RSL vs. RBNY [R]

[Victory]

Wow! the team definately looked better than they did against Chivas.. and even improved from last week. OUr possession was much better. Needless to say, I was quite impressed with the overall effort of the team. I'm stoked about having Medhi Ballouchy... he's starting to prove himself as a very effective midfielder. And Chris Klein. Wow.
I definitely hope Talley's injury is minor (has anyone heard?) because if I have to watch in misery Nelly play I think I might throw up in my mouth. He constantly makes stupid mistakes that are VERY costly. As a defender, those mistakes are pathetic.
Oh and concerning the refs... The center wasn't realy that bad. Sure he made some stupid calls, and didnt call others, but all in all he did a decent job. The sideline refs, especially the one on the north half, were horrible! They obviously need a crash course in what the offside rule is.
All in all, it was a very fun and impressive game!

[qman]

I got some free tickets for the second half and got to go to my first match.

The atmosphere way awesome. Way better then any football or basketball games I have ever been to. I am trying to figure out if I can afford season tickets.

[keyph]

Akwari makes everyone nervous!!
I also generally agree with the assessment of Sequeira, wonderful in the first half, invisible in the second.
On the subject of Ballouchy: I thought he was fantastic this game. He used his head well and helped start a number of attacks. I also think that the midfield struggled for a bit after Kries came on for Mehdi, and in part was responsible for the goal. I'm not saying it was in any way Kries' fault, just that the continuity of the midfield changed dramatically and created gaps for counter-attacking. The midfield did play much better after the RBNY goal though, and it was Kries who got the equalizer so it's kind of hard to argue with the substitution.

Andy had one of the best games I've seen him play. Where was this kind of hustle last year?!?! MOTM for me all the way!

[SoccerPrime]

OK my 2 cents.

Fun game to watch and I probably woke up the whole family with Kreis's goal and Klein's "almost" winner at the end. Did RES explode when Klein missed it?

Better than last week. We can at least say that the performance has improved from Week #1 til now. I think we need to see more Kreis and Johnson and less Talley. Garlick had one awesome save!

[rabble-rabble]

Originally Posted by qman

I got some free tickets for the second half and got to go to my first match.

The atmosphere way awesome. Way better then any football or basketball games I have ever been to. I am trying to figure out if I can afford season tickets.

Welcome to the RSL family qman. Hopefully we'll see you at a lot more matches. Come on out to the tailgate next match and feel free to join us in the NE corner where all the fun is!

🕺

[I_Believe_In_Kreis]

My thoughts on the game:

Obviously the mascot sucks. But you have to admit, they could have chosen a worse name. And once the match started I didn't see it once, unlike the Jazz bear who's always up in my damn face and distracting everyone who's trying to watch the game (of course, we're talking about the Jazz, so maybe that's a good thing).

Mehdi absolutely OWNED Marvell Wynne all night - too bad nobody will remember this game when ROY voting comes around.

I think most people left the game feeling good - not me. While it was an entertaining game and RSL clearly dominated, I HATE games where the result doesn't reflect the game.

Akwari was beyond horrible. 5 minutes after he checks in he allows Guevara room to operate (something Talley didn't do all night) and boom, they score. 15 minutes later Buddle's got the ball on the wing, Akwari literally jogs down the field and lets Buddle get off an uncontested cross, forcing Garlick to make a one-handed save. Watch the mlsnet highlights and check out Akwari's lack of urgency on that play. We easily could have lost the game thanks to him.

5 minutes after checking in, Kreis scores a cabezazo off a corner. The smallest f-in' guy on the field! That's a pure forward, he just flat out has a nose for the goal.

Once again, when will the Chris Brown at fullback experiment end?

Hate Meola all you want (I know I will), but the dude can still play. He was definitely MOTM.

And finally, I've heard lots of whining about Williams and the center ref. Neither were as bad as you think.

[Dadof3]

Originally Posted by AreliusIV

1) We did a good job shutting down Guevara except for the one play where the whole defense stood around and ball-watched and let Guevara in to score. (B+)

2) Good job taking Buddle and Djorkaeff out of the game. Although I am concerned about Pope's back. On several occasions, he grabbed his back and winced. (A-)

3) Ballouchy has talent but his pace leads you to believe he thinks he's still playing college ball. He needs to pick up the pace and kick it up a notch. (B-)

I thought he was a bit better than that. 2nd half he got a bit confused and was playing too high...taking himself away as an outlet option.

