So the heat this afternoon is pretty unexpected, but otherwise it was a pretty darn nice afternoon for soccer. Yet only 12,089 showed up at RFK Stadium. Perhaps they knew what was in store for D.C. United, who found a new way to turn positive developments into a disaster with their 2-0 loss to New York.
Defender and team captain on the afternoon Carey Talley – marshalling for Jaime Moreno, who started on the bench – summed it up:
“I think we went away from our game plan, and not once did I think that we executed in the second half,” said Talley. “From the get-go, you could tell in the second half. In the first half, we were in good spots defensively. Therefore, when we won the ball, we were in good spots offensively. But then when we started doing our own thing instead of what is supposed to be done as a team, the team walks through you. Finally, we win the ball, and we’re not in good spots. I don’t know what happened in the ten minutes that we came in here, that we though maybe things are fine, no need to worry. We just have to execute the game plan. As players, we got away from that. I don’t know why.”
Well then, let’s start to play the blame game.
1. Desperation
“We’ve put so much into it, and we’ve heard all week how we have to win these games,” said Santino Quaranta. “Maybe at this point, getting a draw wouldn’t have been the worst thing in the world instead of being disorganized and giving up these soft goals and these counterattack goals.”
2. Execution, the lack thereof
“Just as you need to make plays on the defensive end,” said United head coach Curt Onalfo, “to prevent the ball from going into the back of the net, you need to make plays on the offensive end, put the ball in the back of the other team’s net, and all of a sudden, you’re dictating the game like we did on Wednesday.”
3. Continuity, the lack thereof
The response was poor after United surrendered the first goal, but the tactical changes were perplexing, starting with Moreno replacing Andy Najar, but Onalfo said that Najar was injured and was struggling. Moreno can change a game, but 40-yard runs with the ball at his feet that end in easy turnovers and weak shots on goal were what he provided this afternoon. Luciano Emilio, also a sub, didn’t add much more.
There was also more obvious candidate for replacement than Najar, Quaranta, who blamed the field conditions – it’s usually hot and sunny in D.C. from now until September, by the way – for his inability to get the ball over the first man on free kicks or corners. (To be fair, Talley also blasted a free kick into the wall, but Joel Lindpere had no trouble finding Juan Pablo Angel‘s head for the dagger strike.)
“It hasn’t really been a theme this year,” said Quaranta of his service struggles. “It was just today. It was very difficult to get this ball of this ground. I can’t explain how hard it was. It was very dry, sticky, just grabbing everything. That’s not the way it’s supposed to be played. It just calls for an ugly game. But in the end, the service wasn’t good enough, obviously.”
4. The inability to capitalize on the positives
United’s first 45 minutes against the Red Bulls were really the best they’ve played this season despite a few missed chances by New York. Talley got it right when he said something changed. In just three days time, D.C. will get its next chance to prove it can put together 90 minutes.
“It’s not the end of the year here, yet,” said Quaranta. “We still have a long way to go. We’re going to start getting some guys back, and we stand behind our coach, obviously. He’s stood behind us, and we’re going to keep pushing forward.”
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