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Kansas City Wizards at D.C. United: Match Night Commentary

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By AVI CREDITOR

Two teams struggling to find the back of the net meet in a nationally televised match, as D.C. United welcomes the Kansas City Wizards to RFK Stadium (7 p.m., ESPN).

D.C. (0-5) has been shut out in four of its five games, including three home shutouts by 2-0 scorelines. 

Kansas City (2-2-1) hasn't scored since April 10, a span of three games, and hasn't won since an April 10, 1-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids.

Needless to say, both teams should be playing with a sense of urgency to right the ship and create some positive momentum.

I'll be providing live commentary from RFK Stadium, so please feel free to follow along and share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below. Enjoy the match (commentary after the jump).

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POSTGAME – That's all for me from RFK. Thanks for following along, and keep checking SBI for player and coach reaction from tonight's game. Happy Cinco de Mayo, don't drink and drive and have a great night!

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POSTGAME – Bill Hamid did very well in his first start. Not much he could've done about Kamara's goal. Let the goalie controversy begin.

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POSTGAME – United fans finally have something to cheer about, as the team improves to 1-5. Kansas City's road woes continue, and by the time the Wizards (2-3-1) found their first away goal of the season, it was way too late. You wonder if Kamara should have been playing all along with the way he was able to create in the second half.

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POSTGAME – Danny Allsopp is hands down the man of the match, with two first-half goals to inject some life into United. He worked extremely well with Adam Cristman up top.

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90th Minute – Hamid kicks it away…..AND THERE IT IS! D.C. United is off the shnide! D.C. United 2, Kansas City Wizards 1. Curt Onalfo beats his former team with his makeshift lineup, and United earns its first points of the season.

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90th Minute – D.C. United fans are expecting the worst at this point. 30 seconds or so left to go. Wolff with the cross not Espinoza.

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90th MinuteGOAL KANSAS CITY!! KAMARA FINISHES OFF THE CROSS FROM ESPINOZA! HOLD ON EVERYBODY….2-1 D.C.

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90th Minute – Escobar seals his forgettable night by firing the 35-yard free kick well over the crossbar. Sums up his night pretty well.

Three minutes of stoppage time.

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89th Minute – A yellow card to Quaranta for a takedown of Espinoza from behind. Reckless even though he got the ball. The card color matches his boots.

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88th Minute – Moreno taken down AGAIN, and this time Michael Harrington gets the yellow card. Three fouls drawn for Jaime tonight.

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88th Minute – Devon McTavish comes on for Juan Manuel Pena, who just went down with either a cramp or another muscle strain. He's already missed time this season. D.C. fans hope it's not too serious.

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86th Minute – Smith, on the right, cuts to the middle and chips one over the crossbar. He tries to do too much on his own sometimes.

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85th Minute – Bunbury can't quite get his head to a long ball from Smith outside the six-yard box. That might've been Kansas City's best chance this half.

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84th Minute – Wizards waste a corner, United 6+ minutes from its first points of the year.

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82nd Minute – Moreno with a ton of space after some nifty footwork pushes a shot to the left of the post. No intensity by the Kansas City defense tonight.

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82nd Minute – Moreno's getting beaten up. He gets bumped from behind by Espinoza, earning a foul. The AARP will have something to say about this.

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81st Minute – Time is passing the Wizards by. Do they have any sort of fight in them?

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79th Minute – Kamara pushes a shot wide after receiving the corner. Nice chance for the Wizards there. Santino Quaranta is coming on for Boyzzz Khumalo now. Veterans are on to maintain possession and kill the clock for D.C.

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78th Minute – Some nice individual work from Smith to maintain the possession with defenders running at him left and right. He earns a corner for KC and will take it himself.

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77th Minute – Castillo skips one off the left post!! What a blast from Castillo! Had the keeper beat. Just missed.

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76th Minute – Rocastle armbars Moreno to the ground from behind, but won't see a card. 35-yard free kick for United, straightaway.

