Debriefing for Match 13.A.04: Pachuca C.F.

D.C. United 2 : 1 Pachuca C.F.

Six Word Novel Recap

A classic match that United lost.

Media, Traditional and Otherwise

The Washington Times, John Haydon: "United earned a 2-1 victory on goals from substitutes Rod Dyachenko and Franco Niell in the last five minutes last night at RFK Stadium, but Pachuca claimed the series 3-2 on aggregate after beating United 2-0 at home last week."
The Washington Post, Steve Goff: "Under regular circumstances, D.C. United's feat in the closing minutes of last night's Champions' Cup match against Pachuca of Mexico -- scoring two goals to overcome a deficit and defeat the region's most dominant club this decade -- would have provided one of the most memorable victories in the team's 12-year history. Instead..."
MLSNet, Charles Boehm: "United had their chances before Pachuca struck for a 76th-minute counterattack goal from substitute Damian Alvarez that made late D.C. tallies from Rod Dyachenko and Franco Niell inadequate."
MLSNet, Charles Boehm: "But United created their share of scoring opportunities and saw two questionable challenges in the visitors' penalty area go unpunished by referee Joel Aguilar, most notably when Leobardo Lopez tugged Fred to the turf in the 55th minute."
UnitedMania, Mike Martin: "United put themselves in the soup by failing to finish some glorious opportunities in the first half when they dominated the game...Emilio in particular had a rough night and had the most egregious missed chances of the match for the home side. In the 28th minute, right back Devon McTavish got on the end of a lovely overlap and struck a perfect cross to Emilio at the near post, unfortunately his angled shot whistled just wide of the far post. "
Goal.Com, Noah Davis: "The first half was marred by inconsistent and sloppy play. Pachuca controlled the early going, with D.C. unable to keep pace. After committing three fouls in the span of eight minutes, the referee showed a deserved yellow to Luciano Emilio...United, needing a result, began to press in earnest. The increased effort went for naught, as a spunky Pachuca side showed its class and absorbed D.C.'s advances...In an effort to inject life into the squad, Marc Burch came on for Santino Quaranta in the 60th minute, followed by Franco Niell for McTavish five minutes later. The changes didn't help, as the Mexican side drew first blood when Damian Alvarez rammed a ball past Wells from inside the penalty spot in the 76th minute." [Note: I'm quoting so much of this article because I think that, on-balance, it is the game recap that I disagree with the most. I mean, really Mr. Davis? This is what you took away from this game? Honestly, this game was fantastic, and I say that from the losing side, and you went a did a "MLS vs. Mexican Team Paint by Numbers" recap? Come on man, show some love and passion!]
Behind the Badge, The Management: "Tonight's game could have had a very different outcome. Tommy Soehn's hybrid 3-4-3 formation worked wonders, the guys created numerous chances in the first half and if not for one defensive gaffe midway through the second, two late goals might have been enough."
DCist, Matt Borque: "Many times in soccer, a match's result can be qualified as fair, mostly fair, or unfair. This qualification is determined by examining the breaks of the game, the flukes, controversies, and dictatorship of the game's pace. The abundance of these variables in last night's games makes its result difficult to qualify."
An American's View..., Brian Garrison: "Last night I saw a very discomposed DC United out on the field. I saw several passes that were made blindly and to no one. I saw many miscues when trying to play together, too many for a club that has been together for two and a half months." [Note: There's always one game where Brian and I come to completely opposite conclusions. Apparently this is that game.]
The Edgell Supporters: "The 3 man backline did a remarkable job until we started sending everything forward and even then we only gave up one. Namoff was especially good."
DCUMD, Shatz: "All in all, a fantastic soccer match. I could gripe about the officiating if I wanted to, but despite that, this game between two very talented and essentially evenly matched opponents might turn out to be better than any MLS game we see all year. Which makes the result even more frustrating and disappointing."
BLCKDGRD, BDR: "Pachuca is better. Faster, more athletic, most instinctive on the ball, better organized, better coached. I'm not slamming United: I like to imagine that United, given the same resources, financially and culturally, would build an organization and team equal to or superior to top tier Mexican clubs. And United has built, respective to its financial and cultural abilities, one of the top clubs in its league."

