Hi, so let’s talk about how fun it is when it rains out all of the family stuff for one child while the other one is ill. How fun is that? Not very!
Recaps of D.C. United’s 3-0 win by us, WaPo, PSW and MLS. Charlotte Observer with the other side, such as it is.
How Wayne Rooney rescued Lewis O’Brien from football limbo (BBC): Nice little read.
Recaps of the Washington Spirit’s draw with Chicago by us.
Reviewing Loudoun United’s 3-1 humbling to Phoenix (us): It wasn’t that fun, but it does give them something to build on.
USL 50: Ranking the league’s top players (USL Tactics): A fine list that mentions a Loudoun player who we hope to have more from later this week.
Winger – The Loudoun United mascot – gets his own trading card (The Burn): Look, call him Neigh-mar Junior, I’ve said this.
Meanwhile, a piece of infrastructure gets put in at Segra:
Finally, the Taika Waititi film on Thomas Rongen’s Samoa team came out and boy howdy it kinda looks fun:
First, I am looking forward to that Rongen movie–even if it appears to take a lot of liberties with the truth. That’s just a heckuva good story.
Second, I’m still on a high from the weekend. This DCU team, as presently constructed (and presently playing) has the ability to be outplayed by the opposition yet not give up goals and then smash you in the face. Benteke is just such a great target man–he sucks the defenders to him. It’s going to be scary if he achieves just 25% accuracy with his headers he so consistently wins the ball.
And I posted this before but I’ve got to repeat it–the team joy for Greene’s goal–so much happiness for the kid, that says so much to me about this team and the guys on it and where they’re at right now. Any of you who have ever coached, you know how rare it is when the team just erupts because of who scores the goal–how happy they are for that player.
This was probably the most complete performance from the combined group this season. Sure Klich didn’t have a great night and Taxi is still trying to find his scoring form outside the penalty he scored, but other guys stepped up and the result showed.
On your note about being outplayed, I think speed on the flanks will kill this team. Just look what Farsi did against DC twice this season. Cincy will be a great test. Barreal has done well for them as a LWB so he will be a test for that defense. A defense, by the way, that has improved by leaps and bounds since switching to 3 CBs. Palsson had probably his best game in a DC shirt on Saturday.
Agreed–speed on the flanks is an issue for us–especially with Ruan out and Jeahze’s status a complete unknown at this point. I like Santos as a LB except–he was beaten a couple of times last night by someone just sprinting past him.
I have the original docu-movie, Next Goal Wins, starring our own Thomas Rongen. Really a fun ride. This looks a bit more polished, and I agree that there are a lot of liberties with the truth in play.
Rongen seems like an individual with the sense of humor that would enjoy this Taika Waititi dramatization.
I am certain that he would.
I was also blown away by the joy they felt for Greene. This team has limitations, but if they care for each other like that, the ceiling is higher than I thought. This season could be a lot of fun.
They weren’t outplayed. They dominated that game once they broke the press in about minute 22.
I love Neighmar Junior
Hah! Clever!
One last point (I didn’t make in my last post). Opta says that Benteke won 15 aerial duels in this last match–the most ever won by a single MLS player in a match since they’ve been recording data for MLS. Wowzer!
I came here to say this. Last night I posted about how dominant Benteke was in defending Charlotte’s set pieces. This data helps show it.
https://twitter.com/optajack/status/1652747586338422787?s=12
Someone on Twitter pointed out that Michael Fassbender is making something of a specialty out of channeling performances around RFK Stadium. First as Magneto in X-Men: Days of Future Past, and now as Thomas Rongen.
This guy gets it!
Correct point!
The game was fun, and there are things to say about it, but I thought I’d just plop in here something about the Spirit’s draw where more United focused fans will see it. This team is gonna be FUn, y’all, if Sophie Ricketts can find a way to make the field more often. Sanchez, Rodman, we know what is possible, Ricketts is a feisty baller. I’m very excited about what happens if we can hold onto all of them in the future, cuz a 4-2-3-1 with Hatch getting fed by those three would be some elite fabulous play.