The Reaction: 8/9 vs. LA Beckhams

By: Max J. | August 9th, 2007

And my long non-viewing nightmare comes to a satisfying if occasionally scary end.

Overall, a good performance. I’d already basically decided from reading other sources that the Burch-McTavish-Boz-Namoff backline was the way to go for the rest of the season, and this game did nothing to dispel that idea. Landycakes was anonymous and what passed for LA buildups in the first seventy minutes never truly threatened. The offense passed sharply and threatened often, even depsite finishing issues that kept the game close and a second half from Jaime that was streaky to say the least. Gros, Burch, and Emilio had great, energetic games, and everyone else was at least passable with the exception of truly awful giveaways from Simms, including one that really should have given the Gals a long run for a goal.

On the other hand: the combination of the bad field and Beckham’s quarterbacking did a lot for LA in the last twenty minutes, and the defense seemed ill-prepared for it. Had LA come out more organized and pushing up the field in the first half, I’m certain they would have scored. Beckham may not have boosted the offense all that much in a personal performance sense, but the improvement in confidence and shape of the attack was pretty evident from the minute he stepped on the field. If this could have been a 3-0 win, it easily could have gone 1-1 or 2-1 the wrong way.

This, by the way, is a point that needs thinking about. The trend of late, the New England win aside, seems to have been “Well, we could have scored (x goals), but it just wasn’t there tonight.” A couple of times and that’s a good if irksome sign of progress. After a while it just becomes ridiculous lack of killer instinct up top. It’s hard to place a lot of blame on the players tonight because of the rain and turf, but at some point soon, if not already, the shanking and pretty passing leading nowhere are going to be the reasons for a loss.

To end on a good note, let’s take a minute to fawn over Marc Burch, who is my new candidate for Guy Who Goes On the Back Of My Next DC Jersey. Great hustle. Solid marking. At least one gorgeous cross-field switch. And a great little run that would have been a goal with a better angle. I’ve been hoping for the emergence of Burch since Goff first started reporting on the progress of his training sessions months ago, and couldn’t be happier that he’s apparently here to stay.