DC United
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That was bizarre. Not just clown showing up at a bachelor party bizarre, but a clown shows up a bachelor party and is really the thought to be dead ex-wife of the groom bizarre.
Toronto and D.C. played to a 3-3 draw that may have been the strangest game at RFK ever. After 90 minutes, a butt-load of stoppage time, and 6 goals, I’m not even sure what happened. There are a few things I am sure about:
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D.C. United v Toronto FC
8/6/2011, Saturday, 7:30 PM
RFK Stadium
Last Four Head-to-Head:
4/16/11 – 3-0 D.C. United (a) (Pontius x2, Davies)
3/12/11 – 2-2 Draw (n) (Davies, Ngwenya; De Rosario, Santos) – (Carolina Challenge Cup)
10/23/10 – 2-3 Toronto (h) (Quaranta, Moreno; De Rosario x2, Santos)
9/11/10 – 1-0 D.C. United (a) (James)
Tomorrow will be a meeting of two teams in search for an identity. D.C., with now not-so-newly acquired Dwayne De Rosario and Brandon McDonald, has shown to be not content with the rebuilding label and wants to win right now. Toronto is not quite as far a long. After a terrible first half of the season spent mashing square pegs in to round holes, they’ve decided it might be more advantageous to find some round pegs. Play-offs look out of their reach barring a miracle turnaround while almost an entirely new looking roster.
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Last Saturday, D.C. United gutted out a 2-0 at San Jose. Dwayne De Rosario’s two second half goals gave D.C. a lead in a frustrating game for both teams. It was only after Andy Najar was sent off for a professional foul that San Jose seized the initiative, but a committed rear-guard performance saw D.C. through to the three points.
The game was destined to be a slug-fest. Not only did D.C. United have severe injury issues up front(missing Wolff, Nwgenya, and Davies), but San Jose had similar woes at the back, and Steven Lenhart, who had so much success in their last game against D.C., was missing due to personal issues. Combine that narrow field, and only one true line-hugging wide player(Convey), the game was a showcase of a packed midfield, long-balls, and crowded final thirds.
More after the jump.
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- Dwayne De Rosario is the best kind of All-star, the inactive kind. He’ll be recognized as one of the league’s top performers, get a nice little bonus, but won’t have to miss any D.C. practices to go play an exhibition game. Which is certainly a good thing as he has only been with his current teammates for about a month now. Plus, that meeting with Hans Backe would have been a wee bit awkward.
It’s De Rosario’s sixth All-star selection, just another accolade in a MLS career full of them. De Rosario on the selection : “Getting called to the All-Star team is always an honor and I appreciate it. It has been a long year for me in terms of games, with the Gold Cup. It would be nice to play against [Manchester United], but we have another big game coming up against San Jose.” (DCUnited.com)
Glad to see he is focused on the next game. Hopefully the defense is too, I’m not sure I could sit through another Steven Lenhart goal.
More news after the jump.
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‘Olsen’s Orphans’ need to find a home and find it quickly.
Right now D.C. United is teetering uneasily on the edge of playoff contention and threatening to tumble into the abyss of the “there’s always next season” lowlands alongside an increasingly red-faced Steve Nicol and two Canadian teams that fire their coaches more often than Charlie Davies changes goal celebrations.
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After building BMO Field into a fortress in its first couple years in MLS, the Canadians’ home field doesn’t quite carry the mystique it once did, at least not for the Black & Red. It was only last year when Toronto faced D.C. at BMO Field and the Canadians were in a must-win situation. D.C. had only pride to play for while Toronto was in the thick of the race for the playoffs. It took a late goal in 2010 for United to put a major dent in Toronto’s playoff hopes; it wasn’t nearly as close last Saturday. The away team were fully deserving of the 3-0 scoreline.
Couresty of dcunited.com
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As the dust settles on the memorable opening night at RFK, D.C. are now preparing to take on the New England Revolution.
Team updates, news, and links below.
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He may have come off the bench and he wasn’t the player of the game, but the night belonged to Charlie Davies. Just one goal was enough to make it an unforgettable night at RFK, but that would have been too ordinary for Davies’ story. There had to be something even more special than his penalty conversion, it had to be two.
The first goal from the penalty spot was a fitting epilogue to the year and a half since his car-wreck. He stood in the spotlight, a solidarity figure in the city that almost took his life, and converted past Hesmer. The second was the start of a new story. That quick burst of acceleration used to avoid a diving Hesmer was all too familiar to those who witnessed his quick accession to the U.S. National Team.
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While Joseph Ngwenya is not a name to get D.C. United fans off their seats, it’s a solid pick-up in a value-per-money league. The Zimbabwean is still trying to restart his career after an attempt at moving his career into Europe saw his name tied more to legal battles than time on the field. When he returned to Houston, where he had previously won a MLS Cup, he failed to make the same impact that many Houston fans had remembered him for, with only brief glimpses of skill in the Open Cup and Superliga.
Ngwenya only commands a salary of $72,000 next year for D.C. United. Still 29, Ngwenya has the speed to stretch back-lines that the team has missed since the Boyzzz Khumalo has left. The club felt the pains of a lack of striking options last year, and has not had a striker that can run at defenders in a long time. Ngwenya for that price is certainly worth the risk of finding out if he can return to the form he found pre-Europe.
This certainly should not be the last piece up front for D.C. It would be a massive risk to assume Ngwenya is a first or second choice striker right now for the club. I still feel United must make a splash either in the Second Round or on the international market to bolster the attacking line or it may be another long season of hopelessness in front of goal.
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It’s been just under a year since Ben Olsen made the move from player to staff. Olsen was named an Assistant Coach in Curt Onalfo’s staff at the beginning of the 2010 season. After a poor start to the season Onalfo was fired and Olsen was thrown into the headlights as the interim head coach. Now, despite reports from D.C. United front office reports months earlier, that Olsen was too green to take the job on with the permanent title, Olsen has been head coach.
There can’t be any doubt D.C. would be a tough sell to higher priced coaches. The club is still paying off Onalfo, and the rent paid for RFK doesn’t give D.C. a particularly strong financial platform to build off of. While there was certainly positives that came out of Olsen’s stint last season, Goff’s report claiming seven candidates were interviewed makes me wonder if the offer/challenge was just not enticing enough for some higher profile managers.
While this further implies that the club is settling, there is no coach I’d rather settle with in this situation. Ben Olsen, while green, certainly oversaw an increase in positive performances following the departure of Onalfo. Plus, if there’s a player that defines what D.C. United stands for, it’s Ben Olsen.
This may not be the move many wanted to see, me included, but there’s no doubt in my mind that I want Olsen to succeed. Good luck, Ben.
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