Chivas 2, United 2

Well worth staying up until one and enduring two hours of Fracking Max Bretos, failed pro-wrestling announcer (true).

Stirring comebacks are going to end eventually. I'd like United win 0-2 on the road for a change, win 2-0 at home for a change. Stirring comebacks give a team confidence, give ruby fans like me enthusiasm, but needing a string of stirring comebacks is as bad a sign as good, yes?

D says:

Last year, I would have watched the second half in stony faced depression, knowing that we were screwed and there was nothing to be done. Yet this United team fights it all the way back to square. Amazing.

True, absolutely true (and thanks buckets for putting that Yes song in my head, it's captured for the queen to use). This year's team is wider, faster, more skilled and, most importantly, deeper, but for all these stirring comebacks, for only having lost one game, they've only won three games out of ten.

All of which to say, for all my positive vibes about this year's team, for all I'm convinced this year's team is better than last year's, that they are playing far more attractive, attacking soccer, that there is a resiliency and team belief in their ability to fight back, good teams, championship caliber teams, get twelve of those eighteen points, not six, don't need stirring comebacks to achieve those six points.

Here's Goff's player ratings:

Crayton 4; Namoff 6, Jakovic 7, Burch 4; Pontius 5, Simms 6, Olsen 5, Wallace 6; Quaranta 8, Moreno 5, Emilio 7. Subs: Jacobson 5, Fred 6, Gomez 7.

Burch and Crayton. A team with serious title aspirations might survive one, cannot survive both. In retrospect, my first impressions of Crayton were hopelessly biased by an Anyone-But-Wells mentality, but Sweet Gigi Buffon, Crayton just stinks. (Marcus Hahnemann was just released by Reading: Yo, paging Kevin Payne. I wish.) I'm tired of typing about Burch.

I am curious about Soehn's rationale for not starting Fred and Gomez, not because I would disagree if both are fit and benched - I'd applaud - but if there is a fitness issue or if this is a strategy. I don't want to go nuts and praise Soehn too much two weeks in a row, but if he's deliberately withholding Fred and Gomez so that they are the change of pace (as opposed to starting and replacing them in 2nd half), I applaud.

And as much as he may still be discommodated unforgiven by some, Quaranta is the engine of this team.

Meh, I suppose I need talk about the officiating. It's MLS, yo.

UPDATE! Here's Fullback, here's Shatz.

UPDATE! Tony Limarzi interviewed.

UPDATE: BTW, photo copied from Behind the Badge. If anyone there reads this bleg and thinks this is uncool, let me know and I'll stop.