The Good

1. Roll the Dice: Many times I have seen managers who need a result put out a line-up that looks attacking in nature, and then tactically play the lineup withdrawn so as to defang the very advantage you want to create. It seems that losing close is better than really risking things for the win. So my credit to Tom Soehn who put out an attacking line-up and played it like an attacking line-up, knowing that Pachuca was a good enough team that they would find opportunities to exploit it. And the three man back-line was excellent for most of the match. Yes, they had difficulties when Pachuca found counters with numbers, but that was inevitable. And contra the well-respected Mr. Urban from yesterday's comments, I don't think starting Marc Burch was the right idea. Marc has looked good going forward at times, but his defense, while better, has also never really gotten above adequate. In a four man back line that's fine, but he would have well and truly been exposed in a three man line.
2. Midfield Tackles: From Gallardo, Fred, McTavish, Simms, Moreno, and even Emilio, I was pleased to see how hard United worked to get the ball back before it reached our half of the field. Pachuca was, I think, a bit disconcerted as time went on, and while they had some stretches of where they passed the ball around, frequently it was on their side of the field and didn't culminate in a credible attack.
3. Rod Dyachenko: You know, I think I finally understood Rod for the first time last night. He's really good with the ball at his feet in tight quarters. He can't really beat anyone with speed, but he can engage a defender and get by him, and with Pachuca bunkering towards the end, it played well to his strengths.
4. Namoff-Peralta-Matinez: I can not recall the last time I've really been truly comfortable with a backline, but I'm getting there. The great thing about this line-up is the fact that no one of these players will win Defender of the Year because they play well together, each covering. So far, this is the best defensive corp. that hasn't had someone named R. Nelsen playing for them.
5. Pachuca: They play a really nice style of soccer, even in counter-attack mode. I have to give them that. This game was so fun to watch because it wasn't like Pachuca looked jet lagged, but rather they said "Okay, here's how we're going to play. Can you beat that?" And having thrown down the gauntlet, both sides excelled in trying to outplay each other. It was a feeling I don't get very often.
6. The Return of Jaime Moreno: Last year he held the ball just by guarding it. Last night he held the ball by forcing defenders to try and figure out his intentions. It was much better.
   

The Bad

1. So-Called Dangerous Set Pieces: I am coming to loathe Gallardo's corner kicks, fluttering things typically to the back post that never seem dangerous. His free kicks around the box weren't particularly good either, and Marc Burch's one shot at glory was a pathetic in-swinger to the keeper. This was the worst execution United was dealing with.
2. Emilio: I hesitated about putting him in here, but I think it has to be mentioned. I don't fault him too much for missing the far post on his deflection, but the failure to get the shot off when he was in on the keeper and took three touches was worrying. But let's talk about missing the far post from Tino's cross In La Liga, that situation is a goal nine times out of ten. In the EPL, perhaps 8 out of 10 (and 10 out of 10 for the best teams). In MLS, it's a coin-flip. We lost the toss on this occasion. Provided Emilio doesn't become too Stoppardesque, I think we'll regret that miss, but not curse it.
   

Officiating Watch

The reason I started writing the Officiating Watch was that we tend only to talk about referees when they're bad, or focus on the one missed call, or what-not. And as a result, it colors our view of officiating in general, as what sticks out are the non-called penalty, the harsh yellows, the ridiculous failure to raise a flag over a head...

And so far, most of the officiating has been decent, even in games where United was not victorious. Which is why I've tried to give those officials their due. And that brings us to Mr. Jose Aguilar.

I'll say this for him, he improved over the course of the match, the same way one's situation in court improves when the prosecutors decide it might have been second degree murder. But truly, he was awful. He encapsulated the worst stereotype of the CONCACAF center official - the one that believes "Of course one team is more talented than the other, so any time that talented team is dispossessed, or falls to the ground, I should blow the whistle." And for fifteen minutes, the double standard of officiating between Pachuca and D.C. United was an insult to every other referee I have seen this season. And I haven't even gotten to the missed penalty on Fred (clearly wrong) or for the tackle from behind (debatable, and I can let it go). The yellow on Emilio for persistent infringement was the wrong card at the wrong time (a coworker notes that the Yellow was deserved for Emilio going in studs up the foul before). The double standard continued, just not as brazenly, for the entire game.

As for the Assistant Referees, I think they weren't particularly great, but at least they were equally bad to both sides. Pachuca was flagged for times when they were even in the second half the same way United was in the first half. Fine.

That there was a decent match on despite an atrocious performance from Mr. Aguilar is a tribute to the skills shown by United and Pachuca. Easily the worst match of the season. Likert Scale Grade: 1 - Poor

Man of the Match

You can pick any defender or midfielder you want, but I'm going to stick with my original pick and award it to Bryan Namoff. He started the move that got the first goal, played his head off the entire match, and was wonderful even as Pachuca seemed to think they could take advantage of him. Merit awards to Peralta, Martinez, Simms, Fred, Moreno, Quaranta, and Dyachenko. Your goat is Emilio.

