Debriefing for Match 13.14: San Jose Earthquakes

D.C. United 3 : 1 San Jose Earthquakes

Six Word Novel Recap

Gonzalo Martinez's right foot of DOOM!

Media, Traditional and Otherwise

The Washington Post, Steve Goff: "D.C. United had plenty to savor from its 3-1 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes yesterday at RFK Stadium, a result that extended its unbeaten streak to five and pulled the club into a three-way tie for fourth place in MLS's Eastern Conference....But from Coach Tom Soehn's perspective, United (6-7-1) was fortunate to escape with a third victory in a row. He agonized over a bland first half and then watched goalkeeper Zach Wells make another critical blunder."
The Mercury News, David Lifton (!!): "The Earthquakes had the better of play through much of the afternoon before losing 3-1 to D.C. United in a Major League Soccer match Sunday at RFK Stadium."
The Washington Times, John Haydon: "The deadlock soon was broken when Simms scored in the 50th minute...The lead vanished a minute later, however, when Wells failed to hold on to James Riley's cross. The United goalie tried to reclaim the ball, but it bounced to John Cunliffe, who tapped it home...United was back in the lead four minutes later when Martinez whipped in a blistering shot from 16 yards after speeding away from midfielder Ronnie O'Brien."
MLSNet, Charles Boehm: "...the Black-and-Red overcame a sluggish first half and a poorly-timed error from goalkeeper Zach Wells to earn their fourth win in the last five games."
MLSNet, Charles Boehm: "McTavish found himself playing a central role in the game's next pivotal moment, too, when the United utility man reached a loose ball well before James Riley some eight minutes from full time.The Quakes defender had already committed himself with a rash slide tackle aimed right for McTavish's ankle, however, upending his rival and drawing a swift decision from referee Alex Prus, who produced a red card and patiently waited for the prone Riley to get off the turf before brandishing it in his direction for the meaty challenge."
Center Line Soccer, Jay Hipps: "It was a result that the Earthquakes will have to chalk up to experience. All week, the team’s coaches and players spoke of the importance of bringing the proper aggressive attitude to each match, and they succeeded in unleashing that determination against DC. Attitude alone can’t win matches, though — there needs to be quality as well, and in that, the Quakes were lacking."
UnitedMania, Chris Webb: "There is a school of thought in most sports that says the sign of a good team is getting a result when they are not playing at their best. I think United's 3-1 win over San Jose this afternoon firmly puts their win in that category"
BLCKDGRD, BDR: "I'm tired of typing 'good teams win games they ought to win' because United is not yet a good team, and a decent team beats United yesterday. United is not good enough, cohesive enough, organized enough, or fluid enough to take halves off against anybody.' Good teams stomp teams they ought to stomp' is not the same as 'good teams gut out games they ought to win.' The second United begins to think they are all that, they aren't. "
MLSNet, Chris Snear: "in the end, United have more talent in most of the critical areas than the Quakes and therein lies the primary difference between the two clubs, which was evident United's 3-1 win against the Quakes."
DCSportsBox, Abram Fox: "In a reverse of the age-old adage, it was the moveable object against the stoppable force. " [That's a decent line.]
The Far Post, Mark McClure: "I still think United is an ordinary team that is benefiting from a series of home games against weak opponents. But now things get interesting . . . LA and then Chivas (Mexican kind) come to town for the next two games. (That Open Cup game in between doesn’t count and you know it.) Two wins from those two games will convince me United is legit."
The Fullback Files, Fullback: "It wasn't just on the goal that Gonzalo Martinez was bombing forward. And what a peach of a goal it was! Fullbacks everywhere will be putting that one in a replay loop on the HD sets tonight."
DCUMD, Shatz: "The past two weeks, DC has beaten the teams that they are supposed to beat. And that's good and continuing to do that should get us into the playoffs. But it's not inspiring a whole lot of confidence that we'll do very well in the playoffs, or in international competitions."
Behind the Badge, The Management: "[San Jose defender Kelly Gray says...] I hate to say luck but we got a couple of unlucky plays where a little deflection causes a goal."
The Offside: San Jose Earthquakes, Sean: "I hate to play the optimist once again, but if a couple deflections go our way (or don’t, as it were), I think we have a much different game on our hands."

