GameThread: Philadelphia Union At D.C. United

by Martin Shatzer on Aug 22, 2010 12:00 PM EDT

This brewing rivarly continues with an early one today as the Philadelphia Union visit RFK Stadium and DC United for the first time in their short history. The Union defeated United 3-2 in their home match earlier in the year. With the two worst defenses in the league in terms of goals allowed, we might expect another high scoring match today.

Game Time: 2:00 PM Eastern

Television: Comcast SportsNet

Projected Starting Lineup: Cross your fingers that Dejan Jakovic is healthy enough to start today next to Julius James at center back. Another Carey Talley appearance could mean another hat trick for Sebastien Le Toux. As for the front six, the chances are probably pretty good that we won't see any changes to the lineup that has scored only one goal in the previous three matches, although the coaching staff could choose to send a message to Santino Quaranta after he got into a fight with goalkeeper coach Mark Simpson in practice this week. Chris Pontius, who began last week's match on the bench, could be asked to start in his place.

If you're going to the stadium, sing loud and have fun. If not, this is your place for pre-game, in-game, and post-game comments.

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Great performance today! Its about time we scored some goals.

by DonCaps819 on Aug 22, 2010 3:48 PM EDT reply actions

Finally!

It’s about we won! The midfield looked sloppy at times, but the back four played a much more solid game this time out. For the first 20 minutes of the second half, I thought the United actually looked like a good team (for once!). They held possession and created some good scoring chances. Allsopp will get man of the match, but Quaranta and Najar played well up front, as well. Major kudos goes to the back four which pretty much shut down the dangerous Le Toux-Mwanga combo.

by madavis on Aug 22, 2010 4:28 PM EDT reply actions

Random thoughts

It is nice to see that we are capable of scoring goals in a league game. Kudos to Allsopp and company, especially Najar. It was also nice to see Simms back as well. Burch seemed to have an off-game. I’m glad Olsen is starting Hamid over Troy. This was another game that we still haven’t seen much out of Hernandez & Boskovic. I don’t know how I should feel about beating the 2nd worst team in the league at home, but a win is a win, so I guess I’ll feel good about it. Also, I don’t know if it was just the broadcast angle, but attendance looked really poor for a Sunday afternoon game.

by DCUFaninMissouri on Aug 22, 2010 4:56 PM EDT reply actions

Since we’re the worst team in the league, call it a success lol.

by DonCaps819 on Aug 22, 2010 5:39 PM EDT up reply actions

This was another game that we still haven’t seen much out of Hernandez & Boskovic.

Disagree on both, particularly Hernandez, who (I thought) had an effective dummy on the second goal. And God, Tino’s got to stop holding the friggin’ ball too long. At least he had a couple of decent crosses. And maybe it’s me, but I wouldn’t have given Najar that much room to run, but then my tactics suck arse.

Hopefully this bodes for their confidence heading out to HDC next week.

Hasta siempre Jaime.

by Bald Pollack on Aug 22, 2010 5:53 PM EDT up reply actions

I agree that attendance was surprisingly low (I was there). It was not horrid, but it wasn’t what I would have expected for a weekend game,

by HobbesLionheart on Aug 22, 2010 6:11 PM EDT up reply actions

Rain may have moved some of the crowd.

As for the rest ….well, the team is the worst in MLS. Tough to get anyone but the diehards out when you’ve won 3 games all year. There’s only so many second-half collapses fans can see before they just decide it’s not worth it.

Simulated Gameday Experience - just like the real thing, only we have smoke machines.

by Chris Pendley on Aug 22, 2010 7:55 PM EDT up reply actions

Burch

Care to elaborate on your comment of Burch having an off-game? He’s been incredibly steady since returning from injury, and I didn’t see anything today that changed my mind.

Managing Editor for BlackAndRedUnited.com. Weekend Writer for SBNation DC.

by Martin Shatzer on Aug 22, 2010 8:14 PM EDT up reply actions

The biggest thing I remember is Burch’s errant pass late in the game which led to the yellow on James who had to compensate for it. The reason it stuck out is that Burch has been solid this year since coming back. The fact that I noticed Burch today gave me reason to suspect that some of his decisions on that side of the pitch were not up to his usual stuff. There were some other minor things earlier in the game as well. Believe me, I like Burch there, especially in lieu of some of our other defensively challenged players who I hope will not see another minute this year.

by DCUFaninMissouri on Aug 23, 2010 12:02 AM EDT reply actions