Getting Back into it.
Oct 22nd, 2008 by Kim.Kolb
It all comes down to this….
So here it is. The home stretch. The playoff push. Crunch Time. Any number of sports cliche’s apply here. But it United needs some help to make the playoffs.
1. The easy way. Both the Red Bulls(Thursday night) and the Wizards (Saturday) lose, and United wins on Sunday. United leap frogs them both to gain a playoff spot.
2. The complicated way. Either Red Bulls or the Wiz lose, and United wins. United goes past one of them in the standings, and then gain a playoff spot.
3. The really complicated way. The Red Bulls and Wiz tie and United wins. All three are level on points, and then United would need a huge victory (4 goals) to clinch a playoff spot.
The easiest thing for any United fan to do here is to root for a Red Bulls loss and then a United win. But let’s key on a Red Bulls loss first. Missing two key players including their goalkeeper was thought to be a plus going into last weekend’s matches, then Red Bulls backup channeled both Ron Hextall and some Minneapolis Metrodome Astroturf-like bounce to pull a goal out of thin air (note: the Columbus goalkeeper can come play outfield for the Nats anyday). A loss there would have given the advantage to United after they beat Pippi Longstocking and the Revolution….but it was not to be.
A turnaround?
Ben Olsen was quoted in Steve Goff’s Soccer Insider crediting the rookies for the turn in play. He’s absolutely right in that the team has been playing for each other of late. But the turnaround can really get traced back to the front office with the little note that DC United was breaking from MLS ranks and not using the lame MLS web-template for it’s website. Instead a local developer will take over and we can expect all kinds of neat world class web-soccer stuff in 2009….including an actual store that won’t steal your credit card number. Obviously THAT news sparked the team. But the Champions league efforts by the young players are huge positive, a couple of months ago those games were dreaded as ’schedule congestion’ but maybe now we can look at it as how the team re-bonded.
Other notes from CONCACAF play:
Ben Olsen served as an assistant with Tom Soehn out with a red card suspension. The team always plays better when Ben’s around.
Rookie James Thorpe got his first real minutes with United in Mexico against Cruz Azul. Sadly due to another maniacal CONCACAF referee with a grudge to bear, he only lasted 32 minutes before getting his second yellow. But they were 32 minutes without a goal against. Statistically United’s best goalkeeper in 2008!
Quavas Kirk, a noted snazzy dresser, though is giving him a run for that title after being in net for TWO scoreless minutes. Though with no cards, and no ejections, statistically, Kirk may be the better keeper…..
