Big game tonight for UVa. They must show they can play enough defense to jump back off the porch and play with the big dogs. Murmmers of Kenny not 100%, but supposed to play. Courtney seems to be otherwise preoccupied, so I thought I'd start the thread. John
Alecko at the 64 min. mark with an unassisted patented turn from the 18 into the right upper 90. Uva controlled much of the play with much imoroved midfield performance. Arena was tremendous, winning as well as distributing. My MOM. LeBlanc did fairly well as the playmaker, saw more of the ball as the game went on. UMD looked dangerous in the first half with sev. counters, and UVa had trouble clearing the box on sev. corners and restarts. The defense looked to be gelling with Hartman at LB and Freeman at RB. Very chippy in the 2nd, with sev yellows to Uva(Alecko, Kelly, Wright). Sasho and the center ref. had to be held back from each other by police and Causey after the game. I think we may be starting to play better ball at the right time, for a change. John
UVA looked better than they have all year. Maryland looked good at times also. The game could have swung either way but I think UVA definitely deserved to win. Alecko was marked out of most of the game, but he had four or five breaks, one of which he put away. After a mid-field give away from the terps, Esky ended up with the ball outside the arc of md 18 box, took a touch to his left and fired a rocket into the upper corner- unstoppable. Both Defenses looked good the first half, but second half gave way to half dozen or so quality chances from both teams (not shots, but dangerous chances). Maryland did not seem to have any midfield in the game- almost invisible except for 19 outside who schooled Freeman and nearly strolled into goal. Maryland was very poor on their final touches near and in the 18. Finally Leblanc is starting to control the midfield (remember maryland's midfield?- and so he was the difference in my book). Kelly looked solid pushed out wide- no Vide- but they did not miss him. Gibbs played only 15 or so minutes. Johnson was up front with Esky- not much happening there. UVA defense was solid except for Freeman getting schooled once, and the left back- some kid from Roanoke, VA- was beaten several times-twice by Md forward Diaz who should have done better with his passes back from the 6 yard box. I have cut up Arena in the past because of his horrid ball skills and vision for passing- but when the kid plays Defense and focuses on that, he can do the job nicely- definitely Alexi Lalas type career for him in MLS. I still maintain that UVA can win the ACC and the NCAAs if they are on and do not whine like babies nor cater to their egos, and instead just play. Speaking of babies, the Maryland coach sure acted like a whiny baby, pissed as hell at the refs, cursing, pointing fingers in the face and all sorts of 6th grade neo-pubescent behaviour. it does not matter if the ref sucks or misses calls- what a sight to see a grown man act that way, especially one that is in a position of leadership, mentorship, and all that jazz.
I believe Gibbs' hammy is still bothering him. Comfort looked shaky on sev. punches in the first half, but settled down in the 2nd. Had to come out to clear the ball outside the box a lot. Again Thompson failed to impress at all. Did nothing with the few chances he had. Megaloudis kept turning around talking to some girl, asking for a ball bat, acting like he was going to fight somebody, etc-real mature stuff. Great game all in all- def worth the price of adm. And yes, there is no chance that we will see Alecko matriculate at the university next year. John
Wow. What a game! Sasho was definately wigging out, going onto the field several times, and then at the end he went after the ref and even the female cop! I can't believe that no action was taken against him. What's even more amusing was that most of the really bad calls were in MD's favor. Diaz was constantly up in Freeman's face, and in a big scuffle Palmer was all over a few people (then Alecko threw a punch). Meanwhile there were no yellows given to any MD players or coaches, and many fouls that should have been called weren't. Anyway, I was kind of surprised that UVA actually pulled it off. I told my mom before the game that if UVA lost she had to take me out to dinner, and since UVA won I'm making steak and shrimp here instead (oh damn!). Kenny Arena had a good game, as did Hunter Freeman (who had his right knee taped during the first half). Matt Oliver looked solid as usual. As long as George keeps Hunter in the line-up, defensively UVA will be alright. Even John Hartman, who usually doesn't impress me, had a pretty decent game. I was surprised to see Gibbs in at all, but awhile after he'd been in he garbbed his leg, and shortly after Eric Solomon was subbed in for him. Comfort did well too. As for Maryland, wow. These guys were all over the place (in a good way, for them). It seemed every other time UVA got the ball that a MD player was right in the middle of their pass, or right in front of their shot. Stammler (#2) was especially impressive, but the whole team looked good. I wouldn't be surprised if they went far in the NCAA tourney. Too bad Sasho is such a whacko. I expected more from Thompson, but I was glad to be disappointed. Overall though, a very entertaining game. I was still surprised with the lack of cards on MD's side. Bill Dittmar, who was one of the linesmen, reffed at JMU the other nite and didn't take much crap from the coaches, handing out yellows to both Martin and Tom Foley for arguing with his calls. I kind of expected him to at least talk to Sasho, but I didn't see any of that going on. Anyway, that's enough from me. Tonite's game gave me a little bit of hope that my Cavs just might be alright. But I don't even want to think about next year...
