MLS - August 31 - D.C. (RBA)

[ZYanksRule]

Martins confirmed out vs DC, but shouldn't be out too long.

Cushing:
“It’s not as serious as we first thought,” he explained of Martins’ injury. “It’s an irritation of a previous injury but only a slight irritation. He won’t be available for the game with D.C. but he won’t be out for long so we’re pleased with that – originally, we thought it would be a lot more serious than it was and it’s not."

looks like we'll see chanot & gray combo again. i'm not mad at it. gray filled in very well and looked more comfortable there (unsurprisingly)

Gray has always been good defensively, it's his work offensively at fullback that has caused the consternation. I agree that I think the best long-term position for him is CB.

 

[FootyLovin]

Game day, bitches!!!!!







oy vez.

 

[Brooklyn Blue]

Three up:

1) Pellegrini looks like he has some juice.
2) Zelalem didn't get a card.
3) Uhh...no puddles?

Three down:

1) Another injury - Tinnerholm, Callens, Morales, Martins, Parks, etc.
2) Haak got bullied, again.
3) Fourth place, which means a matchup with Philly if they can steal a first round win.

 

[CCMore]

If Tinny’s injury is serious, what are the odds we move on from him this winter?

 

[KevinJRogers]

Three up:

1) Pellegrini looks like he has some juice.
2) Zelalem didn't get a card.
3) Uhh...no puddles?

Three down:

1) Another injury - Tinnerholm, Callens, Morales, Martins, Parks, etc.
2) Haak got bullied, again.
3) Fourth place, which means a matchup with Philly if they can steal a first round win.

I like what we saw from Pellegrini (miniscule sample size, I know). And it was nice to see Zelalem show a little of why my Gunners were so high on him when he was 17, 18 years old. I've always thought the talent was still there, but his head got all scrambled after his family tragedy. It would be fantastic to see him pull it together. He can really play.

At least we finally showed some fang. We've been a wounded animal, and the hunters of the night have been after us. Tonight, we didn't roll over and play dead and just hope they went away.

 

[Revfugee]

why do i feel like we're gonna lose this game? sigh.

Because you are clairvoyant?

 

[KevinJRogers]

If Tinny’s injury is serious, what are the odds we move on from him this winter?

That's a really big question, especially considering his age. Turnbull has been pretty impressive on the Deuce, too (the obvious caveats apply).

Lots of decisions to be made at the end of the year. The FO has their work cut out for them.

Hopefully, it' s just one of those high doinks you can get when you suddenly turn on the jets, though. Maybe a couple weeks rest, or even less.

 

[moogoo]

rough night.

pelligrini looked hungry and was the catalyst of the intensity of the last 10 mins, i think.

zel needs more minutes and i wish we knew why he wasn't getting them. he might be a defensive liability, but offensively, he's more clever and creative than both haak and acevedo COMBINED. if maxi is not on the field, i'd like to see zel there matched with someone who can cover for him defensively... which admittedly, we simply don't have right now. and if he's not getting minutes with us, why is he not playing for the II squad to get match fitness and sharpness? I am really confused with his situation.

haak definitely getting bullied and needs to up his game. needs to get stronger and play faster.

heber had a great game and looked lively. just didn't have the creativity from the midfield to take advantage of him and our wingers tonight.

malte had a much better game tonight. gray also looked good.

 

[Revfugee]

ha. i just think if benteke does make his debut against us, he's going to be the one who gets that winning goal. who knows. maybe we run riot and win 6-0? that would be nice. but if we defend in a low block and park the bus vs DC, then I have little faith in doing anything in the playoffs this year.

