Good evening folks. Tonight is the big Eastern Conference clash between I-95 rivals D.C. United and the New England Revolution. The Revs will be looking to move into sole possession of first place while D.C. will try to take a step closer to escaping the Eastern Conference basement.
Tonight’s match is on ESPN2. If you will be watching, and will be online, please feel free to follow the match here and share your own thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.
I will be doing a running commentary on the match so feel free to follow along.
My prediction? New England 2, D.C. United 1.
Enjoy the match.
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FINAL- That’s all for tonight folks. Thanks for following along tonight and be sure to check in Friday for more soccer news and analysis on Soccer By Ives.
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FINAL- D.C. United 2, New England 2. Matt Reis is the man of the match, keeping D.C. from blowing it open in the first half. Steve Nicol makes a key adjustment and the Revs respond with two goals. ‘Disco’ Tom Soehn won’t be happy with the blown lead but a road point is better than another loss. D.C. will begrudgingly take the point.
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94th minute– Cristman with a late chance but sends it into The Fort. Not the best shot.
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87th minute– Larentowicz hip-checked Fred and the Brazilian winger is down. I’m not a doctor but he may have a ruptured spleen (okay, so maybe not.)
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83rd minute– Pardon me for dozing off. This game has gotten ugly.
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72nd minute- GOAL NEW ENGLAND- DUBE scores the equalizer off a Ralston free kick. Larentowicz heads the free kick to a wide-open Dube. Revs 2, D.C. United 2.
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71st minute– D.C. has really looked dangerous throughout the match and this is looking like the team we thought D.C. would be when the season began. At least on the attacking side.
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67th minute– My verdict is in on the D.C. road jersey. I think it’s ugly.
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66th minute– Emilio breaks in alone on goal but tries to power a shot through Reis. Not going to happen. He would have been better off sliding it into the corner.
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59th minute- GOAL REVS. And it’s Adam "Frankenstein" Cristman. finds a deflected shot at his feet and finishes from close range. D.C. 2, New England 1.
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57th minute– D.C. 2, New England 0 and the D.C. attack looks to be waking up just in time. Here’s a question though. What is the deal with the REvs at home? Aside from a win against lowly San Jose two weeks ago, the Revs have been bad at home this month.
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54th minute– D.C. is still alive and Tom Soehn, who looks like he’s heading to a club after the game, looks to be breathing a bit easier.
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53rd minute- GOAL DC UNITED and it’s FRED finishing off a sequence that saw several amazing saves. Where in the world was New England’s defense?
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50th minute– Great Joseph passes misses by inches to Ralston. More promising stuff from the Revs attack.
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48th minute– When I watch Adam Cristman run I think of one word: lumbering. Not a good word for a striker.
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HALFTIME– What will the REvs need to do differently in the second half? Well, for one, Shalrie Joseph and Jeff Larentowicz need to gain control of possession. They haven’t had much of the ball, which makes it tough for the Revs to create many chances. D.C. just needs to keep up the energy. If the slow down, New England will definitely pounce.
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HALFTIME– D.C. 1, New England 0. Other than that last shot by Dube, New England hasn’t really done much today. In fact, D.C. looks like the home team, attacking, while New England seems like the countering team.
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45th minute– SAVE WELLS. Wow. Dube races in and takes a shot from close range but Wells saves it.
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40th minute– Odds on a fight in this game: 4/1
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39th minute– Adam Cristman comes in for Wells Thompson. Very early sub. Look for Nyassi to create some problems on the right flank.
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37th minute– Is it ever a Revs game without an altercation?
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30th minute– Still waiting to see New England’s attack do something in response to the goal.
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24th minute– SAVE REIS. He stops a great Jaime Moreno shot after a nice D.C. sequence. Should be 2-0 right now.
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19th minute– New England knocks on the door but can’t get it past Zach Wells, who gets a little lucky that he didn’t get caught off his line.
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15th minute- GOAL D.C. UNITEd. And it’s Luciano Emilo with the goal (pardon while I puke for removing the captain’s tag from Emilio on my horrendous fantasy team.)
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13th minute– Here’s a question. Do we need random rundowns of the bios of players throughout MLS for every national broadcast? Just a thought.
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10th minute– WHAT A SAVE from Matt Reis, stopping a shot from Clyde "Godfrey" Simms. Nice shot, great save.
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5th minute– You know its a small crowd when you can hear every curse loudly and clearly.
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3rd minute– D.C. knocking it around, but not really making progress.
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2nd minute– And we’re off. Late arriving crowd at New England.