Coaching, Poaching and Encroaching

Crew v. Chivas USA.

where to begin? i suppose at the kickoff.

going into the game i already knew it was ending up a 3-3 draw. normally i don't like to watch a game who's score I already know but with 6 goals scored I was excited about witnessing some good strikes on goal.

and the Crew definitely had some great opportunities to score. a few of them were simply wasted. and none more than Mendoza lazily watching a rolling ball inch toward the goal line. a spark of speed and a simple touch would have made it count. but the defender wanted it more and cleared the ball right off the line. what kind of...what... just... Mendoza!!?

lazy. truly lazy.

Heinemann had a good game for me. obviously needs to work on staying onside, though. geez. but he's a hard worker. he wants the ball. wants to score. wants the victory sprint so bad he can't hide a smile.

i'm a little baffled by Warzycha's comments from the other day when he "took some blame." to me, he seemed more to put the blame on Gardner not knowing his position on the field. did he tell Gardner to cover the middle or did he tell Gardner to cover the left? because if Gardner was going rogue and stopped taking direction from the manager then why wasn't he pulled? either way, this supports something i brought up before about the team staying in formation. and that is and will always be a coaching problem.

speaking of being pulled, Mendoza off when he's got himself a brace, following by Heinemann who was starting to make some real trouble for the defense, and then Gaven at the end who may be in a slump since shaving off his hockey playoff beard? I suppose it's true that Mendoza was having some leg issue. and PERHAPS Heinemann was getting tired. but to change up the whole front end is a bit drastic in my opinion. and the proof for me shows in the time after Chivas went down to 10 men. The Crew rhythm was gone by that point and it hardly looked like Chivas was one many shy of full strength. Chivas was still pressing, still trapping, still going for the win and still shutting up shop. that was impressive. hats off the Chivas, certainly.

an entertaining game, in the end, even knowing the final score from start. i don't have high hopes for the Red Bulls game this weekend, but anything's possible in sports.

well, hey, let's not end on a low note. so here's this...

EKPO!!