Adjusted Results

This is for the MLS Season, but man is it tempting to award that penalty. N/A

Final Thoughts

In the first leg, I know United was in trouble when I looked at Pachuca and thought "Wow, this is how I want to see United play almost every game." In the second leg, I saw United play like United, and Pachuca play like Pachuca. And as a result, the disappointment of elimination is tempered. Against Chivas last year, it felt like we gave the game away in Mexico, a game we by rights should have won. Against Pachuca, the series ultimately could have gone either way, but we showed up and didn't give away the game. So it feels different.

Now, I'm not sure this game will be different come CONCACAF Champion's League. Let's not forget that Superliga last year came at a time when United was playing somewhat poor mid-season soccer. But man, I'd like to see a rematch. Yes indeed.

First Impressions - D.C. United 2 : 1 Pachuca C.F.

Aggregate - D.C. United 2 : 3 Pachuca C.F.
DC United Eliminated from CONCACAF Champion's Cup

That was easily one of the most entertaining and fun matches I have seen in a long time. It was a game that managed to be wonderfully entertaining for all 90 minutes, that had chances for both teams, that had key defensive plays from both back lines, that had midfield combinations that made you smile with all being right in the world. It was, quite simply, one of the best games as an entity I have seen in some time.

In the end, United won the day, but lost the war. At nil-nil it was a wonderful to watch. Tom Soehn did what a manager had to do: He made the moves to give his team the chance to deliver. And there were chances. Emilio's touch wide of the post, the penalty Fred earned but was not awarded, the various bombs by Pachuca players just over the crossbar... Before Pachuca earned the first goal of the night, United had three very good chances to put the ball in the net, and came away empty. When Pachuca scored, putting themselves up three goals, I felt that United would fold the tent after all the effort they had put forward.

But they didn't. They ran like hell. Everyone did. They kept pressuring. Yes, the final ten minutes felt a bit frantic, but that's when they finally broke through. First on Dyachenko's goal (of which 50% of the credit should go to Bryan Namoff, who stepped up, eluded one defender, and then sent Fred in on goal before Fred slotted the ball to Rod). Then on Niell's goal (which was all Fred's touch. You might argue he was trying to control the ball and it got away from him, but I think I saw him look to locate Niell, and that's enough for me to call it intentional.) They fought to the end.

The problem was that too much of this story was written in Mexico. United had to play the way they did, and take the risks they did as time went on, and that invited exactly the kind of goal Pachuca eventually converted. The game was lost then, as we always feared it might be. It is almost sad that we had to make it close so we were reminded of the fact.

Still, I am proud of the effort I saw tonight from D.C. United. They played well. Well enough to earn the result they did, perhaps even well enough to have forced this series to extra time. This is not a moral victory, but this result tonight showed me more than the four goals against Toronto did.

Feel free to comment for the debrief. My sense is the man of the match is Bryan Namoff (though I would love to hear your recommendations). Center official Jose Aguilar was pretty poor, but somehow managed not to ruin the match. And as for the bad, I only have one element I'm planning to talk about in the debrief, but I'm always curious.

Debriefing for Match 13.A.03: At Pachuca C.F.

Pachuca C.F. 2 : 0 D.C. United

Aggregate after one leg -- DCU 0 : 2 Pachuca C.F.

Six Word Novel Recap

You thought it would be simple?

Media, Traditional and Otherwise

MLSNet, Charles Boehm: "D.C. United saw a valiant defensive effort undone by the products of two inspired substitutions from Pachuca coach Enrique Meza in the second half as 'Los Tuzos' earned a hard-won 2-0 victory Tuesday night at Estadio Hidalgo."
The Washington Post, Steven Goff: "Montes's strikes in the 63rd and 81st minutes sent United to its fourth road loss without a victory against Mexican clubs since 2005 and left the MLS team in need of a two-goal victory April 9 at RFK Stadium to force an overtime period and, if necessary, penalty kicks."
DC Sports Box, Abram Fox: "Driving in from the left flank, Montes looped a hard volley to the left corner of the net from outside the penalty area. The shot tricked D.C. United goalkeeper Zach Wells, who initially played it as if it were a crossing pass. Wells managed to get a hand on the ball, but not enough to keep it out of the net."
Soccer America, Ridge Mahoney: "The 8,000-foot altitude took its toll early. With Jaime Moreno on the bench, United could only hang with Pachuca for the first half an hour or so..."

