Dc 5, Rsl 1

Not Pele · 02-08-2005, 12:30 PM

I (James Edward) thought I'd give you guys a little preview of what to expect in Wednesday's Deseret Morning News.

D.C. United beat Real Salt Lake 5-1 in the teams first scrimmage in Bradenton, Fla. Both teams played their "A" teams in the first half, with D.C. prevailing 1-0 after the first 45 minutes. Jamie Moreno tallied the goal.

Overall, D.C. clearly looked like the more cohesive side. For RSL, Pablo Brenes played well at left midfield, with Dipsy also playing well in the left forward spot. The right side with Kreis and Whitfield never really strung anything together.

Kamler played well in the defensive midfield role, but RSL's back four were definitely out of sync, and left D.J. exposed on many occassions. Could've realistically been 3-0 at the half.

In the second half, Luke K. scored RSL's only goal in the 86th minute following excellent 2 v 2 work by Jamie Watson and Leighton O'Brien created the cross.

It's only a scrimmage, and coach John Ellinger wasn't one bit discouraged.

John Ellinger Postgame Quotes

First half was encouraging. We had some chances and broke them down, had some good opportunities.

Defensively we’ve got some work to go. The good back fours have been together for a while and they're synchronized, and there’s good communication. It takes time, and what are we a week in.

At times we held the ball for good periods of times, and showed patience.

THe second half, we’re running into a depth problem. Three of the four guys that played in the back our midfielders, who just because of necessity are playing back there. (Jackson, Novak, Cutler, Akwari)

The first half was the one that was encouraging. The guys legs were good afterward, and they weren’t tired.

In the first week it’s basically trying to get the players used to each other and fitness and now you start working areas, like play in the final third, your back four.

I think it’s a matter of where the space was, and we were able to take advantage on the left side. Pablo’s a pretty cheeky little player, he knows to get in behind people, and he’s very good on the ball. It wasn’t by design, it was more the flow of the game.

It’s a starting point. It’s like the grapefruit league in baseball, it’s when april rolls around that counts.

What counts is getting into the league season. We’re taking baby steps.

We’re putting a whole team together. They bring in some players and fill a whole or too. And we’re filling a whole new unit. I’m not frustrated at all.

Jose Luis Luviano · 02-08-2005, 12:38 PM

Obrigado, Pele.

In the late 90's, San Jose used to win those preseason tournaments in Florida; then be out of playoff contention by July.

Deuce · 02-08-2005, 12:40 PM

It sounds like our starters minus Mathis, Pope and Rojas lost 1-0 to DC United's starters in the first half then both sides went to the bench in the second!

So I would say it is not a bleak outcome... but it does show we still need some time to gel as a team.

I am not disappointed by this at all!

Arelius · 02-08-2005, 01:06 PM

Thanks James, for the report. I know many of us were dying for some info. Keep the updates coming!

Jim Umber · 02-08-2005, 01:18 PM

Great report, James. I think we all expect some rough edges, at first. It takes awhile for the guys to get used to playing with each other; to make a team of it. That doesn't just happen, and it doesn't happen in 1 week.

I still expect great things, when it counts!

Czar Jake · 02-08-2005, 01:35 PM

Yes thank you James, we are all dying for any information on our squad.

Well the 5-1 result doesn't mean too much, but I think it exposes some areas where they will be working on getting better:

1. Depth (especially at defense) 1-0 at the half, but then with the subs coming in we got schooled, 4-1.

2. Gelling as a team (as talked about by James)

3. Finishing. From what it sounded like, they were able to string together some good action but only finished one opportunity, and that was a B-team sub (Krispy Kreamalmayer)

Anyway, great to hear about what's happening down in the sunshine state, keep the info coming!

clarette · 02-08-2005, 02:43 PM

We have a CELEB in our midst! 😉

At any rate, I think the result is to be expected at this point in the season. Plus, teams that have been training together for years are often susceptible to big gaps in the midfield.

It's starting to seem sort of real (no pun intended) now, isn't it?

Ray Salt Lake · 02-08-2005, 02:46 PM

Dudes, paint the picture however you want. We still got smoked 5-1. I know it doesn't mean much, but......

bordelais7 · 02-08-2005, 02:48 PM

wonderful report. keep it coming!

jasoncox · 02-08-2005, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Czar Jake

1. Depth (especially at defense) 1-0 at the half, but then with the subs coming in we got schooled, 4-1.

I'm not sure this is as big an issue as you might think. With 2 of the projected 4 starters missing on the back line, this would be expected wouldn't it? I would expect similar results from any team in this situation. So atleast 2 of the starters from this game will be sitting on the bench come April.

The other issue is obviously just the lack of time these guys have been playing together. The DCU article on the game points to the athletic play of the RSL defenders and credits them for saving a couple other potential goals during the first half. So it doesn't sound like a lack of effort on their part. A big part of this preseason will just be the players getting comfortable playing with each other.