The Good

1. Gonzalo Martinez: Lovely game on both sides of the ball. Most of the time when a back on the sidelines is facing his own goal, and there's high pressure coming his way, I get nervous if he doesn't immediately execute the back pass to the keeper. Martinez's ability to turn under pressure, which we have seen regularly the past few games, is a higher risk move, but one that pays off with better possession at midfield. Add to that a wonderful goal, just a fantastic strike from the corner of the box to the far post, and it was a lovely opening hour for him. The last thirty minutes, complete with a fouls in a dangerous area and a poorly timed tackle for a yellow-card, make this not quite the best effort possible, but it was still damn good.
2. Tom Soehn, Realist: I was going to kick my radio is Tom Soehn started to talk about how good a game this was, and how his team gritted out a result. The fact that Tom was also disappointed in his players, and that he was willing to make changes all game long, speaks well of him.
   

The Bad

1. Fred: Yeah, looking through the game again, he had an awful game. Far too many give aways, and not a good looking performance when he was pulled (legitimately) from the match. You're better than that. You can use the pacifier in goal celebrations provided you don't ever actually act as a spoiled child, and that didn't happen in this game.
2. Lt. Zach Wells: The knives are out for Zack (listen to the United Mania podcast for a great example), and really, he does deserve every bit of flack for the goal that he allowed. Trying to recreate a Randy Moss one handed end zone grab is never a good idea, that ball should have been punched out twenty yards. That being said, he avoids demotion for some areas of good: A strong save on Ivan Guerrero in the first half, and twice coming off his line to do just barely enough to save a goal. In the first instance, he managed to get enough of the ball to send it out for a corner, and in the second he at least bought time and angle for Devon McTavish to get back. So let's not forget those as well. Still, it was an awful goal that he gave up.
   
3. The huge ever growing sucking hole that lives in the center of our defense: Okay, Perralta had a better game, but here's my question. To my mind, our two weakest defenders are Perralta and McTavish. That's why I'd rather put Martinez in the middle and Burch on the left, sacrificing some good left back work for a stronger center presence for better cohesion right in front of our shaky keeper. Of course, tactically, Tom Soehn may well have made the right chance against a weak San Jose offense, so I'm not up in arms about the choice this week. But against Los Angeles next week? Clyde Simms will have to stay at home more, or something, because we are going to be carved up otherwise.
4. Midfield Depth: We have two wing players with Olsen absent - Tino and Fred. That's it. Cordeiro hasn't established himself as a consistently viable option, McTavish and Mediate are downgrades, and Burch is an acceptable left back but awful left wing. To think what this team would be like if we hadn't signed Tino is a worry. If there is a shopping list for the summer transfer window, a center back and a left winger should at least be considered at this time. Or perhaps Quavas Kirk, or Murphy, or Cordeiro will improve to the point of earning the spot. But it is a worry. Fred will get five yellows at some point this season, and Tino getting another suspension is not entirely out of the question.
   
   On another note, the Gallardo-United mix is not right. Yes, Gallardo is making smart plays at times in feeding the ball in, but really, the rest of United is not really adjusting to his game. Also, Gallardo is not adjusting his game for the rest of United. There's a disconnect there. Two great tastes that don't go great together yet. BDR has this covered from the Gallardo is good perspective, but I think there's another side to the coin as well (or, being as there are so many of us, the same side of two different coins?)
   

Officiating Watch

Alex Prus has a game that managed to disadvantage both teams. There were a ton of fouls not called on both teams, though DC probably got the better of it. Still, he created at atmosphere that positively encouraged James Riley's reckless tackle, and it made me sick. You could tell it was building. I'm saying, this was a poor performance all the way around. Awful. The ARs were fine, except for Alex waving off their flags at times he should not have. Alex Prus, today's Worst... Person... In the World!

At least, until Matt Reis does something new.

Likert Scale Grade: 1 - Bad.

Man of the Match

Gonzalo Martinez, congratulations. Merit award Gallardo. Notes of censure to McTavish (missing his runner), Wells (circus catch, or not as the case may be), and Fred.

Final Thoughts

Take the win, take the points, and take the tongue lashing from your coach. Los Angeles is coming. Now, under the rule of "Soccer-sometimes it just has to be contrary to your expectations" I expect a low scoring game next week. A 1-0 or 0-0 game. Really. I do.

That being said, I'm also now willing to say Tom Soehn's job is safe for the rest of the season, but that's about it. His job does not have, and should not have, security beyond the last game played. Still, that's a much longer horizon than he did have. It means I'm not evaluating him result to result, which is the situation we were in a few games ago.

Five hundred, by the international break. It's important to remember that would have been a disappointment pre-season, but right now it is the best we can hope for, and seems like a major fight back. Seems that way. But the second half of the season is going to be tougher than the first half, and that's something else to remember. It's not going to get easier in August and September.

