Fire has around 75% of posession (again mainly because Armas was amazing) and yet Ante did not have ONE solid opportunity the whole game. Everytime aound the top of the box he was SHUT DOWN by Llamosa or Pierce. Here is a central defence that consists according to popular opinion of a washed up former Nat (in my opinion while he has lost a step and is no longer Nat material, Llamosa is still one of the best central defenders in MLS) and a guy who is not talented enough to play for the Nats (which I disagree with). This does not speak well for Rasov for the number of touches and legit chances that he had all night. 5) Not really Nat related - the Fire team that showed up in the game the other night IS the best I have ever seen a team play a game in MLS.
I wanna give props to Pat Noonan. Coming into the game you Revs fans were saying that he deserved ROTY, while I still think that Ralph deserves it, I was impressed by Noonan. The thing that got my attention was his hustle. When the Fire were playing the ball back to Zach or just switching the field, he always seemed to be chasing the play. He looks to have a bright future, and definately is a solid player.