Just got back from my drive home from C-Ville. The 2 hour trip was long enough for me to that out. It was a tad nippy down in the valley tonight! As others have said, the game was won by a nice 18-yard blast from Alecko - you could tell it was going in from the moment he struck it - after a terrible turnover by one of the Maryland midfielders. The game was back-and-forth but neither team had too many chances though UVa certainly had more posession. Maryland's midfield is, well, non-existent. The Terps play a 4-3-3 but the 3 mids appear to have no sense of shape and position and the backs seem to just play a lot directly to the forwards but that doesn't really play to their strengths. Sasho really needs to consider a different formation, like one with a traditional playmaking mid and holding mid and 2 flank mids. Until then, Maryland is gonna spin its wheels against better teams. Having said all that, the most interesting part of the game was a melee shortly after UVa scored and then Sasho's post-game tirade. A few minutes after the goal, UVa had the ball in the right corner and a cross was sent into the box but too high for Alecko. Knowing he couldn't get the ball, Alecko decided to do the next best thing and whacked one of the Terp defenders with an elbow that dropped the Maryland guy to the ground in a heap. It was pretty nasty and seen by everyone in the stadium and on the field... except the ref. Maryland's keeper, Noah Palmer, charged off his line and shoved Esky down and then Clarence Goodson and Ryan Gibbs got into it and we were "that close" to a bench clearing brawl and total chaos. The ref finally seperated everyone and after consulting with the assistant ref, who saw the play, gave Alecko a yellow. This decision made Sasho go postal as he obviously thought Esky should have been tossed. In fairness, Sasho had a good point but since the ref missed the play, the odds of him tossing a player on the word of a linesman are thin. So the game is chippy till the final whistle but Maryland never really threatens and as soon as the game ends Sasho charges out to the field to confront the ref, who missed several calls that went both ways and really let the game get more physical than it should have been. So Sasho is tearing into the ref and a pair of UVa cops - one of whom looked a lot like Chief Wiggum from The Simpsons - come up to separate them. My vision got partially blocked but Sasho shoved someone, either the ref or one of the cops but one of the cops takes out a knight stick and the ref is chasing Sasho down and Sasho is being pulled away by his assistants - and his players. It was entertaining but it was totally unprofessional and I'll be really surprised if Sasho isn't suspended at least a game for this incident. And if it was a cop he pushed, he might be dealing with more than his boss and the conference office. I know Sasho cares about his players but he is always such a sore loser and always seem to blame the refs when he loses. Compare that to Clemson, who got totally screwed on a terrible call last week at Maryland but didn't bitch or moan after the game. Sasho's whining really wears thin and is unbecoming. As for players who stood out, or who didn't stand out, Clarence Goodson continues to impress me in central defense. He never loses a ball in the air and despite being much bigger than the forwards, never gets beaten when the ball is on the ground. Chris Lancos also had a nice game at right back and Erwin Diaz was dangerous tracking back and taking guys on 1-v-1 but as others alluded to, he didn't do enough once he got around his backs. Abe Thompson really was invisible for too long but as I said before, a lot of that is because Maryland's midfield doesn't do enough to get them the ball. For UVa, Ryan Kelly had a nice game at right mid and if he steps up he's gonna make the Cavs much more dangerous. Paul Johnson started for Gibbs, who apparently is too dinged up to start. Johnson is a great athlete and he's gonna be a good player but right now he is very tactically naive. Finally, Kenny Arena had a strong game. He was playing almost as a stopper in front of the 2 center backs and cleaned out almost everything Maryland launced into the Cavs defensive third. His distribution wasn't flawless but he made no glaring errors and despite always looking awkward, he's very effective. That's all for now though I'm sure I'll remember more as I continue to reflect.
