1. Others seem to disagree, but I thought Ange N'Silu looked good last night. And while he and Khumalo didn't work together very well, which is exactly what I predicted, N'Silu was involved in almost every decent scoring chance in the first half. He disappeared for most of the second half, but he drew the penalty which ultimately put us ahead, and then popped up again in stoppage time to score our second goal.
2. Were this an MLS game being officiated by MLS refs, Chris Pontius would have earned two penalty kicks. Pontius was the best player on the field in the second half.
3. Marc Burch was the best player on the field in the first half. Despite his flaws, the USLlive.com announcer made a good analogy when comparing Burch to the point man on a hockey power play. From a spot on the back line, Burch was organizing the attack in the first half. He passed well with Wallace on the left flank, and would frequently find Khumalo or McTavish open with long balls across the field. And this match also saw the return of the legendary Burchie-bomb, which seems to be reserved only for Open Cup matches, as Burch hit the free kick that Ogunbiye failed to secure for the last goal.
4. Milos Kocic made two great saves in the final five minutes to preserve the victory. Needs to work on his distribution though.
1. This was my first chance to see John DiRaimondo. He reminds me a bit of Jeremy Barlow: small (5'-7", 155lbs) and not the best athlete, but calm and with good positioning. In a match that was often frustrating to watch, the incident in which Janicki bowled over and subsequently injured DiRaimondo provided a bit of comic relief.
1. Maybe this is being too harsh on him, but I thought Andrew Jacobson looked right at home on a field with a bunch of amateur soccer players. Too many giveaways.
2. Ok so we learned two things about Boyzzz Khumalo in this match. First, he's not a right wing. And second, he's not a starter. He had some terrible crosses, and on one fast break opportunity late in the game, he tripped over his own feet. Probably because he was tired after running nonstop for 80 minutes. Khumalo is best when coming on as a sub as a striker in the 75th minute to run around the opposing defense like crazy after they're all winded.
So those red Barons deserve a bit of credit. They put forth a valiant effort against a first place professional team, and I think they probably have some players whose names we might hear again at a higher level in a couple years. Hopefully the United players congratulated them after the match. But we'll be the ones moving on to face our Open Cup rivals the Harrisburg Islanders next week.
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4 comments:
Actually, it was Gomez that hit the FK the keeper botched.
BDR's right.
Burch does well in these games (Open Cup against lower division opposition) because he has time on the ball, not a luxury available in MLS...
And I don't see what you saw in N'Silu. He was pretty terrible for my money. This was a match where a big, athletic pro should have lorded it over the college kids and accountants and whoever else OC threw at us defensively. The fact that Pontius was so immediately impressive at the break, creating chances for himself roughly every couple of minutes, doesn't speak well for N'Silu (or Boyzzz for that matter).
DiRaimondo didn't look spectacular either. He's what, fith or sixth on the depth chart at right mid and central mid? If we can get one of those big-rep academy keepers to hold off on Europe and sign for Dev Dollars till the winter transfer window..?
Agreed on Jacobson, though I think he was hurt by being drafted into the Simms-role. He's more effective getting forward, which only highlights the need for a nasty, ground-covering d-mid to fill one of those open roster spots.
I must have been wearing my standard issue Terrapin goggles, because I could swear that Gomez put the ball down and stood over it, but it was Burch who took the shot. I'll concede.
FB- You're right about Pontius having a much easier time creating chances, which doesn't speak well for N'Silu. But still, N'Silu was instrumental on both goals, so I don't see how you could justify a low rating.
Because he did very little against amateur defenders until Gomez showed up to do it for him (Gomez was "instrumental" in both goals--N'Silu was collateral damage). Also, the ease with which Pontius was creating chances (and should have been awarded at least one PK prior to N'Silu getting plowed into) demonstrated that the defenders were not (a) quality players that are only not pros by virtue of still being in college or (b) playing out of their minds fantastic soccer.
I know you've got that argument of "that's why he's here" when a striker shows up to bag a goal after 80 minutes of frustration, but that's against like competition. N'Silu is (I'm hoping) trying to convince the coach that he deserves playing time and was facing defenders he should have been able to abuse. Sure this was the biggest game of the Barons' careers and N'Silu didn't have the creative types behind him until Gomez came on, but I just wasn't impressed by his effort or the quality of his touches.
Ergo, the lack of respect from moi. As in all things, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I suppose...
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