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75th Minute – Have things changed this drastically for Kansas City in five weeks' time? Granted Arnaud is out, but still. I expected a better showing from the Wizards, even on the road.

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73rd Minute – Yellow card for Morsink, substitution for Kansas City. Craig Rocastle comes on for Stephane Auvray. Vermes is out of substitutions now.

Another confident grab by Hamid on a corner. He's growing up by the minute.

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72nd Minute – Nice night for Cristman, setting up Allsopp's second goal. Allsopp's the lone striker up top as Moreno gives United a five-man midfield.

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71st Minute – Jaime Moreno getting ready for a cameo appearance. Cristman's coming off.

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69th Minute – United looking to put the Wizards away with a third goal.

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68th Minute – Great effort by Simms! He took advantage of (another) sloppy Wizard pass in KC's own end and delivered a strike just to the left of the far post.

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66th Minute – Yikes. Escobar gets unintentionally undercut by Allsopp on a 50-50 ball and hits the ground hard. He'll walk off to the sideline for a bit.

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65th Minute – SAVE NIELSEN! He BARELY gets a hand on a shot by Allsopp to deny him his third goal of the night. Cristman and Allsopp are working very well together up top. What an unlikely combination for Curt Onalfo getting the job done.

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64th Minute – Wizards pressuring more this half than they were earlier, but United yet to break.

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64th Minute – 10,038 on hand tonight. Must be some sort of correlation between bad play and attendance numbers.

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62nd Minute – You've probably seen the replays by now. What'd you think? Should that have been a goal?

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60th Minute – What body control from Hamid. He NARROWLY keeps a cross/shot from Smith out of the goal. First Kamara, now Smith. Kansas City's having all sorts of fun on the goal line.

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58th Minute – Alex Prus played the advantage, but its yellow card time for Cristian Castillo after he took down Kamara with a reckless challenge from behind. Could have been a red in my opinion. That was vicious. But hey, it stopped the attack.

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57th Minute – Kamara gets pressured in the box by a triple team, his shot from the right bending out of bounds before Hamid can get a hand to it. United has recognized Kamara's ability.

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56th Minute – Allsopp picks up a yellow for a hard challenge. First blemish of his night.

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55th Minute – Espinoza fires one over the bar! Way too much space for him to work with. He's so dangerous as a left back moving forward because of his attacking mindset.

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54th Minute – Kamara comes close! He ran onto a throughball from Wolff and shot in stride on the left, hitting the side netting. Not much more he could've done with that.

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52nd Minute – Rodney Wallace does well to beat Bunbury to a dangerous cross at the left end of United's area. United players have an extra bounce in their steps tonight.

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51st Minute – Teal Bunbury comes on for Chance Myers as Vermes goes for more offense. Remember, the Wizards are without Davy Arnaud tonight. Good opportunity for the first-round pick to prove his worth.

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50th Minute – Smith picks up a yellow card from tripping up Morsink from behind. Frustrating night for Smith after a decent start.

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48th Minute – Kamara's able to get his head on a cross from Harrington, but it's 18 yards out and a bouncer right at Hamid. Still, Kansas City has to like how Kamara is getting involved.

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47th Minute – Espinoza dispossesses Khumalo on the far right. He's been a revelation at left back for the Wizards this season after making the move from midfield.

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46th Minute – Didn't take long for Kamara to announce his arrival. He blasts a shot from the left that Hamid swats out of bounds for a corner.

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46th Minute – Kamara is on for Santiago Hirsig as Kansas City looks for some offense. Vermes HAD to make that move. Looks like the Wizards will go with a 4-4-2 with Kamara and Wolff up top.