Originally Posted by AreliusIV

4) Williams was just OK in the first half. The second half was incredible. He was all over the place. Too bad he couldn't convert his break-away. He mis-touched the ball before Meola crashed into him. Were it not for Kreis' goal Williams would be MOTM for me. (A)
The scary thing is that as Williams goes, so goes RSL's offense. It seems our offense hinges on Williams. Hence, the need for him to be on his game.

The exact thing I told the newbie I took to the game...out offense hinges on Williams.

Originally Posted by AreliusIV

5) Sequeira did well in the first half but was AWOL in the second half. I place some of the blame for RBNY's goal on Sequeira. As Guevara was working his magic before playing the ball into Buddle, Sequeira was just standing there ball-watching. I felt like he was invinsible in the second half. There were long stretches of time where you didn't see him. I think he needed to provide better offensive support. (B-)

DS drove New York nuts in the first half and his rampaging runs on and off the ball were causing them huge nightmares...in the second half, NY chose to pick him up with a defender, which is why Williams and Klein found themselves with a ton of space to run on the outsides. DS was actually my man of the match...he is that missing piece which causes defenses to get unbalanced.

Originally Posted by AreliusIV

Other observations:

1) Finishing was our downfall. If we could have finished half our chances, we would have won by several goals. Cunny's breakaway. Williams' breakaway, etc.

2) RBNY's goal was a direct result of Chris Brown playing Buddle onside. If you watch the replay, you will see the whole defense pushed up except for Brown. If Brown would have pushed up with the rest of the defense, Buddle would have been offside. Brown is a good athlete but he is taking a long time learning his new position. And it cost us tonight.

3) Akwari makes me nervous!!!

4) Kreisy: What can I say? He's still got it!

5) I'd like to see what Ryan Johnson can do.

6) Meola comes up with a game-winning save on Klein's breakaway. Klein chipped the ball deftly and it was destined for the back of the net, but Meola came up huge as the ball deflected off his shoulder.

MOTM: Kreis for pulling out the tie, Williams all-around.

1) yep
2) 2 weeks in a row where his problem is truly understanding his position.
3) Wow he was bad.
4) Especially when no-one on the other team bothers to pick him up. Again, he can thank DS. NY was chasing DS all over the 2nd half which left the hole at A-mid in which Kreis could do whatever he wanted.
5) In leu of whom?
6) Meola closed the angle perfectly. Klein's 1st touch put him in a difficult position, so he could be closed out. Had Klein made his first touch toward the far post he would have had Meola at his mercy. With his touch being toward the goal but outside of the near post, he was left with either blasting away through Meola, chipping him, or hitting a dipper to the far post. He tried the last and it hit Meola's shoulder.

Overall, the newbie enjoyed the game and the atmosphere so much that he wants to get season tickets. It doesn't get better than that.
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[Scarecrow]

man it was fun to watch our team play some good soccer. here are some of my thoughts on the game. sorry if someone has already said all of this but i didnt have time to read all of the posts.
1. Although Balouchy could bring the ball down the wings quicker at times i still think he played extremely well. I think part of the reason he didnt bring the ball down the wings quicker was because Wynn was so much faster than him. But i wish ellinger didnt sub Balouchy out, our possesion and movement with the ball dropped dramastically when he left the game. i think Kreis should have come on for brown.
2. brown isnt cutting it. he gives the ball away way too much and doesnt defend very well. why isnt cabrera getting a chance he is a natural marking back right?
3. kreis' goal was incredible.
4.i really like our new line-up. it has caused a lot of problems for the other team in the last two games. Sequeira has is a big reason for that. I love how many headers he is winning for us on set peices. it's nice to finally have a tall guy on those.
5.Torres is playing very well
6.Akwari is in slow motion. i think you can see his brain telling his legs to move when he is running. it was his missed trap when no one was on him that led to the goal.
7. garlick's saves were awesome.
8. up front we look so much more dangerous than at any time last season. i love when cunningham gets the ball it is always exciting.

[fuegote]

photo of Guevara grabbing his crotch at the RCB.

[RSLfrontrowfan]

Eddie Munster grabs himself and allegedly calls Williams a monkey all in the same night. That's more work than he's done thus far all season. Congrats on getting the reaction. Last year we got a great one out of Donovan. I swear he looked just like this :gay: as he turned and yelled at us.