Debriefing for Match 13.04: Columbus Crew

D.C. United 1 : 2 Columbus Crew

Six Word Novel Recap

Never understood why Goldilocks preferred lukewarm.

Media, Traditional and Otherwise

The Washington Times, John Haydon: "Even with the strongest lineup coach Tom Soehn could use, D.C. United fell short last night at RFK Stadium. United lost 2-1 to the Columbus Crew before a crowd of 13,329. It wasn't as one-sided as Saturday's loss at Real Salt Lake in which three key players rested, but United's offense still struggled to find the right chemistry."
The Washington Post, Steve Goff: "Alejandro Moreno's sweeping shot from close range pushed Columbus (3-1) ahead in the 32nd minute. And later in the first half, after Bryan Namoff's deflected shot drew United even, the Crew needed just one minute to retake the lead."
UnitedMania, Chris Webb: "Soehn was baffled with the miscommunication that seemingly plagued the United back line all night long. 'It should have been better than it was. They punished us when we didn't do a good job.'"
Soccer America, Ridge Mahoney: "Is it too soon for the fans of D.C. United to panic, given their team's depressing 2-1 loss to Columbus at RFK Stadium Thursday night? Of course it's too soon. But their misgivings are well-grounded. You can talk all you want about players getting to know each other and it's still April and they've had a heavy load of games and all that, but this team has been together for more than two months and doesn't show much leadership or competitive fire."
Hunt Park Insider, Matt Bernhardt: "The Columbus Crew's first victory in RFK Stadium came courtesy of an own goal from Richie Williams. So too did the team's latest conquest, as Sigi Schmid's men gutted out a 2-1 win Thursday night. The victory puts the Crew temporarily atop the MLS standings, with nine points from four games played. DC United, meanwhile, is in the Eastern Conference basement with the opposite record."
Behind the Badge, The Management: "[Emilio] There is no frustration here, we know the potential we have...[Gallardo] We need to get a couple of wins so we can gain confidence, not get desperate."
MLSNet, Chris Snear: "...it was Schelotto who controlled the midfield in the first half, orchestrating a far more fluid attack than his Argentine counterpart. Though United created ample chances, Gallardo was given very little space to play with very few options provided by his front runners. Most of United's attack was generated from the flanks with Fred on the left side and Bryan Namoff on the right."
MLSNet, Charles Boehm: "...the home side fluffed a string of scoring chances before Alejandro Moreno's grit and graft produced two goals that put United behind the 8-ball. Neither was pretty - the first, an awkward close-range finish to a fluid passing move and the second an own goal off Gonzalo Peralta just seconds after Bryan Namoff's equalizer - but both were just rewards for the Crew. The combined effect was devastating to D.C.'s fragile mindset."
BLCKDGRD, BDR: "it is time to start asking if the team is playing up, down, or equal to its players' - and coach's - ability, and I've got the uneasy feeling that what we're seeing might be the team's true level: the players just aren't very good, and the coach isn't capable of getting a greater result than the sum of his players."
The Far Post, Thaddeus Byron Aloysius Dopenhopper: "...time to call out some dudes...Emilio: The dude is a poacher. Poachers are streaky and frustrating. This season he’s being asked to hold the ball with his back to the goal, but MLS defenders have figured out if you lean on him he gets so distracted he can’t make the appropriate pass to a teammate."
DCUMD, Shatz: "The whole team seems way too tentative on offense. Instead of taking the quick cross or the one-time shot, United is more often holding the ball waiting for a play to develop, or sending it in to Emilio posting up with his back to the goal (which never works)."
The Offside - D.C. United, Jon: "One of the Gonzalos is good, the other one needs to wake up. The good one is Martinez, who had a strong match. Peralta once again got beat for goals. I say sit him in favor of McTavish."

