A respectable performance, but still no points

After 60 minutes of this match, I was all ready to come on here and say I was wrong about wanting to punt the CCL. A goalless draw would have been a wonderful result. But as is typical with this club, we let up 2 soft goals off of shotty defending. And now we're staring up from the bottom of a fully stacked group.


1. The best man wearing black last night was again Bryan Namoff. Once we have 5 healthy eligible defenders, it's hard to predict who the 4 starters will be. But we do know for sure that Namoff will be one of them.

2. Gotta give some credit to Tom Soehn. He sent out a pretty good lineup that played admirably well, while still allowing Quaranta to rest, and removing Fred and Simms early. Of course I'd be singing a different tune if Emilio or Guerrero or somebody had gotten injured.


1. Two reserves stepped up and played well, and that's Craig Thompson and Rod Dyachenko. Thompson saved a goal early with a clearance that went off the post, but he was the one who got beaten on that play anyway, so it's hard to rave about it. Dyachenko played well as the transitionary player between the defense and attack. Thompson may have earned a few more Convey votes in this match, and Dyachenko may have earned a few less Donnety votes.


1. Gonzalo Martinez was constantly getting beaten on the left side throughout the entire match.

2. When the tallest players on the field are Marc Burch and Gonzalo Peralta, that second goal really should NOT happen. Pretty sure it was Peralta's man who got a head on it.

3. I expected more out of Luciano Emilio and Fred. Anything really. Like maybe at least a few more shots on goal? With their keeper clearly being uncomfortable, it would have been nice if we'd been able to test him.

So what does everybody feel now about our chances of advancing and what our lineup should be for the remainder of the tournament? It would not be looked on kindly by Management (and by the home fans at RFK) if we rolled out a starting XI filled with reserves next Wednesday. But I have no problem adding one or two more reserve players to the starting lineup as the CCL continues, and as our chances of advancing get slimmer, and as the playoffs draw closer.

On the bright side, DCU's play was inspirational, despite earning 0 points. And going into Sunday's match at Dallas, we're just one Designated Player shy of full strength.