Posted on October 5, 2008

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Lapses cost DC United three vital points

While the 3-0 score line was deceiving, it was nonetheless an accurate reflection of DC United’s fortunes this season. Strong buildups have gone unfinished and defensive lapses have been all too often punished by opportunistic opponents.

In this particular game, the primary defensive lapses came from an unexpected source. Goalkeeper Louis Crayton arrived on the scene in August with great promise and wowed the fans with some masterful displays of athletic shot stopping and risky footwork near his own goal.

Oftentimes a keeper sets the tone for a team. This time, his mishit attempt to lift the ball in the 35th minute to kick it more strongly provided a perfect pass to Chivas’ Dejair who laid it off to former United forward Alecko Eskandarian who put his team ahead to stay.

Bryan Namoff was dumbfounded, “I’m almost speechless. I’m never speechless.” He did offer the opinion that the team had fought hard for one another, but simply had no luck. He added that, “This has got to be rock bottom. At least we hope so. The only way to go is up from here.”

DC had started confidently and crisply, claiming the bulk of possession. “I thought we were energized coming out, especially the first fifteen minutes”, offered Namoff. “Had we gotten ahead with the first goal, I don’t think they would have had a chance to come back. Unfortunately with one of those blooper plays….it kind of was a shot in the foot. ”

Following the unexpected goal, United continued to generate chances. “We won a lot of second balls which was one of our keys to this game. We were trying to attack with numbers when we could but if we were playing defensively we were trying to maintain our shape, get behind the ball and I think that really worked well”, said Namoff.

Still, he felt that something was not right, “Even when the soccer was there, we just struggled.” Just what was happening was visible from higher up in the stands from early on in the game. While the defensive three-man back line mostly stayed home, the wide midfielders, Fred and Ivan Guerrero wandered wherever opportunity took them.

That often made for impressive attacks, but left at least one player nonplussed. Tino Quaranta, who was listed as a forward, frequently found himself in midfield as the normal creative midfielder, Marcelo Gallardo, wandered to the sides looking for space which had been created by Fred’s and Guerrero’s peregrinations .

Perhaps it was due to Gallardo’s extended absence recovering from hernia surgery, but for Quaranta, “It was difficult. Sometimes I didn’t know where to go in some situations. We haven’t played like that before.”

The creative approach to attack was intentional and United did maintain very good overall shape through much of the contest. The defensive and holding midfield roles were generally well played by Clyde Simms and Joe Vide who had to judge where to cover for the wanderings of Fred and Guerrero.

Vide explained, “With those kind of guys, they kind of have a free role in the attacking half….For them it’s good. It creates a little havoc but sometimes it doesn’t really work out for us so well.” It was a classic trade off.

The emphasis on free flowing play allowed Chivas to attack wide more easily when they got possession and forced Simms and Vide to make rapid adjustments. That frequently left the slow Gonzalo Peralta to cover well-timed slashing runs by a variety of Chivas players.

In the 3-5-2, which was the intended alignment, defense depended heavily on coherent play by Fred and Guerrero in concert with Simms and Vide. All must adjust quickly to support the three lonely defenders. Vide was well aware of his role, “Tonight, playing with three in the back, we had role to sit a little deeper and not get forward as much, especially with Marcelo in front of us.”

In search of an answer to his team’s poor results, Coach Tom Soehn has chosen to unleash creativity and thereby lost some of the discipline necessary to the strong overall play that success in MLS Demands

Soehn can offer the quite valid excuse that injury and fatigue from an overloaded calendar has prevented proper training and forced him to too frequent changes in players’ roles.

He is still a relatively young head coach and should learn from this trying year to better prepare his team early in the year for any eventuality.

With only three more chances to pick up points, he has precious little time to do that now.

Scoring Summary:
CHV — Alecko Eskandarian 5 (Dejair 1) 35
CHV — Sasha Victorine 3 (unassisted) 56
CHV — Dejair 1 (Alecko Eskandarian 1, Sacha Kljestan 7) 68

Lineups:
Chivas USA — Dan Kennedy, Alex Zotinca, Claudio Suarez, Shavar Thomas, Francisco Mendoza (Jonathan Bornstein 54), Jesse Marsch, Sasha Victorine, Atiba Harris, Sacha Kljestan (Justin Braun 82), Alecko Eskandarian, Dejair (Jorge Flores 75),

Substitutes Not Used: Bobby Burling, Jim Curtin, Roberto Nurse, Lance Parker

D.C. United — Louis Crayton, Bryan Namoff, Gonzalo Martinez, Gonzalo Peralta, Ivan Guerrero, Marcelo Gallardo (Marc Burch 71), Clyde Simms, Joe Vide (Francis Doe 58), Fred (Devon McTavish 51), Thabiso Khumalo, Santino Quaranta,

Substitutes Not Used: Rod Dyachenko, Greg Janicki, Craig Thompson, Zach Wells

Statistical Summary:
D.C. United / Chivas USA
Total shots: 9 (3 tied with 2) 12 (Alecko Eskandarian 5)
Shots on goal: 3 (3 tied with 1) 7 (Alecko Eskandarian 3)
Fouls: 14 (Gonzalo Peralta 3,
Joe Vide 3) 19 (Jesse Marsch 6)
Offsides: 2 (Fred 1,
Thabiso Khumalo 1) 1 (Dejair 1)
Corner kicks: 7 (Ivan Guerrero 2,
Santino Quaranta 2) 2 (Dejair 2)
Saves: 4 (Louis Crayton 4) 3 (Dan Kennedy 3)

Misconduct Summary:
CHV — Shavar Thomas (caution; Tactical Foul) 38
DC — Gonzalo Peralta (caution; Reckless Tackle) 66

Referee: Kevin Stott
Referee’s Assistants: Thomas Supple; Nate Clement
4th official: Andrew Chapin
Time of game: 1:50
Attendance: 28,145
Weather: Clear -and- 69 degrees

Tagged with: Accurate Reflection, Alecko Eskandarian, Balls, Blooper, Bryan Namoff, Chivas, Crayton, DC United, Defensive Lapses, Fifteen Minutes, Footwork, Fortunes, Opponents, Perfect Pass, Possession, Rock Bottom, Score Line, Shape, Soccer, Unexpected Source

Lapses cost DC United three vital points

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