UPDATES:

• Photo Gallery from Information Leafblower
• DCist, Matt Borque: "Despite Soehn's offensive substitutions, United could barely sniff a goal."
• An American's View, Brian Garrison
• Center Holds It, Jeff Bull: "'The Crew held on for the win': that’s one of the most limited of soccer cliches. It falls well short of letting one appreciate just how energetically Columbus defended, how they compensated for an occasional lack of organization by closing down fast and clamping down hard."
• Who ate all the Cupcakes?, Longshoe
  
• Poplar Point Perspective, JCM
  

The Good

1. Marcello Gallardo: Commenter Jeremy asks exactly the right skeptical question last night in the Impressions: "How can you praise Gallardo's 'vision' when this vision leads to a turnover and the end of any attacking chance. For me vision includes seeing the play developing, anticipating the reactions of your teammates and the defense and moving the play forward. I have not seen that from Gallardo." And Commenter Grunthos gets the answer exactly right: "Gallardo *is* seeing the developing play better than his teammates and trying to direct the flow of the offense. With depressing frequency, his teammates ignore his suggestions or fail to understand them... the turnovers are not occurring because Marcelo made a bad choice, they are occurring because the other guys aren't reading his moves well." This is perfect, and means I don't have to do any work answering the question. Ah, the joys of laziness.
2. Key Coaching Decision Making: Tom Soehn's line-up and substitutions were all reasonable and fine. I enjoyed the double-substitution early in the second half. Now we need to start thinking about what exactly the "Best XI" for United is. More on that below.
3. Gonzalo Martinez: Really, his tackling, his presence, and his marking are excellent. If the United defense could be a little more competent, he may be putting forward a Defender of the Year type season if this continues.
   
4. The Columbus Second Half: You can complain about teams sitting on the lead, or you can credit Columbus for playing an excellent half with a one goal lead. They kept their shape the entire 45 minutes, they defended well, and they limited United to one or two dangerous balls the entire time. They deserve credit for that, and I will give it to them.
5. Checking in with the others: Saw this guy last night, who, like me, starts composing his blog posts around half-time. And to the three or four other people who dropped by to say kind things, I appreciate it.
   

The Bad

1. Lieutenant Zack Wells: I think sometimes small moments illustrate big problems better than the goals do, so let me direct your attention to the second half, sometime around the 55th minute. Columbus attempts to play a through ball behind the United back line, but the pass is errant. Gonzalo Martinez starts to track the ball down facing his own goal. Robbie Roger, I think, starts to apply some high pressure. Now, Martinez has three options: 1 - He can try and turn the ball himself and play out of the back. 2 - He can send a back pass to Wells to play out of the back. 3 - He can guard the ball back to Wells who can pick it up. Wells comes out of his box, and it looks like Option 3 will be well executed.
   
   But then Wells suddenly backpeddles four steps, just as Martinez can hear footsteps. What now? The back pass could be risky, playing it youself can lead to a costly turnover, and Wells suddenly isn't in position to pick the ball up. With some frantic movement, Wells suddenly reapproaches the ball and kicks it directly to his left for a Columbus attacking throw. And then Wells yells at Martinez, after not having taken charge earlier despite being able to see the entire field. Which is ridiculous. Wells is clearly the one who should be commanding the play as he can see what's happening. Accordingly, Mr. Wells, we demote you from O-4 to O-3, and you are now a Lieutenant in the Goalkeeping Navy.
2. Defense on the Left: Both goals had unfortunate breakdowns on the left side, and I won't even go into the Wells decision to leave the net on the second goal. I mean, he was in a perfectly fine position to guard the post for any keeper not named Tony Meola. I'd like to see Devon McTavish taken out of the midfield role (replace him with Quaranta or Kirk, please) and used more as an augment to the defense as needed. Bleh.
3. Cutting-in: Fred, I love your workrate, and your willingness to run. I'm just tired of seeing you get a ball at the corner of the box and 95% of the time cutting it back into the middle on the dribble.
   
4. Emilio: See last night's post. With his back to goal, he's looking awful.

Officiating Watch

Both ARs were excellent, and I didn't disagree with a single flag that went into the air. Center official Jair Marrufo was his typical self, which is a shame. I would really like to see a replay of the first time Emilio was taken down in the box, as from my seats (Sec 236) it looked like a penalty, but given that I couldn't see if Emilio was also shirt grabbing, I can't really make a definitive call. That being said, Mr. Lars next to me saw a lot of two footed tackles not get called (both ways) and that's really not right kids.

Likert Scale Grade: 2 - Below Average

Man of the Match

N/A. Merit Awards to Gallardo and Martinez, your goat is, I think, Zack Wells (though Peralta and Emilio both are candidates)

Adjusted Results

A-ha! If I can find a replay of that Emilio take-down, I might adjust one goal up for United. Or if there's consensus in the comments. So it's either no change, or a 2-2 match. What say you?

UPDATE: Commenter Jason caught the replay, and argues for DC +1.5 for a DOGSO red to Frankie. I'm not sure I can go that far, but at least it confirms the initial thought of a clear penalty (combined with some good other chances). So the adjusted result is +1 goal for D.C, for a final score of DC 2 : 2 CLB. For the season, D.C. United's adjusted record is 1-2-1 (4pts); 7GF, 10GA, -3GD.