Interestingly we didn’t lose any of those ways. But we still found a way…

 

[moogoo]

Interestingly we didn’t lose any of those ways. But we still found a way…

i do think our set piece defending is atrocious. i said this in chat, but the way we defend set pieces relies heavily on players reading the flight of the ball and being aggressive attacking it. if any of this fails, the chances of the attacking team will get a free header/shot goes way up.

on corners, we do that thing where some our "best headers" line up on the 6 while the rest kinda linger around sorta man marking in the box. if our "best headers" don't attack the ball, the mismatched man marking is to our detriment. on free kicks, we seem to be lining up in big groups while leaving wide open opposition with no one tracking them. this can't be happening. either our guys are not defending the way they're supposed to or our defending strategy needs to change.

i understand the personnel is different now, but defending set pieces is all about attacking the ball. that's a mentality/intensity thing and we were missing that for much of this game and the past handful of games.

not having a strong connection through the midfield is hurting us the most though. haak and acevedo combo just isn't cutting it, which is why i'd rather cushing just give zel a try and see if we can make something happen going forward at least.

 

[moogoo]

i just had a thought. we're the man united of MLS lol. talented players all around, but just not performing. and... we aren't spending a billion on players.

 

[KevinJRogers]

not having a strong connection through the midfield is hurting us the most though. haak and acevedo combo just isn't cutting it, which is why i'd rather cushing just give zel a try and see if we can make something happen going forward at least.

Ditto, although with the added thought we might be better served simplifying things a little. And that goes double if we're losing Tinnerholm for any length of time.

 

[GratefulDawg]

Fuck us. I hate us.

GREAT NEWS! We didn't give up a goal after 75'!!!

I thought Acevedo had some good moments.

Several of our guys have way too much talent to be that uninspiring.

I at least helped a friend's daughter win the halftime competition by picking out Bustin' Loose by Chuck Brown.

D.C. go-go classic, and the most obscure pick I've ever seen them try at halftime.

 

[ZYanksRule]

I still believe anything we get this season is gravy after winning MLS Cup last year, but that is unacceptable. Home losses to Charlotte and D.C. United. Putrid stuff, that.

Unacceptable to lose to Charlotte two weeks ago, and unacceptable to lose to D.C. United tonight. It's just not good enough. Too passive defensively, too lackadaisical offensively.

I know there are four -- now five -- starters injured, but this team is still good enough. Cushing is not getting the most out of his roster.

 

[twsj91]

Benteke is freaking massive. Dude made Chanot look normal sized. He’s gonna be a force if DC can put a team together

 

[Fabio]

Shame, shame, shame! Another shameful defeat. This time against the very last in the standing! 5 defeats in the last 6 games!!! To fire Cushing! NOW!!!

 

[Revfugee]

i do think our set piece defending is atrocious. i said this in chat, but the way we defend set pieces relies heavily on players reading the flight of the ball and being aggressive attacking it. if any of this fails, the chances of the attacking team will get a free header/shot goes way up.

on corners, we do that thing where some our "best headers" line up on the 6 while the rest kinda linger around sorta man marking in the box. if our "best headers" don't attack the ball, the mismatched man marking is to our detriment. on free kicks, we seem to be lining up in big groups while leaving wide open opposition with no one tracking them. this can't be happening. either our guys are not defending the way they're supposed to or our defending strategy needs to change.

i understand the personnel is different now, but defending set pieces is all about attacking the ball. that's a mentality/intensity thing and we were missing that for much of this game and the past handful of games.

not having a strong connection through the midfield is hurting us the most though. haak and acevedo combo just isn't cutting it, which is why i'd rather cushing just give zel a try and see if we can make something happen going forward at least.

Hard for me to imagine that second goal happening with either Callens or Martins on the pitch. We knew at the start of the season that the back line was thin. And so it goes.

I agree Zel should have a look as a Keaton stopgap. Haak aint Haaking it. Tayvon was actually pretty good as a CB but Vuk is out of his depth.

Malte was our best player but didn’t even go 90.

Hoping we can pull of a result in Foxborough. It’s gonna take a minor miracle.

 

[Davo15]

I presumed this was blacked out so watched Netflix and AEW and just followed the score on my phone and occasionally checked this chat box. Sounds like I didn't miss anything worthwhile. I hate being checked out on the season but their making it very hard right now.