Yellow Is The Color Of Piss
This was a six-point game, with United sitting one point ahead of the Yellow Team when the opening whistle blew. The depth of United's roster would be put to the test on a night where key starters Emilio, Moreno, Quaranta, and Jackovic were missing.
Depleted though it was, United had the game within its grasp, but could not muster enough sustained tactical variety or individual quality to win. The full three points lay tantalizingly out of reach . . . .
Talon Rating: 2 1/2 out of 5 birds
United's 3-5-2 may not have been the best formation to go with under the circumstances. Early on, it was evident that our outside midfielders stood out for being neither particularly threatening in the attack nor strong on defense. Not the best state of affairs, but at least Ben Olsen was around to shore things up in the center of the park.
The opening minutes were disjointed. Columbus worked very hard to deny United players time on the ball, and DC could not get a rhythm going. Columbus, on the other hand, looked dangerous on some quick counterattacks, winning a lot of set pieces. Wallace, Janicki, and Burch did not inspire much confidence on defense, with Janicki in particular struggling to keep up with Alejandro Moreno, he of the Brillo-pad hair. Gomez and Pontius were not getting many touches and, therefore, were fairly quiet.
For most of the initial stages of the first half, the story for United was Khumalo, displaying speed that took him all over the field and some good recoveries on defense. Sadly, his ubiquity exposed deficiencies with his touch and vision.
Things changed with a bang in the 33rd with an opportunistic strike by Gomez. The Columbus defense was completely broken down and confused, as Simms, N'Silu, and Pontius put the Crew under tremendous pressure. Gomez pounced on a loose ball and buried it.
After the goal, DC was better at keeping possession. This appears in part to have been the result of Columbus--inexplicably--dropping off and giving DC more room to play.
United should have had another in the 44th, as Pontius broke through and got off a shot that bounced off Hesemer's fingertips. No DC United player was following up the play to tap in the ball. At this point DC was clearly playing conservatively to get into the locker room with a tie, but shouldn't N'Silu at least have been hustling down the pitch? Gahh. Have you ever noticed that N'Silu does not exactly play with the eagerness of a young guy?
Columbus came out for the second half looking dialed in, but after a few minutes the game was all DC United, who was fast and composed while Columbus was continuing to drop off and look disorganized. Fred came in for Khumalo and did absolutely nothing at all.
Then, catastrophe.
Goal Columbus in the 58th. Fred offered minimal defense of Ekpo, Burch was hypnotized by the ball, and Wallace was indifferent about tracking back on the weak side. As a result, Brillohead found himself all alone with acres of space to receive a nice lofted header and flick in a score. As could be expected, the goal gave the Crew a bit of a boost.
The boost did not last for long, however. Gomez did not flag, and United started pouring on the offense. Shooting is a good thing, but United's players, for the most part, were making long-range, low percentage shots. A bit of calmness, maturity, and patience around the box could have helped generate better chances. But, alas, Jaime Moreno was not in uniform.
The game lumbered on into the 80th. At this point, it seemed hard to imagine how United could score again. The Crew continued to be disjointed and uninspiring, but United looked like it desparately needed a spark and change in the status quo in order to lay claim to the full three points. Soehn did not have many options off the bench to provide such a spark, and his substitution of Barklage for N'Silu in the 86th all but ensured a tie.
Pontius and Gomez played well. Going forward, let's hope Gomez and Olsen continue their positive trajectories. Wallace looks like he could use a little rest. But Fred, oy, what to do about Fred?
One point is still better than none, however, especially considering who United was missing on the night.
Here's Goff's player ratings (with the exception of the 6 for Pontius, way too high across the board, IMHO):
Wicks 6; Namoff 7, Janicki 7, Burch 7; Khumalo 6, Olsen 7.5, Simms 6, Gomez 8, Wallace 5; Pontius 6, N'Silu 6. Subs: Fred 6, Barklage 6.
Here's BDR (be sure to scroll down and read about his cat story) and DCUMD, who wonders if Fred is sliding down further on the depth chart (on his salary? yikes).
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