Love ya, Mike. Yes, it's nice to actually beat a lower level team in OT. We'll take what we can get in this tournament...
It re-directed off of Drew Moor's foot. The scoring chance was created when a Wilmington player knocked Yi to the ground as they both went for a header and Yi headed the ball right to the player that scored the goal. Yi was on the ground and Wilmington took advantage of a 4 on 3 break.
my thoughts on the game were that maurin, and salyer need to start looking for other jobs....the both looked over matched the whole game, phil in particular when the subbed in #15 who just smoked him with speed time and time again...Yi for a big guy loses a lot of headers and doesnt seem to have much upper body strength as he seemed to end up on the ground on alot of challenges....Pareja was very good, i thought he did a great job of spraying the ball around and kept the boys motivated...Mina's goal was fantastic as was his ability to take players on...just lacking the instinct to pass it before that last challenge comes...FCD was lucky to get this win, when the Hammers hit the post late in the game and then blew the rebound, it should have been over. fun game to attend though, nice crowd for a weds
I think that is a bit harsh. Phil played okay. I thought while he didn't have some of the balls into the box like Wags, he played okay. Ty, though.... Ramon will continue to play on Sundays until he matures. The talent is there, but he needs to actually learn the MLS game instead of trying to impose his game on the team. Overall, we did what we had to do, but at a price. Aaron's legs are going to be shorter come Saturday. We won't have Oscar as a sub possibility - he was done at the end of his run last night. Mina, Ronnie, Rhine and Alvarez also played minutes I wish we hadn't had to have. I'm not so worried about Mina - he didn't overexert himself - or Rhine or Alvarez (didn't play too long). But Ronnie really poured everything he had into this one. I'm sure he will be dangerous for a lot of the game on Saturday, but Simo is going to have to be the monster he can be if ROB's legs get a bit short late in the game.
The version we did was "You're going home in your mama's minivan!" to the tune of "You're going home in a Dallas ambulance." We also did "We're not worthy" on the Mina goal. That was just absolute brilliance. To see it and hit it... wow.
The actual chant was "This game matters!" to the rhythm of "Let's go Dallas!" "Come on Dallas!" in the English way was also done.
Favorite Inferno chants/comments on the night: "Take Maurin, please" "Watching the pushing 20, don't make us bring in Goodson!" And of course, "What makes the grass grow? Blood! Blood!"
Thoughts on the players: Wags: Did a good job getting up and down the line all night. Had a wicked shot on goal in the second half. Also did well defensively. Had some times where he was not aggressive enough defensively - played fifteen yards behind a player when there was noone else for him to mark on his side. Also, could have been more aggressive offensively. Early crosses are fantastic, but by the end of the first half, the isolated a single defender on him, and the center backs stayed in the middle because they knew he would swing in an early ball. He needed to take the defender on once, just to keep the center backs honest and loosen up the middle a bit. Moor: I thought he played an outstanding game. Won tons of balls in the air and has a better verticle leap than I noticed in the past. Yi: Also had a very good game. Won a lot of balls in the air, and didn't have the characteristic bad pass that leads to a goal. Much safer in distribution and didn't give the ball away. Won't challenge for a first team spot yet, but showed an improvement in decision making. Salyer: Can we have him and Maurin race and see who is slower? Made some nice runs in the first half off the ball that went unnoticed. Really kind of dissappointed out there. Worst defensive player by far, and once Wilmington noticed, they slid number 15 over there to challenge him. Talley: My man of the match. Didn't touch the ball enough during the course of the match, but when he did, he made quick, composed decisions. Scored the winning goal. Moved very well, very fluid off the ball. you could tell he was fresh, and I thought he played quite well. Pareja: Invisible for a lot of the match. Things spruced up when he came out, because while he was in there, there wasn't enough movement in the three midfielders, things were stagnant. No runs off the ball from him, no interchange with forwards. A poor game, worst midfielder. Pitch: Seems to struggle more in games like this when he has time on the ball. In MLS games, he is forced to make the quick decision, and does well with the first touch pass. When he has time on the ball, he chokes up a bit. Worst I have seen him play. Maurin: