Saturday, August 18, 2007

Match 2.19 The Setup: DCU v. Columbus 8-18-07

In the year of our Lord Two-thousand and seven on the fourteenth day of the seventh month (7-14-07) the mighty DC United sinned against the soccer gods, settling for a draw after going up 3-nil on FC Dallas.

In the year of our Lord Two-thousand and seven on the eleventh day of the eighth month (8-11-07) the not so mighty Columbus Crew with the actually mighty Barros Schelotto committed the greater sin by allowing FC Dallas to take the full 3 points with a late goal in the 92nd minute.

Based on these most recent results math tells us the following:
FC Dallas = DC United
FC Dallas > Columbus Crew
Therefore DC United > Columubs Crew, right?

Tonight, the two sinners face off for the second time of the 2007 season. The first meeting was during United's 4 game winless season start and went to Columbus 1-0. The Crew, while not spectacular, are mounting a steady campaign towards the playoffs. United on the other hand are at times spectacular and other times less than spectacular. We'll call them inconsistent.

If we can disrupt Schelotto's distribution (8 assists on the season) we should at least be able to control the Crew attack. The problem we will have is finishing, not because of the Crew defense but because that is what United's problem is, the attack. I'm fairly confident the backline of Namoff, McTavish, Boswell, and Burch will handle the back as long as Simms is starting over Carroll in the defensive midfield position. Gomez has got to show something today for the attack or we might be better off with Dyachenko or Fred in his spot. At this point I don't believe Dyachenko or Fred are better footballers than Gomez but they seem to fit better in the team. Maybe even Moreno should be playing the 10 spot. I hope that Gomito finds his fit but I'm not holding my breath.

Hopes and Dreams for Match 2.19

1. Moreno takes the record with # 109.
2. First touches and passing are not our weakness. (This was a big problem in the LA SuperLiga match)
3. An unleashing of the attack potential I know DC has somewhere. I'd like to see 3 or 4 goals.
4. Burch from distance.

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