D.C United-4 New York Red Bulls-1

My 7 year old daughter asked if the Statue of Liberty was sad because NY Red Bulls were losing. We told her maybe, but Lady Freedom, a top of the Capital building in Washington D.C, was singing in the rain. She also asked why I talk to the T.V.  “They can’t hear you dad.” she said.

I’ve heard discussions about Chris Pontius being a forward, not a winger, and never understood. I’ve never thought of him as a forward. I see him cutting in to the top corner of the 18 yard box or taking it to the endline and crossing, and right before he got hurt he was doing his part on defense.

I was wrong about him not being a forward and being a one trick pony. While it was a good trick , still just the one I thought. Top corner of the 18 yard box fake left and go right to gain a few feet of space and unleash… It worked for his first of the four he scored recently.

I didn’t except the other three classic striker’s goals he scored Sunday night. One, stripping the ball from none other then Thiery Henry, and ripping one from the top of the box. The second, a poachers goal, right place at the right time, and most importantly the finish! How many of the these did Allsopp, Cristman and Ngwenya miss over the past few years? DCU hasn’t had the guy who puts those away consistently since Luciano Emilio stopped scoring.

Ben Olsen said this after the game  “He (Pontius) still doesn’t know how to play forward though. And that’s a scary thing. He’s still new at the position, and some of his movements can get a lot better.”

I also thought Dwayne De Rosario could not be effective in the attacking midfield role but that is working too.  The goals are being scored without the weight falling on Dero’s shoulders. Don’t worry, your time will come this season I assure you.

DCU was in the right place at the right time over and over against the Red Bulls Sunday night.  Overlapping runs from Pontius and Deleon. Kitchen was there for the outlet pass when some one needed it. The stragglers that popped lose from tackles were collected quickly. DC was able to play their game.

We could go into the problems with Branko Boskovic and Hamdi Salihi, blame the win on the soap opera known as NY Red Bulls, and the lack of quality they had on the field Sunday. We could dwell on the fact that this is only one win in a long season, but I’d rather sit back and enjoy sending the Red Bulls packing back to New York because it just feels good…

And I leave you with this:

http://youtu.be/6IeyleM8diM

Did you do your best?

DC scored in the 28th minute… then the gaff by Dudar… of course they found a way to foul it up…

And the blog writes itself.

“Once again DC found a way to squander a lead, blah, blah, blah”

And then they scored.. and another… no, it couldn’t be another… Yes it is. 4 goals and 3 Points!

The air smelled a little sweeter this morning. My coffee tasted better and my kids were a bit better looking. DC United took 3 points at R.F.K for the first time since late September. Hell of a way to start a week end…

I’m a father and soccer coach. There is a line I use on my kids and my pops used it on me. “Did you do your best?” My daughter rolled her eyes today when I asked after her soccer game. I hated the question as a kid, but how could I answer yes if I hadn’t? Dad was at the game, he knew, and I knew.

Ben Olsen knows. His line up speaks volumes. If you work your tail off you will play, if you don’t you’ll go play for New England or Seattle or the Indian premier league.

What may someday prove to be Ben Olsen’s strength is his “heart” and realistic knowledge of the parity in MLS. Even LA can not rest it’s hopes on 3 or 4 high paid players. More than other leagues around the world, any team can win any game in MLS. If Olsen can get a few wins under his belt and convince this squad to buy in, the points will start to rack up. With the depth beginning to show itself, convincing the squad will be easier.

It takes a group of guys willing to play hard for 90 minutes to win games. Neither MLS nor DC United is stocked with natural, god given talent. Guys like Danny Cruz and Daniel Woolard make their luck with sheer tenacity, energy and hard work. It’s inspiring to watch players like Cruz win a ball in the mid field, fumble through a challenge or two, carrying the ball toward goal, and make a quick pass to Dwayne De Rosario for a perfectly placed cross to the head of Maicon Santos.

I want to wrap my arm around D.C. Untied’s proverbial shoulder, smile and use my second Dad/coach line, ” See, all that hard work is paying off!”

Where to draw the line?

Recently Collin Clark, Houston Dynamo Mid-fielder, call a ball boy a “F#@king f$%got” on national television because the ball boy dropped the ball at his feet, rather then putting it in his hands.

Really Mr. Clark? Classy. Forget the fact that the cameras were on to catch the slur for the moment: You need to scream at a teenage kid on the sidelines? Grow up.

On the latest episode of Extra Time Radio, Simon Borg claim that is was no big deal… Give him a small fine, a slap on the wrist… No suspension. This doesn’t surprise me a bit. Mr. Borg also didn’t think that Luis Suarez’s Racially abusive comments warranted much of a response. Borg claims that people say all kinds of mean and nasty things to each other on the field. He claims it is a commonly used tactic to get your opponent off their game. He asks the question where should we draw the line? How about we draw the line right between F#@king and f$%got? It’s not the f bomb that is the problem, it’s the homophobic slur.

I’m thrilled MLS has decided to give Clark a 3 game suspension. I’m proud to support a league that doesn’t put up with such ridiculousness.

Unacceptable, plain and simple.