Worst forward. Had some moments of energy, but spent a lot of time walking and was exposed for speed. When I have seen him play well, it has been as one of the three midfielders. He did not seem comfortable at the forward spot. Probably the worst player on the field for FCD. Also did a poor job of staying high. When the outside back would get the ball, he would not attack him, he would stay back and try and mark the midfielder, which is supposed to be Wags' job. Thompson: Had no support for most of the game. Nice goal scored. As long as Pareja was in, there was no movement to allow other players to crash into the box. So he was up there by himself with four defenders. Also, the other forwards weren't pushing high enough, so he was on his own. He had nobody to play off of. Also, I thought was too determined to stay in the middle. There were times where the diagonal run to the corner was there, and he just didn't take it. Nunez: Started poorly, but when the subs were made and he was pushed back to midfield, was much more effective. Is not a forward, and struggled in that position. In short, I think Maurin and Nunez are more comfortable in the midfield, and it showed. They did not stay forward and keep the pressure up top. In the midfield, as long as Pareja was in there, there was no movement, so the midfield was not dynamic as it should be. We had to force crosses in the entire first half because nobody was moving for the easy square pass in the middle of the field. Thoughts on the Inferno: Much better in the second half than in the first. In the first half, it seemed like you were more interested in creating noise than anything else. All that does is beat down the rest of the crowd, so that when the noise finally stops, the crowd is like a library. In the second half, it wasn't just about noise creation. You were silent for more time periods, and that allowed both the crowd and the inferno to react to the actual plays on the field. The "ref is a bastard" chant is a perfect example of that. A clever reaction to a play on the field that had the support of the rest of the fans. IMHO, that is when the Inferno is at it's best - when individuals in the group are yelling things at players. When as a group you clap and cheer at a hard tackle and the rest of the crowd joins in. When something happens on the field and you react to it. The ref chant is a great example of that. Do an FCD or an "FC Dallas" chant after a great shot or a great play, to pump up the crowd or the team and show appreciation for a particular run of play, rather than just out of the blue, at a random time. When it is random, it runs along the same premise of canned sounds at Arrowhead. It might be a good chant, but it serves no purpose... The best part of a football match is honest reaction from the crowd. And if you lead that honest reaction, whether it is to cheer at a good play or degrade the team for a poor performace, that is when you are at your best. But just creating noise and chants at random points in the match don't bring nearly as much to the table, and they drown out the honest reaction of the crowd. Just my two cents, not being a jerk or anything, just wanted to throw some ideas out there.
Sadly I must concurr with Council on this matter. The talent is more than there. But the Barrister is correct. The will to apply it judiciously and with discipline is sorely lacking. The perceived upside is that ClarkE now has his next miracle project. Thus far, he holds a record of 1-0-0 having seen EJ through to a tidy salary of £10k per week. The twist will be in the tale. -bs
Actually, considering what Clarke has to deal with, I think he is doing a good job with both, and what has happened with EJ gives me hope that Ramon will someday see the light. Maybe a year or two from now. I'm not ready to give him tons of time, but I'm also not ready to give up on him.
Simmer down on the D&D! I make sure that game get shipped every day to pay the bills. And in all honesty...D&D players would have come up with more creative disses than that snert.
That sounds like a cool job. And I'm inclined to agree, as I've run with that crowd some in the past I didn't see it before boomer mentioned it, but I admit laughing at "FC Gay"...it's been a long day tho, heh...besides, I think Andy Milonakis is funny too. 409 people, wow. I was expecting more. Hell, I got there early partially because tickets sounded like they were gonna be limited. Probably just as well, as that wasn't exactly a representative performance. It still looks like a win in the following day's box scores though
Oddly enough, I could not pick up KFCD in Washington. I was just reading this board, and there were not many posts. I came to the wrong conclusion. By the way, you do not agree with Council, you agree with Counsel. Cheers! Sir Drinxalot, vox fatum. FCDORF. I do, I will