US Soccer Players, J Hutcherson: "So DC United shows up at Estadoi Hildalgo, opens like it's an away game in East Rutherford, and wrongly thinks they're actually in it based on time of possession and the MLS definition of 'chances.' Fair enough, but not likely to hold. Instead, Pachuca once again reminds the League why they've been so unsuccessful playing in Mexico. At some point, an MLS club is going to look at how Mexican League teams play each other, realize that the bunker defense and 0-0 shutouts aren't entertaining, and open their game up.
UnitedMania, Mike Martin: "United did everything right except keep it to a one goal margin in Estadio Hidalgo Mexico."
BLCKDGRD, BDR: "The question isn't whether Gallardo is skilled, the question is whether Gallardo hasn't adopted to United's offense or whether Soehn hasn't changed United's offense to fit Gallardo. The question is whether United has the skill players to fit Gallardo's skills."
The Fullback Files: "Wells did his level best to top Perkins' brain-fart from last year against Chivas. Not quite the same level of egregiousness present in the mistake this time, but still a basic positioning error nonetheless." [Note: I'm in agreement with Fullback here, and not with DC Sports Box. The problem wasn't Wells thinking the ball was a cross, the problem was him positioning for a cross before the ball left the attacker's foot.]
Center Holds It, Jeff: "Without laboring the point, it’s worth noting that Pachuca could have had more: in fact, they squandered a couple positively gilded chances..."
Poplar Point Perspective, JCM: "A one goal loss would have been admirable and perhaps fortunate. A two goal loss was deserved."
DCUMD, Shatz: "How can consecutive 2-0 losses feel so completely different? Altogether, this isn't an entirely insurmountable lead. But it feels to me a lot like our 2-0 loss at Chicago in the playoffs last year. And I have a bad feeling that the home leg will be similar too, with a much-improved DC squad that will score a goal or two, but ultimately still come up short."
The Edgell Supporters: "Guys like Emilio and Gallardo were brought in to make immediate impacts and win these tournaments. Is the master plan incorrect? or do we just need more time? Luckily we have more time and even this tournament is not over yet. I hope we are not waiting in vain for the team to come together."

The Good

Since I didn't see the game with my own eyes, I'm gonna incorporate some comments from last night...

1. Fred: It was clear that he wasn't cheating towards the middle, but had been ordered to pinch in and help out. Part of this was the way we were being abused down Devon McTavish's side of the flank, which forced Simms to cheat from the middle to the wing. A slight deformity of shape, but Fred made it work. One of the two bright spots in this game, the other being...
2. Clyde Simms: Seriously, after a Kansas City game where I was less than impressed, he really fought hard, and even after his legs gave out he was still one of the more effective defenders. Classy.
3. Adam Shlian's Birthday: Just my boy Adam. It was his birthday yesterday. Happy birthday man. Not soccer related, but at least there was something to feel good about yesterday.
   

The Bad

1. Devon McTavish: Do I think Devon knows how to make attacking runs from the wing? Yes. Do I think Devon knows how to defend? Yes. Do I think that he knows how to move and position from one to another, providing a balance between the two from the midfield position? No. At this point, he simply doesn't seem to possess the awareness of how to make those choices, and both suffer inordinately.
   
2. Emilio, Midfielder: Emilio was tracking back deep for the ball. Really deep. And it clearly wasn't a case of him drifting back to get the ball, but rather some form of gameplan that called to push him back. Maybe it was Gallardo playing deeply that Tom Soehn felt that Emilio was the best choice to provide a linking option, but those aren't Emilio's skill set (nor is it really Niell's). The team seemed awkward at best, and we gave the ball away too frequently as Fred and Emilio found themselves out of options as they moved into the final third.
3. Scientists: Remember hearing, via the Post and on the FSC broadcast, how scientists had determined that the longer you put off your arrival at altitude, the less it would affect you? Really? I imagine then that if we had arrived another day earlier, that United would have probably collapsed the moment they got off the bus, their eyes bugging out of their head like Ah-nold's at the end of Total Recall.
   

Man of the Match

N/A

Karma Bank

N/A

(Semi) Final Thoughts

I see where others are writing the "2-0" is not impossible, just very very difficult storyline. And they're right. But I think we're also trying to convince ourselves of that fact. Pachuca, if they play anything close to as well as they played two nights ago, will win the aggregate score. Even if United plays twice as well. The only hope for United is that Pachuca suddenly finds that traveling doesn't agree with them, and United plays the game of its life.

