Debriefing for Match 12.A.04: At CD Guadalajara

Leg #2 - CD Guadalajara 2 : 1 D.C. United
Aggregate - DC United 2: 3 CD Guadalajara

Six Word Novel Recap

To be so close hurts more.

Media, Traditional and Otherwise

The Washington Post, Steve Goff: "D.C. United got off to a spectacular start against Mexican power Chivas last night, but allowed the tying goal just before the half and fell behind on goalkeeper Troy Perkins's gaffe, resulting in a 2-1 defeat in the second leg of the Champions' Cup semifinals at rainy Jalisco Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico."
MLSNet, Jason Halpin: "But while goalkeeper Troy Perkins' fumble of a slick ball gifted Chivas the game-winner early in the second half, it was the poor marking on Chivas' strike at the end of the first frame that United coach Tom Soehn homed in on after the game."
US National Soccer Players, Ian Penderleith: " The game was actually more reminiscent of United's 2005 defeat in the Copa Sudamericana to Chile's Catolica."
UnitedMania, Martin Fernandez: "United fought back. Second half substitute Jamil Walker nearly evened the score late in the game but luck was on the Mexican side."
An American's View, Brian Garrison: "Our ball control, for the most part, was very good. Player support for the guy on the ball needs to improve, and I expect that it will. Passing out of the defense needs to improve as well, which we will have to wait and see how it does."
Ben Olsen's Beard: "Two stars to Stephen deRoux. While he is not a world-beater by any means, he stepped up when needed and logged what were mostly quality minutes."
QuarterVolley: " United did not roll over and die."
BlackDogRed: "Perkins gets forgiven that one by me - he's more than earned one absolved gaffe - but this is the one and only time. Less forgivable is giving up that first goal only minutes after Moreno's goal.. "

The Good

1. Jamie Moreno: I have been on the Jamie Moreno worry bandwagon for most of a year now, but even I was impressed by his performance. Even before the goal, he served notice that he was coming to play, sending in an aggressive shot in the 17th minute. The thing is, Moreno did show up occasionally last year, so I'm not ready to retire the "worry about Jamie" chain of reasoning, but he certainly had his best showing on Tuesday night. That being said, it seems Tom Soehn will be much more conscious of keeping Moreno fresh. Moreno didn't need to come out in the 75th minute, but him coming out sends a good message that Soehn will not burn him out.
2. Jamil Walker: His best appearance as a sub in several months. No, he didn't score, but he was clawing and scratching and fighting for this team.
3. Think Different: United's play is still not together yet. Passing is overly casual in the midfield, but the creative play is starting to come together. That bodes well. United was much more creative in terms of playing balls into space and playing smartly.
   
4. Officiating: I have been wrong on this throughout the entire tournament. The officiating, despite crediting Chivas with some diving, was overall fantastic. Full credit to CONCACAF on this one.
   

The Bad

1. Goal One: There's tons of blame to go around on the first Chivas goal. Facundo Erpen, as Maradawga notes, was beat with speed. I think this is overconfidence more than anything. Erpen has tremendous recovery speed, so I believe that he believes in his own abilities too much on occasion. He positioning was far from ideal, and against the speed that Chivas has he was exposed. Most of the time he can get away with it. But not against this team. That being said, he did push the attack to a bad angle, and all might have been saved had not Boswell made a conscious decision to leave his man. To his credit, he knows it, but there was a lot that led to that first goal.
2. Perkins on the Second Goal: We know. He knows. And he didn't let it shake his confidence as he went out and made great stops after it. Enough. That being said, you wonder if more MLS teams will try and test him with high hard shots. Knowing the accuracy of most MLS midfielders, I kind of hope they do.
3. DCenters at the Pub Quiz: We got shelled. Pumas like. Still, it was fun, and it was nice meeting some of you out there. Let's do it again sometime.
   

Man of the Match

N/A. We lost.

Final Thoughts

I have nothing to add that I haven't already said. I will say that Fred played pretty much as much as I thought he would, and I tried to caution people from assuming he was going to play immediately. I am curious to see if he will replace Gros or Moreno against Colorado.

We played well. We lost. It sucks. Thank goodness the season starts soon.