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HALFTIME – Kansas City, meanwhile, looks uninterested. There's no continuity on offense, and except for a flurry of action at the end of the half, the Wizards have been flustered by United's defense. Kei Kamara's got to be coming on sooner rather than later. He's already out on the field warming up. Vermes might want to look at replacing Escobar in the back too. He's been terrible tonight. I know you don't want to get on Pablo Escobar's bad side, but he's not doing himself any favors.

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HALFTIME – Who is this team in the black uniforms, and what have they done with D.C. United? An eager, confident, gritty bunch just turned in their half of the season. Allsopp's two finishes were top-class, and the home team has to be feeling good about its chances.

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45th Minute – There's the halftime whistle. A standing ovation from the crowd as D.C. takes a 2-0 lead to the locker rooms.

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45th Minute – SAVE HAMID!! He denies Jewsbury from eight yards out! Great instinctual save.

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45th Minute – Kansas City's nightmare of a half is almost complete.

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44th Minute – United reverting to more long-ball tactics than we're used to seeing. When they connect, it's been tough to stop.

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42nd Minute – Myers' cross for Jewsbury at the top of the six-yard box is juuust out of his reach. Hamid, a rather imposing figure in goal, was charging at Jewsbury as well. Could have disrupted the rhythm.

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41st Minute – KICK SAVE NIELSEN! He prevents Allsopp from a first-half hat trick. Cristman got to a long ball and touched it on for the Aussie striker, but the angle wasn't the greatest.

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40th Minute – Myers and Smith have swapped sides again too, with Smith back on the right. Peter Vermes is looking for a spark.

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39th Minute – Very athletic move by Hamid to swat away another corner attempt. He's settling in nicely.

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37th Minute – My have the roles reversed. The season opener was so one-sided in Kansas City's favor, and D.C. is just taking it to the Wizards tonight. Castillo is back on the left, Khumalo the right for United, who protect a lead in a league game for the first time all season.

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35th Minute – Cristman intercepted a terribly sloppy pass in the back from Pablo Escobar and found Allsopp, who had loads of space to unleash a right-footed, 19-yard shot past Jimmy Nielsen. WOW. United's front office must be popping champagne bottles. Something went their way!

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34th MinuteGOAL D.C. UNITED!!! DANNY ALLSOPP AGAIN! 2-0 D.C.!

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34th Minute – Kansas City is just lacking an overall rhythm tonight. You'd think they would have come out a little more aggressive with this inexperienced lineup that D.C. is fielding.

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32nd Minute – Let's take this lull in the action to throw some dap to Jordan Graye. United's only draft pick this year has held his own at right back. The matchup with Smith is certainly not in his favor, but he's done well.

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31st Minute – Khumalo and Castillo have swapped sides. Watch for them to cut into the middle instead of working wide.

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29th Minute – Khumalo makes some noise on the left, sneaking behind the defense and sending in a couple heat-seeking balls, but the Wizards defend. Onalfo deserves credit. This lineup is working extremely hard.

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28th Minute – Back-to-back corners for Kansas City, looking for an equalizer.

Hamid makes a confident decision and and leaps out to catch the second corner. What an opportunity for the youngster tonight.

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26th Minute – Espinoza blasts one from distance that Hamid parries over the bar. So far, so good for Hamid.

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25th Minute – United's outhustling Kansas City all over the field so far. You can tell which team is more urgent for some points.

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24th Minute – Escobar seeks out Myers with a cross-field pass toward the end line, but Myers heads it out of bounds. Not a great start for Myers tonight. I nominate Kei Kamara to replace him at some point tonight.

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21st Minute – Smith shanks a shot from the top of the area after intercepting and making a nice run. He is extremely dangerous in the open field, but he should've done better with that shot.

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20th Minute – Nice hand from the crowd as Hamid confidently intercepts a cross from Myers. Myers now on the right, Smith on the left, Wolff the lone striker up top. 4-5-1 for the Wizards.

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19th Minute – Great cross-field pass by Simms ruined by Khumalo, as he uses his arm in trapping it down to the ground.