I'm also now on the bandwagon that United needs to use the home opener against TFC as a statement game. There have now been three somewhat disappointing matches, and one good one. Fans need to believe in this team, but United needs a reason to believe in itself. Saturday's as good a day as any for that to happen.

I may have one more thing to say later regarding Pachuca and United, so we'll call these the semi-final thoughts for now.

First Impressions - Pachuca C.F. 2 : 0 D.C. United

Did you ever have some elaborate plan to sneak out and hang out with your friends when you were in high school? And it had to be an elaborate plan, because technically you were grounded? So anyways, I was trying for various reasons to get to Georgetown with my SO, but I wasn't supposed to be driving anywhere, but I had a plan with multiple distractions and false leads that should have gotten my parents out of the house and let me make it into Georgetown. And it was working perfectly, until my parents decided to come back home via Georgetown and somehow saw me on the street. United's 2-nil defeat was kinda of like that.

United played well, but "well" wasn't perfect, or even exceptional, or even "damn good" and just "above average" wasn't going to cut it. When there's a difficult environment at altitude plus a skilled opponent plus a difference in form, you pretty much have to have a very good game. And United didn't have that tonight. They had a decent, well, alright game. And they're down two goals because of it, which makes the return leg at RFK not impossible, but a fair longshot.

The first goal is most likely the fault of Wells, thought Montes was running down the side of the box a little too freely, indicating that McTavish or Namoff or someone missed the mark there. The second goal was set up with the McTavish foul, and frankly that's a goal I would expect to see more times converted by Pachuca than not.

And on the other end, United would look threatening, but too often try to thread a ball through too many defenders, or not pull the trigger, or something, and the chance would slip away. Full credit for creating half of an opportunity, but no credit for not really even exploiting the opportunities we created with dangerous shots.

Form was clearly a factor, in two ways. Yes, the most obvious way was the fact the last fifteen minutes of the first half, and the last half an hour of the second, it was clear we were almost done. Those legs were heavy. But the other way our lack of form manifested was in the way the muscle memory hasn't quite gotten the mnemonics for this season. You can see the ideas, they're good ideas, but the pace of the passes is off, or the angle is shaved too thin, or the touch puts you into awkward footing, and suddenly the ball is going the other way.

If there is a complaint, a real point that I have a problem with, it was United's inability to be gracious with the gifts they were given. United was clearly at its best with some posession to the game, and they showed they could pass the ball around. Yet too often in the back a chance to build that same type of possession, to make Pachuca chase and give everyone a bit of a breather -- those opportunities were squandered with a poor pass out of the defensive third. That may be some fatigue, or some form, but I also got the feeling that the pressure of the situation had clouded the mental clarity that would have just advocated for a moment of calm.

There is no man of the match, but I think I would have looked seriously at Fred. As for the goat, I'm looking somewhat towards McTavish right now. I'll see how I feel after a good night's sleep. Debrief tomorrow.

We're so petty, oh so petty

The past few days, I was on business travel in another MLS city. I did, however, pack my united jerseys on the off hope I could make it to a sports bar playing Telefutura at 10PM Eastern on Wednesday night. Alas, it was not to be.

Now, I confront a dilemma. I'm not going to take the "well, that's one less fixture to worry about for congestion" silver lining. It just doesn't work for me. I wanted the Superliga, especially the inaugural Superliga. I wanted just another MLS first for DC United to carve into their cane (which, given the number of notches it has already, probably shouldn't be used for walking support at all.) And part of me still does, which leads me to this psychological dilemma: Should I root for Pachuca, or the Galaxy? Part of me wants to root for Pachuca, simply for the fact that I want United to preserve its chance to be the first MLS team to win the Superliga. That's a horribly small-minded approach, but I can't deny it. This despite the kind words various Galaxy fans have given to United when United when play in Sudamericana, or CCC, or the like. I just want that opportunity again, and it kills me that it might not happen.

On the other hand, I think the Mexican teams kind of laughed their way through this event, and want them to take it more seriously next go-round. Having an MLS side come out on top helps that situation. I know certain people have made excuses about preseason form for the Mexican teams, but those excuses hold exactly as much weight for their teams as it did for ours in the CONCACAF Champions Cup: Namely, not very much anymore. So I want the LA Galaxy to win it out, and thus make everyone take this tournament more seriously next go round.

So, in short, I'm approaching this whole Superliga final from a very selfish place. Which I'm okay with. I still don't know who to support. Do I give in to pettiness of one sort, or pettiness of the other? No idea.