2 nil up with 15 minutes to go.....
Yikes.. dead last in the East – losers of 4 straight. D.C. United are IN TROUBLE.
I started off the draft of this blog by saying that “things look bad” for DCU… but then I deleted it. Sure you can say things look really bad because we’re in last place and have lost 4 straight, but when I think about the last 2 games… DCU actually played well for MOST of both games!
DCU should have taken at least a point from Atlanta.
DCU should have taken 3 points from Austin.
No, we didn’t take those points. And that’s a sign of a bad team. But are those games the sign of a bad season to come? I’m not so sure. Losses like Saturday can absolutely destroy a team. How Losada and co. react next week could be a season defining moment.
The thing is, DCU were the better team for the last 2 weeks for all but 15 minutes. ESPECIALLY on Saturday. My god, I couldn’t believe how well DCU played in the first half. Even in the second half down to ten men, we were organized, and played really well.. until we completely lost our minds. I’m sitting here writing this, shaking my head, thinking “how did we lose this”.
First, everyone will blame Kamara. Kamara giveth and Kamara taketh away. I have ZERO problem with players celebrating goals to the point of yellow cards. If you want to run into the stands… if you want to rip your shirt off.. fine, celebrate away. That stuff is fun. I like passionate celebrations. I’m not going to hate on him for that – and I will trade a goal for a yellow card every time. That being said, Kamara has to be aware that he’s on a yellow going into the tackle that led to his second yellow. There was just really no need for that tackle at all. A pure strikers tackle, as they say. THAT was dumb. But I won’t hate on him for his first yellow. Not one bit.
Fast forward and we’re going into the locker room up 2-0, down to 10 men. We’ve got an entire halftime to work out our strategy moving forward; something you don’t normally get immediately after a sending off. At first, things seemed fine. But slowly Austin came into the game and you could see a goal coming. Once the first goal came… the floodgates were open.
And I hate to say it, but Losada is on the chopping block here. Up 2-0 in the 75th minute. You should never be losing this game. Obviously the subs didn’t work out… obviously the tactics were not up to par. Sure the players gave up the goals… but Losada also needs to take accountability.
I think he said that he started Hopkins because he was unhappy with others who haven’t proven themselves. That message is all well and fine… but results are not just on the players. Losing 4 straight is also on the manager. ESPECIALLY in a game down to 10 men, where the tactics become even MORE important than usual.
This isn’t where I thought this blog was going… but here we are. Before piling on Kamara, let’s also remember that you should never lose this game after being up 2-0 in the 75th minute, even with 10 men.