Following U23s played in the first playoff leg between Chicago and DC United: DaMarcus Beasley, Bobby Convey, Doug Warren, Santino Quaranta, Justin Mapp and Nate Jaqua. I thought Doug Warren had an excellent game in net for DC United despite the 2-0 loss. Made crucial big saves on Razov, Marsch, Beasley and Williams and made numerous charges out of the box to halt dangerous plays, including one sure goal. Justin Mapp came on as a 2nd half sub and absolutely sparkled from the right wing. Absolutely electric and I can't fathom how he wound up without a goal (just missed) or an assist (Warren made a great play after one of Mapp's several runs). Running with the ball is already a major threat. Santino Quaranta on the other hand was less stellar and was showing much rust. At the moment I don't think you could play Quaranta over Mapp on the right wing. Bobby Convey, mixed results from Convey and I thought he had a much better first half than second. Made a few great passes in the 1st half for DC's best chances. Was less influential in the second. Give him an Excellent grade in the first half. A fair grade in the second. DaMarcus Beasley did not have a great game, but he did dazzle on the ball at times. Nearly scored but Warren came out and made a great save to deny him. He's really starting to amaze on the dribble. Needs to see more of the ball which is partially his own fault and partially the fault of his central midfielders. Nate Jaqua came on pretty late for Damani Ralph and played a rather classic target forward game, holding up the ball to try and keep possession and waste time. Was about to tap home on a square ball from Mapp, before Warren made a sprawling stop to break up the chance. Then in 2nd half stoppage time rose up high and did the McBride-esque knock on to Ante Razov for the Fire's second goal.
For what it's worth, I thought Convey yet again disappointed big time and showed exactly how much DC lost when Ben Olsen went down. But the unfortunate surprise of the weekend was the non-appearance of Landon Donovan. I think he shot once; he seemed to always look to dish it off instead of taking a final lash to score. It was a day when Donovan didn't really know where he should be, in attack or behind it. He just drifted. Perhaps he should have been playing A mid, yet he rarely hustled to help in midfield. His play was insipid, as the Italians say. He was a huge disappointment, IMHO. I hope he comes back and makes a very big statement next week, otherwise there could be some dark question marks clouding up the winter break assessment of Donovan. Quaranta was very rusty, but I thought up front once or twice he showed a glimpse, albeit a feint one, of what he could be. Mapp was fairly awesome, perhaps the best I've seen him. And I liked Jaqua and hope to see more of him at target foward.
DaMarcus - So-so game, IMO. Didn't really stand out going forward, but didn't really have to. Played well within Sarachan's total team pressure concept, and absolutely nothing developed for DCU down his side of the field. Justin Mapp - Besides the goal, I thought Andy Williams was transparent in the match, and Justin Mapp was an upgrade at the position. A natural left-footer on the right wing is always going to be an issue unless Mapp can learn to cross with his right. He was dangerous offensively, but he bailed out of a couple of tackles on the defensive side. Not the complete package, but going in that direction. When DMB leaves for Europe, left midfield is all Mapp's. Nate - Solid game in limited minutes. Prior to making his professional debut, I often referred to the incredible growth of Jaqua's game at UP while he was here. The trend continues. I think Nate is a much better player - much better - player now than he was in April. Nice assist to Razov. I think he has the potential to be a better player than McBride. Unfortunately for Nate, there's another UP alum finding his game on the other side of the pond who will be competing for Oly time. Warren - The only real bright spot for DCU. Great work all night, and shouldn't be faulted in either goal. Convey - Unlike everyone else around here, it seems, I think Convey is the victim of a terrible, hideous system at DCU. Could someone please explain to me what Convey's role and responsibilities are? Is he supposed to be an A-Mid? Honestly, I don't have a clue what the hell Hudson is trying to do. Etcheverry is a shell of a player, and Hristo isn't far behind. Both of them want to be the A-Mid, and both sit around and clog up space that should be taken by a player who wants to play and not bitch. DCU is a crap team with a crap attitude, and the rot on this team starts with their two biggest heads - Etch and Stoichkov. I hope they, and Dema, are dumped at the end of the year - I mean next Sunday. Quaranta - Non-factor, terrible touch, and lost.
Nope. You're not the only one with that opinion. It's difficult to accurately judge the U-23 players from DC United. I just hope they get serious about producing a winning team in the near future. What the heck are David Stokes and Brian Carroll thinking right now? Hudson promises that you'll get minutes to prove yourself in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. You start the first few rounds helping DC United advance to the semifinals. Then, Hudson decides he needs his usual starters to win the cup, so you're replaced and of course the team is knocked out immediately. You never get another chance. They must be sick.
My take on Convey is that he played very well, but was much overshadowed by the presence of the "Dismal Duo," Stoichkov and Etcheverry, who slowed everything down and played no defense. Emphasis on the latter. What a screw up. The difference in the team was amazing when Convey went to the middle with Etcheverry, then Stoichkov, out. It would have been an interesting game had DC started that way, then brought Stoichkov on late. Forget Etcheverry completely; he's a major hindrance.
Well, shocking as it may seem, I don't have very much to add to Voros' and Nutmeg's comments. But, hey, that's never stopped me. If Nate Jacqua becomes as good a "target" forward as McBride -- i.e., holding the ball, distributing headers, etc. -- he will be overall a better player than McBride in that his footskills, right now, seem to be superior. Also, it was pretty clear that DC United's strategy was to concentrate on shutting down Beasley first, than Razov, then Ralph. It worked pretty well. However, Beasley, despite the attention he got, almost scored. Two other items, one related to U23s and one not. First, Ante Razov played one of the most complete games from him I have seen: defense, runs, ball holding, clever attack creation, really the complete package. Second, isn't it astonishing that the Fire have such potent U23 weapons off the bench? Anything can happen in this playoff format, especially in the knockout round, but I think there is no doubt, despite whatever the final Cup outcome, that the Fire are the class of this league, due in very large part to the versatility and talent of their youth national team players.
I agree with Nutmeg's analysis. I would like to add that I think that Hristo isn't just a shell of a man, but a grumpy shell of a man. What a distraction from the game he's become, more of a whiner than a player.
I think one factor that also needs to be addressed re DCU is the coaching. Number one, Ray Hudson. Number two, Hristo Stoichkov. They blew it.