Wake Me Up Before You Go Go
Wasn't that exciting?
Going into this match I had a bad feeling. DC United had to be tired, traveling cross-country after Saturday's epic collapse in San Jose, during which our star regulars already looked tired and beaten up. C.D. Luís Ángel Firpo appears to be a decent side with a pedigree, although still in its preseason.
With United on weary legs, depleted by injuries to Simms and Boyzzz, and with a league showdown looming in Houston, the stage was set for a fiasco in the first leg of the home-and-away series.
Instead of an apocalypse, however, the tens of United fans in attendance were treated to a poorly played, painfully dull match.
An affair so dreary, I may have dozed off at one point, never before having slept with so many people at the same time.
A couple of the key issues for our team were:
1. Turnovers; and
2. Poor finishing.
With respect to the turnovers, not only were United players eagerly passing to the men in white shirts, but on more than one occasion our guys had the ball unceremoniously dispossessed from their feet.
Such was the case with the tragic Greg Janicki on the play that led to the first goal, the Firpo player taking the ball with impunity, like a bully stealing an ice cream cone from your lumbering, slow-witted second cousin.
With respect to number 2 (the second point, not the match as a whole, which was a load of number 2), these guys need shooting practice! It's fundamental: you must get your body over the ball. Sadly, a number of scoring opportunities went for nothing because our guys were either leaning or falling backward when they took their shots.
Some random player observations:
Szetela: good hustle, disappointing first touch
Moreno: great first touch, old and slow
Gomez: showed up for the last 7 minutes
Emilio: good effort, poor finishing
Janicki: at least he means well
McTavish: actually better than usual in the second half
John: ughh . . . way to nearly give away the game at the death
Jacobson: he does what, exactly?
N'Silu: could not have left the game soon enough
Everyone else: meh
The players revealed their limitations, but, honestly, most seemed to be doing the best they could, so you really can't beat up on them too much. It was what it was.
On the other hand . . . when Jaime Moreno came out, he took off his shoes and socks and engaged in some pretty desultory stretching on the sideline next to the bench. Not that our players don't hold the single-season record for hamstring injuries or anything, but god-damn, that was some lazy stretching.
All things being equal a tie here wasn't the end of the road. United has an even shot of advancing in the tournament; all it has to do is win one game. In the final analysis, the match was like sympathy sex: unsatisfying, yet sufficient.
Talon rating: No birds.
Even Talon did not see fit to show up for this one.
UPDATED:
Kocic, who did not distinguish himself in terms of commanding the box, holding on to the ball, and distribution, at least was perceptive enough to offer the following observation:
"We played like we are on a neutral field," goalkeeper Milos Kocic said of United's lack of passion at home, where it is undefeated in all competitions this year. "I was yelling at the guys, 'Let's go, let's go, this is our field.' I hate tying. We have so many this season and we better step up soon if we want to stay on the top in the league and especially now with the game away" next week.
Goff's player ratings reflect the curve on which he grades:
Kocic 5; Jakovic 5, Janicki 3, John 5; McTavish 5, Jacobson 4.5, DiRaimondo 5, Szetela 5, Wallace 5.5; Moreno 6, N'Silu 4. Subs: Emilio 5, Gomez 4, Pontius 6.
The idea, I suppose, is that these middling rankings reflect the team's mediocre performance. However, the performance was one of bad mediocrity, not just average blandness, and so his ratings are too generous.
United Mania is pessimistic about United's chances of getting a result in El Salvador next Tuesday. DCUMD gives props to Danny Szetela. BDR is agitated.
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