Good Hands People

So, if you're on Facebook, yesterday I tried liveblogging the match against the Red Bulls in a single status update and its comments. If you're not friends with me on Facebook, you won't be able to see this one, but I can fix that in the future. If I continue this in the future. We'll see, because entering comments on a smartphone requires more attention than a proper computer keyboard, so I end up missing way too much action.

Anyway, closing thoughts on the game? With all the emotional lift of the new stadium and the relentless marketing around it, I didn't really think the Fire would win this match. I just hope Andrew Dykstra had nothing more than opening-game, first-MLS-start jitters, because he had a couple of pretty shaky moments. The two that stand out were on an early corner kick where he wasn't paying attention to players in his path while sliding to his far post, and then a hard shot that he wasn't able to hold on to. The crowd at The Globe was cheering every time he did something routine, particularly after the corner kick. It was pretty funny.

Of course, Bouna Coundoul was probably shakier, and the Fire couldn't capitalize, although Brian McBride came close on a bicycle kick that would have given Javi Morales a run for his money on goal of the week. For all the talk of "attractive, attacking soccer," this team really didn't look all that different from games last year, particularly games when Blanco was missing. Decent possession up the wings, occasional promising forays into the penalty area, but unable to finish off chances.

Patrick Nyarko looked dangerous, but as was the case last year, not quite dangerous enough. Tim Ward, with a few exceptions, had a pretty solid match. Lowry and McBride seemed mostly positive. I'm going to have to go back and watch it again to see if anyone else really stands out in a positive light. Neither Martinez nor Pappa really seemed to influence the match all that much. The defense mostly held together, but at the same time, got beaten on more occasions than I'd like.

In particular, I thought Mike Banner was struggling on the left side of the defense. At the very least, he was really inconsistent. Despite protests to the contrary, Carlos de los Cobos pretty clearly isn't thrilled with Kryzsztof Krol back there, but I don't know if he can continue that experiment if Banner keeps getting torched. Sure, not every team has someone like Dane Richards on that side, but I'm not sure if I want to take that chance. Maybe this motivates the front office to sweeten whatever deal they may be offering Deris Umanzor.

The other guy who could be in trouble may be Logan Pause. His normal, workman-like performance won't disguise that he was on the hook in three different ways for the game-winner -- coughing up the ball in the first place, not getting to Lindpere on the header, and then not getting to him again on the shot. With a coach who is already getting a reputation for impulsive lineup decisions, and with Baggio Husidic starting those last two preseason matches, Pause may be on a short leash. Although, if the team wasn't being pushed so hard to play shorter balls on the ground, does he make that pass? Yeah, it's a stretch, but my biases are still pro-Pause and anti-"attractive, attacking soccer" lip service.

Still, the best commentary of the evening came from Ives, although I'm pretty sure it was inadvertent. From his live commentary, but switched up so it's in chronological order:

75th minute- Richards hits the side netting. Wow. He had Angel at the doorstep but skips passing it and drills it into the netting. Is there a more frustrating player to watch in MLS?

76th minute- Justin Mapp is ready to come in.

Asked, and answered.