Final Thoughts

There need to be changes. Personally, I'd start with the place where it seems we have the most options, and take out McTavish for Kirk or, more likely, Quaranta. I mean, yes, thank you for your goals in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, but it's just not working Devon. Sub him in on the defense, or start him for Peralta for a game.

I'm not sure that we're a bad team, as BDR might argue. I see a whole lot of talent on the field, and not just on paper. But our lack of a coherent attack as a team is concerning. We improvise nicely, but that only takes you so far. I love improvisation, but Whose Line Is It Anyway? never won a dramatic Emmy. Or a BAFTA, for those of you who remember Tony Slattery. Regardless, we're not on the same page. And we've had, as Mr. Mahoney notes, 8 games to get on the same page. That's not good.

That being said, I'm less annoyed by this result than the RSL result. The RSL game was a game where we deserved the thrashing we received. This game was a bit unfortunate, as we had some very nice moments in the opening thirty minutes. There was progress, sadly it was progress from one of the most ridiculous losses in our history. So I'm not about to scream and yell. Yet. A loss, with extra rest, at home against RSL... that would be pretty much intolerable, right? Right.

One by one: Hello Martinez, Goodbye Nolly

HELLO:...And the parade continues. United has now added Gonzalo Martinez from Millonarios, and Dave Kasper provides us the resume:

Martìnez began his professional career in the Colombian First Division with Deportes Tolima in 1996 before moving to Italian Serie A side Udinese in 2001. Martinez made 24 appearances for Udinese from 2001-03 before joining Napoli on loan, where he spent part of the 2003 and 2004 campaigns. In the 2003-04 season, he moved to Reggina, where he made 14 appearances. The 5'10", 165-pound defender returned to his native Colombia and rejoined Deportes Tolima for the 2005 season, notching three goals in 21 appearances. Martìnez then moved to Olimpia, and later, Libertad, in 2005-2006 in Paraguay, where he started in a combined 27 games and helped Libertad capture the Paraguayan First Division championship. In 2007, Martìnez returned to Colombia and appeared in 36 games for Millonarios.

That's some pretty good teams, even if it was the Napoli Serie B years (I have a soft spot for Napoli that has something to do with Bruce Campbell starring in Army of Darkness (Evil Dead III). Just go with it.) And if you're going to be a defender learning to really craft your trade, I think Italian football is a great place to do it. The one question I have is with his pace as of today. I can't say that I've seen a lot of his recent work that really lets me know how fast he is, the only thing I can see is an age of 32, which is when people are slowing down. But I have no doubt the man understands his craft better than most in MLS, and for that alone I'm happy to have him on the team. If he's as fast as Dave Kasper says, if he has "tremendous pace," then that's a huge bonus for a number of reasons. Not only would it be speed in the middle of our defense (where, for so long, we have been very slow) it also sounds like Soehn could use Martinez on the outside back positions as well, providing at least another option if not actual depth.

What I like about the way this is unfolding is that it is somewhat clear that United have their ducks in a row - there was a plan, and it is being executed. Good. I may not know all the details behind the plan, but an examination of recent events makes it clear that after some frustration, the Front Office is now getting the players they identified.

GOODBYE: Jay Nolly, who was not getting a shot at the first string keeper position after the arrival of Mr. Wells, has signed with USL's Vancouver Whitecaps. Good for him. While Nolly may only be remembered for the 1-0 loss against the City Islanders in US Open Cup play, and the loss against Real Salt Lake where he made Robbie Findlay a star, he was a decent chap, having given us an interview when he first arrived in DC. I wish him well in Canada, and knowing the tendency of USL keepers to suddenly pop up again in MLS (Preston Burpo?) it would not surprise me if he got another shot at MLS player somewhere.

MINOR CORRECTION: I wrote yesterday that Jaime Moreno has not yet signed with D.C. United. BDR and Oscar chimed in to say that Goff has reported the Moreno deal is done for two years, overall worth more money but less money per year, and it's guaranteed. That's a good deal, and one I'm happy with. I was (and this falls under the category of perhaps "overly indulged fan") not pleased with Moreno at nearly 300K a year, but the idea of Moreno at half of that works just fine. Keep him in black. That being said, I want to see an official notice at D.C. United before I say it is for real. You'll notice that we don't update the Hello/Goodbye column for the most part until we see a press release on letterhead. Just saying, we all know how the transfer market works.