Sorry for the late reaction, but I've been away from Casa de Fullback for the weekend and only just now watched the game. So we'll do this quickly with a little Good, Bad, and Ugly action before I hit the sack. Places everybody!
The Good
* We finally turned possession into chances and managed to take a few of said chances. Gallardo is going to be most effective when we manage to stretch the opposition width-wise, and with Namoff and Martinez both getting forward in support of Fred and Quaranta, the seams and gaps were starting to materialize. That said, Tino had a bit too much of the fire in the belly, constantly straying offside and taking bad touches that we know he can do better with. But I can accept that, because at least he's not disinterested.
* Emilio is finding the garbage again. The predator returns with one legit goal and another disallowed. Hopefully that's the spark that sets him off on another tear.
* Great fightback. I have to say that TFC's second pretty much deflated me, and I was expecting the worst. Still a very near thing, but a win is a win.
* Corner kick goal! Nuff said.
The Bad
* Once again, we can't stay solid at the back. Those last ten minutes were agonizing as I kept waiting for another moment of stupidity to undo the comeback. But the back four that we're putting out now looks pretty good. Not perfect, but give them some games. What I'm worried about is the man behind those four (see, The Ugly).
* So Tommy gets to stay on the bench for a while. I'm still not convinced that this is the best for DC going forward. The motivation seemed to be there last night, and the team played some nice stuff, but the worrying mental lapses were still in evidence, and those last ten minutes were not convincing. And what the hell kind of dirt does Mediate have on Soehn that he keeps getting minutes?
* I said before that the possession game was impressive. But where did it go in the final stages? Why were we hitting mindless balls to nowhere and losing the ball in dangerous areas? I can understand trying to hit them on the quick counter, but who do we have that qualifies as "quick"? Maybe if we stick Doe out there to chase those balls I can forgive some of the passing. But the decisions with the ball were not top drawer stuff, nor were the endless string of stupid fouls around the box (they've got Guevara and Robert, we've got Wells--ruh-roh!) I'll have to put some, perhaps the majority, of that down to the nerves of a team that's forgotten how to win close games, our previous two MLS wins being blowouts, and was flat-out desperate for three points.
The Ugly
* Wells gets this one all to himself. You can't expect to go 90 minutes and not give up any chances, but the ones that TFC scored with have to fall on Wells more than most. Where was he on that dumped cross for their first? Caught cheating and way out of position, watching it sail onto Dichio's ugly noggin. Awful stuff. And the second? A placed shot from outside the box? Sure it was beautifully placed, and McTavish/Peralta completely lost track of Dichio's run, but Wells is nowhere near that ball. Bad positioning? Bad reaction time? Bad keeper--case closed. We don't even have a clean sheet this season! If we're looking for anything in the summer transfer window, it wouldn't hurt to look for a competent netminder. Carvallo hasn't exactly looked like the answer from what I've seen.
So the victory is a welcome relief, and I really liked what I saw from the team going forward. I'll temper any optimism by harping on our defensive lapses and horrible goalkeeping. Be honest. How many of you expected to get out of those last 10 minutes unscathed? Every cross, every ball dumped into the box, every set piece, and particularly every corner--I was just waiting to be burned by another Wells fiasco or defensive blunder.
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