Well, that backfired, didn’t it?
Of course, I’m talking about Jason Kreis’s opting to experiment with the lineup against a D.C. side we would have been able to beat easily with a full-strength lineup. I understand the reasoning, though: We’re in the middle of a difficult, tiring run of games. In order to keep player energy levels at a reasonable level, there had to be changes. And so, there were.
At the back, we saw Wingert on the right, McKenzie right central, Borchers left central, and the first competitive debut of Blake Wagner on the left. For what it’s worth, they could have done better as a unit, but this wasn’t exactly a unit I expected to see. I wasn’t entirely discouraged by the work of Rauwshan McKenzie, though he made some amateurish mistakes throughout — that’s what happens when you don’t play a center back regularly, I think. Nor was I too disappointed by Blake Wagner, though he, too, made some mistakes he shouldn’t have been making. It was his first real competitive game for the club (a mere two or three minutes previously hardly counts) and he didn’t have much time to slot in. Nor were Wingert and Borchers really that bad, with the former just coming back from injury, and the latter having perhaps his best passing game all season.
Sure, the back four could have made an impact in at least two of those goals, but there’s more blame, I think, to be placed on the midfield. Kyle Beckerman didn’t have his best passing game — more on why I think that is in a minute — misplacing 18 passes but making 66. It’s an unacceptable rate for a player of his caliber. Ned Grabavoy, for his part, made 70 passes and only misplaced seven, and I think he was perhaps our only standout player. But the problems, I think, in the midfield came about because we were terribly unbalanced. Arturo Alvarez had another game to forget, hardly getting on the ball and making little impact on the right. Collen Warner, in that nominally attacking role, made his passes largely close to center — having little impact in the final third whatsoever.
So with our midfield disjointed, particularly as Alvarez wasn’t protecting the right and Warner wasn’t helping much to keep possession, Beckerman and Grabavoy were forced into a situation where they were tasked with the lion’s share of the midfield work. Kyle was consistently further forward than he’d usually be, leaving a big gap between the defense and the midfield — and D.C. exploited that to good effect.
Up front, we had Paulo Jr. and Jean Alexandre. Now, I know Jean’s a hard worker, but many times I’ve seen him play, he’s put in a dangerous high boot, or a dangerous tackle, or been a disaster waiting to happen. It’s not all of his play that’s like this — just moments of madness, I think — but is it any wonder that Jason won’t put him in the midfield? I know a defensive midfielder often ends up with yellows and the occasional red, but they can’t be for lapses in judgment like that. Paulo Jr., for his part, did well to drop deeper and get possession: He stuck largely on the left and cut inside, and he formed an effective partnership with Ned Grabavoy in that regard, which was nice to see. Ned and Paulo were, I think, the two positives we can take from the match easily.
I do understand Jason Kreis’s decision, and I think the back could have functioned much better with a midfield that offered even a modicum of protection. But with Kyle Beckerman forced forward, Arturo Alvarez hardly contributing, and Collen Warner not helping to keep the ball, we were caught on the counter attack and we were caught in possession. Now, the defense can take some blame for giving up a goal from a free kick, but those things are bound to happen at times. Nick perhaps could have done more to stop De Rosario’s third goal, but it was quite a shot that dipped over the wall and managed to maintain a high rate of speed — that’s the mark of an excellent free kick taker, and we can hold our hands up about that goal.
But there was something awfully puzzling last night. De Rosario, the man who scored three goals and had the assist on the fourth, should never have seen the pitch against our side. In Saturday’s match against Chivas, he took an absolutely audacious dive after the slightest of contact (a hand against the back, not even a push) and won a penalty kick, which was subsequently missed. The MLS did nothing: This, after Saborio was given a fine and a ban for his dive — which I still maintain was not nearly as simple as it looked, but perhaps that’s me protecting our players a bit much. They turned their head, and perhaps they coughed, because it’s clear what De Rosario had them by (hint: It’s something the league displayed none of.)
That said, our side could have done much better, and while I don’t want to blame individuals, I think those hard off-season decisions Jason Kreis talked about a few weeks ago may be getting considerably easier. Right, on, though, to Wednesday, when we’ll be closer to full strength, at home, and will likely get a chance to see Javier Morales on the pitch. I can’t wait.
‘Til tomorrow. Come on you Claret and Cobalt!
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