Speaking of disappointing results, Pablo, Brandon, Kevin and I attended the US Open Cup final between FC Dallas and New England last night. We went with high hopes of seeing Dallas take silverware for the first time since their 1997 Open Cup win over DC United. Although Dallas dominated possession much of the evening and kept things close, ultimately defensive breakdowns left them on the short end of a 3-2 result.
Offensively, FC Dallas looked dangerous all night. They played with excellent width, regularly flying crosses in from both sides of the field. Unfortunately, they just couldn't seem to get on the end of anything, probably owing to their lack of height up front. Arturo Alvarez did have a cracker of a goal in the first half to tie things up at 1-1, certainly the goal of the match.It was the defense that let the home fans down time and again throughout the match. The Revolution never seemed threatening in their passing and build up. Each of their goals seemed to come out of plays that appeared to be going nowhere until poor marking by FD Dallas led to a cheap goal.
With the team in the middle of a late season fade that seems to be their trademark in so many recent season, hopes of bringing home the MLS Cup appear to be fading along with their results. Perhaps if they can shore up things defensively and show some of the offensive spark they demonstrated last night, some joy may be found in the post season.
A final note: Actual attendance had to have been well below the announced crowd of 10,600. Shocking attendance for a cup final, but after reading Pablo's post on the misguided efforts of the club's marketing department, should we be surprised? Where's my wig?!
Arturo Alvarez & Carlos Ruiz photo courtesy of mysoccer.com: http://www.mysoccer.com/mls6/fcd0606.php
Cristobal: Excellent recap! Thanks for reminding us about the Arturo Alvarez goal. Given the Hoops' meltdown these past few weeks, we must take the good from the bad & celebrate great moments like that "cracker of a goal".
ReplyDeleteAnd we have to credit Otto Gol for the sharp words towards FC Dallas' marketing. He's right on spot. Something's amiss that we didn't have a bigger turnout for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup 2007. Seems wrong. Is the Hunt Sports Group looking to sell its stake in FC Dallas? Have they lost their taste for soccer now that the Godfather of American Soccer, Lamar Hunt, has passed?
This cat's curiosity led me to look up the definition for "shambolic" online. As I suspected, "shambolic" is "chiefly British slang", probably from "shambles".
ReplyDeleteSo today I learned that: if it smells like a made-up word, even though pronounced with an English accent, it probably is one. Note to self: must have more confidence in our colonial language's integrity. By Jove, he Old World embraces slang on the pitch! What a shambles.