Hummer: Analysis, notes, and quotes on D.C. United loss to Philadelphia Union

By Chris Hummer

D.C. United’s 2010 season finally saw them put the ball in the back of the net, but for the third week in a row, ended with a loss and several poor performances. Despite staging a comeback in the second half of their first ever game against expansion club – and future rival – Philadelphia Union, the team was undone again, just as first-year coach Curt Onalfo was about to batten down the hatches and go for a road draw.
 
Having come back impressively from a forgettable 2-0 first half deficit, United was looking at a 2-2 draw with 12 minutes remaining in regulation time. Onalfo had already ordered Devon McTavish – a defensive option – to report to the fourth official and enter the match for striker Danny Allsopp. However, before he could enter, central defender Dejan Jakovic misjudged a high ball near the top of the box, let the Union’s Alejandro Moreno get position on him off the bouncing ball, then fouled the Venezuelan international as he was about to burst into the box with the ball at his feet.

Jakovic was immediately judged by referee Terry Vaughn to have denied a clear goal scoring opportunity and the young Canadian stalwart received a straight red card.

It was a harsh decision by Vaughn, as United had defensive help in the vicinity, and the foul had come partially from the side, not directly behind. In other words, it was arguably not a “clear” scoring chance, which only made the dubious acting job by Moreno more difficult for United and its 1,000+ traveling fans to swallow. Certainly Jakovic grabbed him, but the way Moreno “sold” the foul by crashing to the turf as if he had been mugged is a behavior that plagues the game of soccer the world over, and fools far too many referees.
 
In the end though, Moreno’s actions put his team up a man, and gave them a dangerous opportunity. And when red-hot Sebastien Le Toux completed his hat-trick by firing the resultant free kick past an out-of-position Troy Perkins, Onalfo immediately withdrew McTavish from the midfield line and called for Adam Cristman, a young, physical striker instead.

Choosing an offensive weapon like Cristman over a defensive one like McTavish made complete sense, but choosing to swap him for another offensive threat in Danny Allsopp – especially one who operates best as a target player for long balls, and with a powerful heading ability – was a puzzling decision.

Onalfo explained when asked why Allsopp was removed instead of Barklage, “He had put an enormous effort in, and we felt like Adam [Cristman] and Jaime [Moreno] could contribute an awful lot as a two-forward tandem, and that’s what we did”.

It is what they did, but there were other options – more offensive in approach. Onalfo clearly had to go with three in the back being down a man and a goal, so there was no need to reconfigure his attacking shape. He also still had Santino Quaranta, Jamie Moreno, and Chris Pontius on the field – all three of which have experience in a central midfield role, but are light years ahead of then central midfielders Brandon Barklage or Kurt Morsink in attacking mentality.

Cristman brought an almost reckless energy and emotion to the match, even earning himself a caution in the 89th minute for blowing a gasket at Vaughn after a foul call. That energy was needed, but may have been more effective pushing higher up the field, running on to through balls played by Moreno out of attacking mid, or knocking down headers from Allsopp instead of having to come back into midfield to get the ball, which is how Cristman operated.
 
Having a front five of Allsopp, Cristman, Moreno, Pontius, and Quaranta would have given United a better chance at pulling out the road draw. Things are improving overall for the most part however, and it should not go unnoticed that the Black and Red found a way to overcome mistakes and give themselves a chance to earn some points.

Onalfo says team morale is fine, and that things will improve, explaining “If you’ve been around me long enough, you’ll find very quickly that I’m not a guy that puts my head down. I’ve been through a hell of a lot worse, and like I said [in previous comments to reporters], our group is going to get better; and at the end of the day, this [loss] is going to make us a better team”.

Player Ratings

Perkins (4.5) – Tough night, partially responsible for first goal due to bad starting position, even though he was left stranded by poor marking. Could not be blamed for second goal, a clinical low, far post strike by Le Toux after the rest of his team botched basics on preventing a counter-attack. Third goal fell somewhat on his shoulders though, admitting after the game, “I see it a little bit late, maybe I’m just a half step, a step a little too far to the left. And just gave up too much [of the goal on the left of the wall]”.
 
Talley (5) – Better outing from last week, and based on Onalfo’s post game quotes, sounds likely to start next game in center back with Julius James or Devon McTavish. Nothing that went wrong was directly his fault, yet nothing about his play was too spectacular. Still struggles with good service and connecting passes in the attacking third.

Jakovic (4.5) – Both center backs responsible for first goal, it is inexcusable for the opponent’s forward to be in alone 5 yards from goal on a cross. Foul leading to red card was preventable if he had not allowed the ball to bounce first. Not responsible for 2nd goal, as he was up for the corner when the counter-attack ensued.
 
Peña (no rating) – Was hurt inside of 12 minutes, but shares responsibility for 1st goal with Jakovic and Perkins, and whoever was supposed to mark the third attacker on set plays.

Wallace (5) – Very busy on the night, broke up a lot of plays. Was in charge of defending the counter from the corner kick on which the second goal was conceded. Got forward more in 2nd half, drew fouls and was dangerous, but several left-footed service attempts from midfield fell short of the defensive line and were easily cleared.

Barklage (5) – Was moved centrally almost right away after having trouble dealing with Fred, and Onalfo wanted to get Quaranta wider to help the attacking width. Barklage is not a playmaker, and struggled with some first touches that forced him to make several desperate tackles to prevent turnovers.  Definitely could not control game tempo, and will be happy to get out wide again.

