DCU 1, Ningland 2

If either team could finish, the score could have been 7-7. Dreadful defense (or good offense) on both sides. Dyachenko had five sitters and only scored once (negated by a bad offside call). Dempsey scored once and missed two gapers, two headers, and a sitter. (I think Dempsey is a punk-ass-bitch, 'tude-wise, but great-googlymoogly, what a soccer player. His goal was brilliant.) Jaime tried twice for curlers in the top-right corner and missed. Gomez was brilliant as usual, and would have had two if a Ningland player hadn't cleared off the line.

I've a theory: United is a better offensive team with Gros on the bench and a vastly better defensive team with him on the field. Last night did nothing to dissuade me. Adu needs to be in the midfield and he needs to be opposite an offensive midfielder on the other wing. Gros' motor is wondrous, and his runs sometimes effective, but the first half last night was as fluid DCU's offense has looked in months. But Ningland's offense also flowed, and if Khano Smith had skills to match his size and speed, Ningland would have flubbed more chances and scored two more anyway. It's hard to assess my theory about Gros while Erpen was on the bench, but Gros' defensive assets are clear regardless. Ningland had more and better chances than if Gros had been playing.  He needs to be on the field.

The referees. This is not bitching about the bad offside or the two PKs (the first certainly, the second maybe) that should have been called. This is about refereeing that allows muggings on one play and cards for clean tackles on the next. This is about allowing Andy Dorman to swing his elbows and allowing PAB Dempsey to sucker punch his defender (and for allowing Prideaux to club Dempsey). The refereeing didn't cost United this game and may not have cost United any games this season, but the refereeing sucks and hurts the quality of the game and makes players (United players included) play cynically and ugly. I don't know how MLS fixes it. Maybe there aren't better refs to be had. But driving home from the stadium, mdp talked about watching EPL games and the quality of the referees in the Premiership. I understand there's a far greater pool of referees to chose from in England, and that they work their way up to the EPL much like baseball umpires work their way up to the majors through progressively higher levels of the minors, but when they are on the field in England they control the game and demand respect and by and large they earn it. When they royally fuck up, they're savaged in the British press and demoted if they repeatedly fuck up. MLS refs? They royally fuck up countless times a game and jet off to their next assignment.

As for what the game means, United players all made the proper noises afterward, though saying that they have to win next week's game v Chicago might haunt them if they don't. And whether they win that game or not, whatever intimidation factor United had back in June has completely evaporated. I'm hoping DCU gets New York, which at least United beat recently, cause I don't imagine KC will tremble in recollection of what seems like last century's 0-4 record v DCU this season.

But right now, if I can try to be dispassionate and I was handicapping the East, I'd put DCU third. Thank goodness Chicago and Ningland are going to beat the shit out of each other for two games. On the suddenly uncertain proposition that United will play the winner of that series in the conference final, they will need whatever advantage they can get.