DC United turned a potentially disastrous game into a rout with a kind of persistence usually associated with, dare I say, championship teams. Everything was against United on Thursday. Kpene hurt his hamstring in the 8th minute, and with Moreno in Venezuela and Dyachenko clearly ineffective, this was an ominous start. Addlery quickly entered the game and joined the DC United B squad on the field. The first fifteen minutes of the game were dreadful. The back line was uneven, the midfield was very prone to the quick giveaways, and the forwards were not getting good service. All this lead to the Colorado goal. Two or three DC United defenders had a chance to either closely mark a player or clear a 50/50 ball, but the result was a goal in the 19th minute which was indicative of Colorado's ability to keep the ball in DC's third of the field.
That seemed to get United's attention, and the next fifteen minutes were much better. A nice play in the box led to Greg Vanney reaching with his hand and he clearly touched the ball. Play was allowed to continue momentarily and the penalty should have been moot as Addlery had an open goal to shoot into, but he pushed the ball way left. All was righted when the referee (who had an excellent game) pointed to the spot. Penalty! With Moreno absent, Gomez, calmly slotted the ball in the corner and all was even.
DC seemed to dominate play over the next 45 minutes, but there was the occasional big save needed from Perkins to keep the game level. Fred missed several chances to put United ahead and seemed very frustrated with his lack of ability to notch his first MLS goal. Finally, Addlery was able to nod home a beautiful corner from Fred and as if in celebration, the heavens opened with rain and lightening.
We now pause for 30 minutes for safety reasons.
So with about 15 minutes remaining in the game, United looked to maintain their lead and a spectacular sprawling save from Perkins was required. Soon after, the Brasilians were able to put the game out of reach. Fred scored off a nice pass from Addlery and Emilio converted a clinical finish off an assist from Gomez. A dedicated crowd was treated to a rout. Things got a little chippy at the end as the Rapids were clearly embarrassed and angry about the result, but no one was hurt and the celebration was on.
The Good:
- Addlery and Fred join the Goal Scorers list.
- Perkins was in top form, best I've seen him all year.
- Emilio continues to be the player we hoped for, a true goal scorer.
- Other than the sloppy start and the 30 minute delay, not much to complain about.
Forwards (Emilio and Kpene/Addlery) A-
Addlery took a while to get going but had a hand in two of the goals, and Emilio continues to excel.
Midfielders (Fred, Gomez, Carroll the Elder, and Moose) B
Good service from this group. Would be a higher grade if not for the terrible passing in the first 15 minutes. I really like Moose. He never quits on a play and has a nice touch in traffic. He had one great lob pass to Emilio which was very clever. I want to see more of him playing the wings. Maybe when everyone gets back, Carroll can take a game off and we can see what Olsen in defensive midfield with Moose on the right looks like.
Defense (Erpen, McTavish, Simms, Gros, and Perkins) A
An excellent effort from a group we hope to never see. Simms played well. McTavish looked more comfortable in the center, rather than the right. Gros is really coming on and other than a laughable crossing attempt, he was very good. Perkins was stellar. Erpen was very steady. Nice work all around.
Subs (Burch and Dyachenko) I
Only 5 minutes combined in a 4-1 game. No grade.
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