MLS game #9: DCU 3 - TFC 3 - D.C. United

MLS game #9: DCU 3 - TFC 3

05/09/2009 11:22 PM by Kyle Sheldon

Well, that was a crazy one, eh?

What are your feelings coming out of a strange game like that? Are you pleased the team managed to salvage a point or disappointed things weren't kept a little tighter in the back? It's a tough call, but at the end of the day, D.C. United is still at the top of the Eastern Conference standings.

Here's your post-game rundown:

What did you think of the match tonight?

10 Comments

Toronto FC

Comments

10 Comments

05/10/2009 12:39 AM by ArlingtonUnited

Where is the video of past game conference. Toronto has already up theirs. It would be nice to post it here before the written comments.
05/10/2009 1:23 AM by Kyle Sheldon

You settle down. It's coming.
05/11/2009 7:44 AM by TCompton

Well, the game was entertaining and I'm glad the boys fought for the draw, but that first goal was had to swallow. I'd like to see Kocic be more composed and confident. I recognize that confidence in young keepers often comes from learning in games like this, but he still needs to command his box a bit more. That said, DeRosario is one of the Leagues best players (easily a top 11 player) and deserves credit for not giving up on the play.

S.Goff also caught a quote from Kocic, something about the crowd being too loud after United equalized the game. I don't think I've ever heard so(or ever want to hear again) someone complain about the noise levels in a home game. That's not something that a big-game keeper should EVER say.
05/11/2009 7:34 PM by jazzdog

It appears we are going to attempt to tie ourselves into the playoffs. It is actually not a bad strategy; as every other team in the East is playing crap soccer as well. If even one team could play decent, they'd run away with this division.

It seems, in the MLS, "parity" means universally mediocre.
05/11/2009 8:39 PM by blackandred4life

hello we're the best fans in major league soccer of course we're loud. crappy is a strong word. the only teams that are playing good soccer are seattle and chivas, and seattle is losing its grip. dont worry this team will get there. but one thing i worry about is are we going to be the team that couldnt get the team that couldnt get pat 30 points last year to the team that could only play well in the first half
05/12/2009 12:07 PM by Masterperez11

It was an amazingly entertaining game. I could barely watch the closing moments. My only concern is at what point do you start worrying that this is a bad trend. We are up and then we lose the lead and have to fight back to win. I hope that they nip this one in the bud.
05/13/2009 1:26 AM by SBdrdale

For the first 23 minutes of the game the team played and possessed. From that point, until the Moreno came on it was the equivalent of a bad college soccer game, with NO possession. From the 65th minute on, with Moreno and Pontius (yes I am a big Potius/UCSB fan) back in the game, things happened, possession happened, shots happened and the outcome from the 70th minute on was D.C. 2 – 1. From minute 23 thru 70, it was Toronto 2- 0.

In the long run, with a team that can control the ball, possess the ball, especially with the scoring potential on this team, you can win any game. To be a top team, you have to be able to control the ball, especially the middle of the field. The combination of Moreno, Emilio and Pontius all in the game together is the combo that has provided the most points and most control.

I contribute the last two ties to Soen, for putting in lineups that can’t control the ball. Sure he needs to try out a lot of different players at this point, but if we are commenting on why the ties, when they should be wins, I look at the line-ups. And I don’t want to hear about the need to rest guys. This MLS schedule, although long, is not concentrated. Dang, the college kids play two games a week on average, no one gets rested due to too much work, they practice the same amount and go to school!

Last note, “corner kick” inefficiency, this team has got to running in the lower levels of the league on corner kick futility.
05/13/2009 9:55 AM by TCompton

@SBdrdale:

Have you not paid attention to DC United over the last several years?

In 2006, DC United won the Supporters Shield. However because of fatique (which led to key injuries at the end of the season) they crashed out of the playoffs.

In 2007, the exact same thing happened.

In 2008, DC United couldn't even make it that far because of key injuries. Losses and more injuries piled up at the end of the season because of more exhausted players.

Soehn is trying to manage the problem throughout the course of the entire season so that the same result does not occur for United.

As for Jaime, there's no one better in the league at controlling the tempo and possession. No one. But he's 35 years old. If we were to play him every game for 90 minutes, he would last until July and that's about it.

As for the college kids, if they're pushed 100% all the time, they'll likely hit a wall this summer when their bodies wear down from a full season of professional soccer. A normal college soccer season is what?, somewhere around 26 to 30 games? DC United could play as many as 48 games this year, not counting any friendly games the club schedules.

If Soehn doesn't rotate players in and out, then come the end of the season we're going to see key injuries due to fatigue and they're replacements will not have the experience necessary to win the big games.
05/15/2009 1:35 AM by SBdrdale

I have to disagree. If the strategy is to not have worn out and injured players at the end of the season, start resting them when they are getting tired, say mid-season, or later. But for now, get a line-up in there that you can build around, possess the ball and control the game, while at the same time, trying different players, around a core.

Re: number of games. The current regular season schedule for 7 months, before playoffs has them at 32 games. That is 4.5 games per month. College averages 8 games per month. Arsenal just is just finishing 9 months of 2 games per week average, which is not uncommon for top tier teams in the Premier. And Ronaldo is screaming if he is taken out early and he is still going full steam at the end of the game.

To be honest I like Soehn a lot, but I believe he is making a mistake here and then mad at the team, when he's putting in the wrong line-up.

Lastly, if you train these guys in a way that they can't stay in shape at 1.2 games per week, or maybe a little over that with friendly's, then you are training them wrong. Again, the pros across the ocean are not lagging at the end of a longggg season and for the MLS guys, they should be shooting for being just as fit.
05/15/2009 8:19 AM by TCompton

Comparing games in MLS to European leagues is a little misleading. The European leagues do not play through a summer like MLS does. Most places throughout England also don't see humidity anywhere the levels that cities like DC, Houston, and Dallas sees.
Additionally, European clubs hardly have to deal with the fatique caused from 5 hour flights across the country.

As for working with the "core," who would you have as the "core?". Moreno, Gomez, and Olsen? They don't have the durability to play at high enough levels on consecutive days.

You look at Ronaldo as your example. How old is he? 26, 27? Perhaps you should look at players over the age of 30. How many games have Giggs, Scholes, or Neville been rested so they last the season?

As for the rookies, history has shown that there is a dip in performance due to MENTAL fatigue caused by the longer season, even if they're fit enough to play. Remember Boswell's own-goal scoring prowess?

I agree that Soehn's approach my not be the best for early season, but more often than not, the team that gets hot at the end of the season does the best in post season.

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