Castillo (4) – Invisible for most part after one early run down left side and another when he got to a seemingly hopeless ball to create a good chance missed by Pontius in 8th minute. Was majorly responsible for counterattack second goal allowed, and was pulled at half time by Onalfo. Might he get his chance in the middle of the park against Chicago?

Morsink (5) – Workmanlike performance in holding mid, did better with simple passing this week, but has much smaller range then Clyde Simms. Allowed Philly to play through to forwards far too often, and could have been more aggressive given he committed zero fouls in the position commonly coined the “disruptor”.
 
Quaranta (5.5) – Moved out of attacking mid role almost immediately by Onalfo, to more comfortable wide midfield role. Struggled with touches in first half, but started the team’s comeback in second half with a powerful deflected strike for United’s first goal. Energy was contagious, and involved a lot more in second half.

Pontius (4.5) – Paired with target-man Allsopp in first half, and covered a lot of ground. Turned ball over quite a bit looking for flicks and fakes that teammates didn’t read. Checked deeper to get the ball, which worked, but passes were off the mark. May have done better with Castillo’s ball in the 8th. Second half in wide position he saw more time on the ball, but continued to struggle to finish moves and complete passes – one of which almost lead directly to goal against.

Allsopp (5) – First start, and took time to adjust. Barely touched the ball for first half, with most dangerous effort just before halftime when he earned a corner, then redirected powerful header on goal. Second half was more productive and active, flashing header from free kick well, but directly to the goalkeeper – Maryland alum Chris Seitz.
 
James (5) – Subbed in for Peña in 15th, and did well. Wasn’t spectacular, but not as erratic. Covered a lot of ground, and covered wide when Wallace went forward, and was a threat to break into the attacking half. Did well enough for sure to earn a start next week.

Moreno (5) – Better, more consistent performance than last week, played at forward with Allsopp, while Pontius was moved to left midfield. Finally gave United ability to hold the ball in attacking third long enough to get numbers forward. Personally took credit for spooking Seitz into mistake that led to simple goal for the 36 year old Bolivian – his MLS leading 132nd.

Cristman (not rated) – Not in long enough to rate, but blew a gasket on a foul call by referee Terry Vaughn, and earned United’s fifth, and dumbest yellow card on the night. Energy and enthusiasm to be commended though.

Match Notes & Quotes

Vice President Joe Biden Visit
It was the first time a Vice President has been to an MLS game, let alone conducted the “first kick”. A few minutes later, Biden was out of the building, and the gates were opened so wide, Lincoln Financial Field staff didn’t even check tickets. By the 20th minute, most of the 34,870 fans had at least been let in the gates.

Traveling Fans
Over 1,000 of United’s most dedicated fans made the inaugural trip, and smartly entered the stadium well before kickoff – though in hindsight, they may have preferred to skip the first half completely. [See quotes by Moreno and MLS Commissioner Don Garber below for more on the impressive fan support]

Nowak Watch
Former D.C. United head coach and Polish national team star Peter Nowak was not on the sideline for the match due to the plane crash that killed the Polish President, much of the country’s leadership, and the head of the Polish Olympic Committee, a lifelong friend.

Curt Onalfo Quotes
On team morale: “Listen, if you’ve been around me long enough, you’ll find very quickly that I’m not a guy that puts my head down. I’ve been through a hell of a lot worse, and like I said, our group is going to get better, and at the end of the day, this is going to make us a better team”.

On moving Quaranta out of Attacking Midfield so early in the match: “I just felt like in this particular game, with such a narrow field, it would help Tino to be wide and create some chances wide for us, and he did. So I felt like that move helped us tactically”.

Jaime Moreno Quotes
On analyzing the game: “To be honest, I’m just very tired of saying ‘what do I think from this game’. It’s very simple. We lost, and we’re not good enough. We know that, and we’ve got to go back to work and figure out how to win and how to become a better team”.

On his (now controversial) goal: “I tried to distract a little bit the keeper. I faked it. I think he felt I was going to put my foot in the way”.

On the traveling fan support: “It’s great. I’m very disappointed we couldn’t give them a better result. I think if they could, they’d follow us to every game. They know how much they mean to us, and we’re always going to appreciate that”.

Don Garber Quotes
On the importance of the “Sons of Ben” fan group for Philadelphia: “This team probably doesn’t get launched [without Sons of Ben]. They were around before the team really got off the ground. They helped lobby the state. They helped us with our discussions with the Governor. They were very passionate in their support for the last number of years. Those are the folks that are going to be here through the thick or thin. When it’s not just your inaugural year, when the team might not be doing well; and we, as a league, need to have more groups like Sons of Ben”.

On strong fan groups in general lately: “We have many of them around the around the league, and I think that really represents a turning point in Major League Soccer – the fact that we have supporters, that care about their teams and it’s something that’s very close to their heart”.

On the prospect of more traveling fan groups in the league like D.C. fans did for this game: “We’re going to really see what it’s going to be like in the Pacific Northwest in 2011. And think about what it’s going to be like if we could get a second team in New York. And then, we’ve got a true I-95 rivalry, with two teams in New York, you’ve got Boston, you’ve got Philadelphia, and you’ve got Washington, D.C.

“I think we’re going to see more and more MLS fans travel. Like Toronto fans have taught other MLS supporters to go around to our stadiums.

“I’d like to see those fans more integrated within our general fan base. And that’s something we’ve got to work on – because there are more people here [for the game] than we thought would be here from D.C. I know that Nick [Sakiewicz – Union CEO] has told me that in PPL Park, that they [visiting teams] will be in the lower level. They’ve got it into their ticket manifests and their plans. I know that the teams in the Pacific Northwest are starting to think about that. It’s going to create a great dynamic going forward”.