This will be short and sweet, really more of a collection of "quick hits" than an actual match reaction. That's because Jabloteh were so bad, and we were playing so many non-regulars, that it's hard to draw any large conclusions beyond (a) Jabloteh is athletic but not a great team and (b) there is some promise in our depth...
* Why did everything I read say that Habarugira was a left-central or left back? He's definitely right-footed based on all the evidence I've seen (not overly so, but he definitely favors it). That said, current evidence certainly doesn't suggest a long-term future in DC anyway...
* Pontius for forward, Tommy? Please? Dynamic movement that unsettles defenses! The vision (and willingness) to play in those around him! Aerial battles actually won! He can't have missed all that, could he?
* Didn't Jabloteh wear green at home? How is black and red with black shorts further away from all-black than green? I saw a few passes hit to players who were probably just glimpsed in peripheral vision and mistaken for teammates. Or maybe that's just Fred being Fred.
* Speaking of Fred. Hey, he finally took a chance in the box! Of course, he also managed to flub a handful...
* Shipalane is quick and has a big bag of tricks on the wing. Given his age, here's hoping we can teach him to defend, cause he looks pretty useful.
* Yes, Khumalo took his goals well (particularly the bender from distance for the second), but he also never looked like blowing by anybody with the ball on the wing (unlike Shipalane). Nor were his passing or touch anything to write home (or to this blog) about. Here's hoping it's just rust.
* Szetela got out of the doghouse for a trot-around. Got a yellow.
* Can somebody please write to FSC and let them know that goal differential does not freakin' matter! For the last time: we hold the tie-breaker against Marathon by virtue of our superior goal difference against Marathon in the head-to-head. If Toluca beat Marathon tomorrow, we're through. If not, we need a result in Mexico or to hope that Jabloteh somehow morph into world-beaters (or, at the very least semi-competent) in the last round.
* Wallace looked good overlapping on the left from a fullback position and got two assists. Attacking left back alert! Of course, MLS opposition would be another story entirely...
* Burch introduced in center defense as a late sub for James. Jabloteh's only goal comes less than five minutes later. Coincidence?
Well, that's about all from me for now. 5-1 is certainly nothing to sneeze at, considering some of our previous results and the team we had on the field. But it certainly doesn't prove that we're suddenly a dangerous side. Chivas will be a much sterner test. Considering the Revs exposed their vulnerable underbelly with a loss of their own tonight in league play, we've still got a reasonable shot at the post-season. The horrible supposition then becomes: if Tommy manages to get us out of the group stages of the Champions' League and through to the playoffs, are we cursed to suffer yet another year of his bumbling? Ah, screw it. I don't want to be miserable in the wake of a 5-1.
Vamos United!
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