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17th Minute – A tentative Hamid denies Myers on the doorstep off a teasing ball toward the far post. Shaky but effective for Hamid.

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16th Minute – That was the first home goal scored by D.C. United this season in its fourth home game. The few that have showed up on a beautiful night in Washington finally have something to cheer.

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15th Minute – Kansas City's road woes continue. Smith was shaken up during the goal sequence, but he appears to be moving around just fine.

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12th Minute – Allsopp held up a long pass from Rodney Wallace with Escobar and Conrad pressuring just outside the penalty area, then he just took Conrad to the left a little before confidently finishing. First goal for an Australian ever in MLS. Dream start for Curt Onalfo.

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12th MinuteGOAL D.C. UNITED!! Danny Allsopp with a great individual effort!!! 1-0 D.C.!

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11th Minute – Hirsig with a vicious challenge, gives United a free kick in the attacking zone that Castillo completely mis-hits.

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9th Minute – Smith's shifted back to the left, we're he's more accustomed to playing. He's been one of the nice stories of the season so far in all of MLS.

Wizards have a corner, but can't do anything with it.

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8th Minute – Nice chance generated by United, as Khumalo again gets to a long pass from Simms on the right side, and Allsopp heads it off the end line. Boyzzz looks good so far.

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6th Minute – Myers has all day to get to a long ball down the left sideline, then his first touch puts it out of bounds. Wasted opportunity for the Wizards.

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5th Minute – Cristman offside on a Pena free kick. Who is going to create for D.C. with this lineup?

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3rd Minute – Hamid's first touch is shaky, as he botches catching a cross/shot from Smith, who is starting on the right flank. Hamid wouldn't be human if he didn't have any nerves right now.

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2nd Minute – Khumalo shows off his wheels by getting to a long ball, but his cross is cleared.

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1st Minute – We are underway. D.C. in the all blacks moving from left to right, Kansas City in the all whites moving right to left with the opening kick.

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PREGAME – Three former Wizards in the starting XI for United: Talley, Cristman and Morsink. And, of course, Curt Onalfo is the Wizards' former coach. I'm sure he'd like to break this season-long swoon against the side that cut him loose.

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PREGAME – Alex Prus is tonight's referee. Carey Talley and Stephane Auvray are the captains.

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PREGAME – Prediction: Kansas City 2, D.C. United 0. Fourth 2-0 home loss in four tries for United as Kansas City earns its first points on the road.

What are your predictions for tonight's outcome?

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PREGAME – There's still time until the first kick, but the way the crowd is now, it's going to make Pizza Hut Park look like a packed house. MLS might want to look into the whole flex scheduling concept with its nationally televised games.

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PREGAME – As for Kansas City, Davy Arnaud is forced to sit this one out after picking up a red card against Houston over the weekend, and Peter Vermes has had to make a couple changes of his own.

Hirsig and Myers get their first starts of the season, while Kei "goal line" Kamara begins the night on the bench.

It appears that newcomer extraordinaire Ryan Smith will be starting up top aside Josh Wolff, but we'll see if that holds true.

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PREGAME – Where do we start with D.C.?

  • Academy product and 19-year-old Bill Hamid makes his debut in goal, as Troy Perkins sees the bench. As exciting as a prospect as Hamid is, I'm fairly certain DCU didn't think it would be giving up a first-round pick and Fred to move up in the allocation order to select a player who would be benched five games into the season.
  • Khumalo on the right instead of Quaranta. Boyzzz brings pace to the right flank, but replacing Quaranta, the guy who was supposed to take on a larger role this season?
  • Allsopp and Cristman starting up top while Moreno and Emilio ride the pine. What were the odds on that three years ago?

Hey, if it's broken, fix everything, right?

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PREGAME – Here are tonight's lineups. D.C. fans, don't rub your eyes. That's actually your starting lineup. It's Cinco de Mayo, not April Fools Day.

