If you’d told me coming into the game that D.C. United would start a lineup with two guys making their first starts with the club, and two other guys with their first starts of 2017, and they’d give up a goal in the first five minutes only to take (and lose) the lead en route to an entertaining 2-2 draw with the New England Revolution, I’d have called you a nutjob, or whatever slang it is for crazy talk these days. But the Black-and-Red pulled this off, God love ‘em. And now we get to look at some of the moments therein.
The first, for obvious reasons, is the Revs goal from Lee Nguyen. Lloyd Sam appears to be yelling for Kofi Opare to pick up Nguyen’s run. He doesn't, Kei Kamara’s cross is spot on, and there you have it:
To reiterate, Opare saw him at least once, maybe twice, as this alternate angle illustrates, and looking at how far, and uncontested Nguyen’s run was, I am now mad online all over again:
Next up is this corner kick. D.C. got kilt on set pieces most of the night (and they eventually paid for it on the second goal), but this was an ominous sign as both Kamara got away from Opare easily and that nobody (in this case, Bobby Boswell) caught up to him quicker:
Here was a corner a few minutes later, one where Bill Hamid made one of those really cool saves that Bill Hamid makes. But if you can guess the pattern here, I included this here for Kamara getting some separation from Opare to get this chance off:
The next one up is the chance that Kamara scuffs (I’m omitting the Kamara tribute that Teal Bunbury did later in the game, BTW), but more importantly I’d note the unfettered run Diego Fagundez makes down the middle of D.C.’s end before getting the shot off. Anyone want to get in front of him? Bueller?
Next up? Sebastien Le Toux’s goal. Two marvelous passes here, the obvious one being Lloyd Sam’s Pass of the Week submission, the second being Ian Harkes’ quick thinking to get it to Sam, before Le Toux’s exquisite chip:
Next up is the early second half PK shout for Sam after being fouled by Kelyn Rowe. I don’t know if D.C. got this angle, but if does make the lack of call look a little worse:
Lastly was this late game play here by Jared Jeffrey. Note the fact that Boswell and Maxim Tissot both get worked in varying degrees by Kamara, but Jeffrey comes in and dispossesses him for Hamid to gather, like Indiana Jones when he shoots the guy with the sword in Raiders. I’ve also included Luciano Acosta’s decision-making, which started this.
So what stood out for you?