Courtney, did you see Sasho shove the cop? If he actually did shove a cop, I doubt this incident is over for him.
That's what my mom and a bunch of other people were saying, I didn't actually see it, I couldn't find him in the big crowd and everyone around me was screaming and yelling and I was like "whoah, what's going on?" But yeah, that's what I'm assuming happened.
Just got back from the game, and what a game it was. Too bad about that little scuffle that broke out with about 15 minutes or so left in the game, although entertaining, the match was basically over after that. For UVA, I thought Kenny Arena played well, one just about everything in the air, and distributed well. For all the flack he takes on these boards, I thought he had a nice game. Ryan Kelly played well also, he really played some nice diagonal long balls, and was dangerous out on the right where he was playing. Alecko is Alecko, and that shot he hit was brilliant. As for UMD, I thought they had the better of the play in the first half, but didn't convert. Everyone is right about their lack of midfield, their backs just boot it up the park and force the strikers to chase. When the midfielders do get the ball, they basically just dribble until the lose it, or they fail to make an effective final pass. I've seen the forwards check to the ball to, but the backs and middies just boot it into the corner, and then it's a mad rush to see who gets there first. I suspect this is why Thompson was invisible, and also disappointing. Same can be said for Diaz too. Most of their time is spent chasing after long balls, that are more or less played wide and away from goal, rather than getting touches from midfield passes, and being able to turn and hit some shots. What a season this has been, one of the best and most competitve in recent years. The ACC tournament is gonna be a sight to see this year, that's for sure. Can't wait, I've already got my tickets.
Cirovski has some sort of insane opposition to letting the midfielders actually be involved in the game. I think his perfect game would be two teams playing a 505 and just kicking the ball as far upfield as possible. This is an embarrassment. He's a brilliant recruiter (if any MD player saw their style of play, I would expect them to run away as fast as possible, but somehow he gets them to stay), but that's about it. He's arrogant, his tactics are predictable, boring, and ineffective, and things like this just top it off. I've been saying this for over a year...Cirovski shouldn't be employed by the University of Maryland. The team succeeds in spite of him, and this should be the last straw.
Alecko out Alecko must sit for UVa's next game with 5 yellow card accumulation. http://www.dailyprogress.com/frontpage/MGBH1BQ318D.html John
a pretty fair assessment from the Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54663-2002Nov1.html as a spectator at the game, it clearly got way out of control...the ref should have started pulling out cards much earlier in the match. MD was the better team in the 1st half, UVA the better team in 2nd half. MD coach (Sasho?) went absolutely nuts after the game and almost went through a cop...she actually pulled out her stick after he pushed her!
Cirovski DID push a FEMALE policewoman and she DID pull out her night stick. But aside from the lack of control exhibited by the referee and missed calls, lack of ejections, etc... none of those incidences impacted the final outcome. Eskandarian usually IS marked out of a match and gets 1-5 chances a game. As usual, he put his one chance away with world class skill. Abe Thompson was more dangerous than Eskandarian in my opinion but had a couple good shots go wide of the goal. He got a taste of what Eskandarian gets all season: zero service from his midfield or teammates save for long balls booted up the field. The fact that MD's midfield was outplayed by UVa's midfield should make Terp fans more ashamed than they already should be to be supporting MD. UVa's midfield has been crap this year yet MD got worked by them... Finally, I wish that policewoman would have bopped Sasho on the head.
Yeah, Mom said she had the stick out. So true... That would have been pretty awesome. A buncha people cheered for her when she left anyway though. Does anyone know of anything coming from the whole incident? Suspensions or whatever?