KANSAS CITY WIZARDS

————-Smith———Wolf————–

—Myers———Hirsig———-Jewsbury–

——————-Auvray———————-

–Espinoza–Escobar–Conrad–Harrington–

———————Nielsen———————

SUBS: Kamara, Bunbury, Diop, Rocastle, Leathers, Besler, Kronberg

D.C. UNITED

——–Cristman—–Allsopp——

–Castillo—————Khumalo–

——-Morsink—–Simms———

–Wallace–Pena—Talley–Graye–

—————-Hamid—————

SUBS: Moreno, Emilio, Quaranta, Najar, King, McTavish, Perkins

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PREGAME – In case you forgot what happened when these teams met to open the season on March 27:

Comments

  1. If anyone play Football Manager 10, Bill Hamid is considered a wonderkid so he could be the next US National Team keeper after Guzan.

    Reply
  2. Well played boys! Still not out of the dark water yet – just staying afloat but if we had to beat any team, it would be Kansas!

    Reply
  3. who knows maybe they just had a dreadful start, a if they can get “mid eastern table” maybe they can make a big dp signing or something because the lord knows they need it right now.

    Reply
  4. Caught parts of this game tonight. DC looked to have a little bit of spark in them. This definitely is not a team flat on their back, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them start collecting some points as the season progresses.

    Reply
  5. players like allsopp are what mls teams should aspire to get. a player that has played in the epl, but still has something left in the tank. allsopp is only 32 and probably peaked a few years ago.

    Reply
  6. I’ll admit that I had never even heard of Hamid until Ives mentioned him in his Q&A a while back. When he said Hamid would be the Nats goalkeeper in the 2018 World Cup I thought Ives was crazy, but after seeing the kid tonight I’m a believer.

    Reply
  7. I’m extremely impressed with Bill Hamid’s poise. For a 19 year-old getting his first professional minutes, he’s looked commanding.

    Reply
  8. Hard to believe Hamid is only 19. I know its only one game, but he’s got something that reminds me of Guzan. Hopefully he can keep it going. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him getting into the YNTs.

    Reply
  9. Christian Castillo is one dirty player. He seems to have picked up all of the bad tricks from playing in Mexico.

    Reply
  10. Guys, Hamid has been good tonight but can we really applaud him for great body control and presence for keeping a cross out? If that had gone in it would have been one of the howlers of the year.

    Reply
  11. Kamara looking dangerous. I think he’s going to net one in…But Hamid looks solid. I feel kinda bad for Perkins.

    Reply
  12. Escobar is a nightmare! Cristman just hovers over him waiting for him to make another mistake. Bring back Besler. Myers’ crosses are a little better than Kamara’s, but he’s so bad at controlling the ball it doesn’t matter. All the wrong changes from Vermes.

    Reply
  13. Ah okay thanks for the info. I figured the midweek early start time probably had alot to do with it. I agree that a smaller-scale SSS would benefit them greatly.

    Reply
  14. DC usually averages around 20K a game, but with this year goin horrible for them, a 7:00 start time in DC’s weeknight traffic, im not surprised to see few ppl there…
    I think there are more people on the side not facing the camera though…
    they need a stadium

    Reply
  15. Not trying to flame, I don’t watch MLS as much as I should. Is it normal for this few people to be at a DC match? I know they’re struggling and it’s a week night and everything. Does the large size of RFK just make it appear as though there’s no one there?? Cuz it looks like no one is there.

    Reply
  16. With Davy A out with the red card and Kamara lacking confidence, I think we’re left with a nil nil draw. 🙁

    Reply
  17. I’m not being a wise guy, but let me ask:

    If KC pastes DC like they did opening night, does Onalfo get the axe & if so,who takes over.

    I mean, he has to win a league game sooner or later or else he gets fired, right. He cam’t start 0-22 & keep his job right?

    Etcheverry? Olsen? Osorio? Who takes over???

    Reply

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