While I did take in the majority of last night’s game, which saw DC United pick up its first point of the season against the New England Revolution, I can’t say the viewing environment was ideal. Well, it was on one level: if you ever come to Portland, Oregon, be sure to hit the Marathon Taverna; there simply aren’t many places left in this damnable world where one can get merrily shit-faced for $14 all while looking the mensch with tips. Throw in a clientele of professional alcoholics mingled with hipsters, mingled with anxious young women crinkling their nose at it all, and add the staff’s wonderful willingness to find your channel and you’ve got yourself one great game-viewing locale.
Unfortunately, last night’s seating situation wasn’t ideal; I had to watch the game twisted sideways in a bar-stool for the first half and could only improve to a table too far from the screen for the second. And with a friend and I sharing fantasies of dropping off the grid through the game, the situation, as a whole, made for distracted viewing.
And that takes me to the game - specifically the DC’s penalty. I looked up almost precisely as it was awarded and, by one situational fluke after another, I did the same with each replay. Still, to my eye, it looked like a bad call - which allowed for the blessed indignation that makes this game so marvelously and satisfyingly frustrating. As such, that The DCenters agreed, in their first impression post, that the call was indeed dodgy gave the impression I saw the right thing.
After that, here’s what I saw:
- Even if DC didn’t deserve that penalty, they deserved the result - if not a little more. They controlled the game from the tempo to the tone.
- The best portion of the game: immediately after DC’s equalizing penalty. That lit a fire under both teams and, for five to ten minutes after, the game played out with the pace and vigor of a late-season playoff tilt. Great stuff.
- The second best part: James Riley looming and snarling over what can only be described as a supine Luciano Emilio recently caught trying to draw a second penalty.
- I’ve only glimpsed at The DCenters’ debriefing, but that glimpse seems to agree with what I gathered. The officiating looked haphazard at best, with Terry Vaughn spazzing between bad calls and make-up calls. This could be the New England fan in me, but I think New England caught the worst of it. But they also only got "big-picture" screwed as Vaughan threw the Revs plenty of bones.
- Which segues nicely to the Joseph sending off: did I miss something, or was that straight red? If so, it was a tough, stupid call. But these things happen.
- Your man of the match: Matt Reis. Did you see that - hell, those - last-gasp save(s)? As Lawrence Welk would say, “wunnerful, wunnerful.”
- DC gained, but not enough; New England disappointed, though only a little. The former looks ready for Chivas, though, and should take full advantage. New England, though, will have to raise their game to beat Chicago on Sunday.
- I'll have to credit this one to a commenter in the "first impression" post: Twellman did look to have taken one dive in the DC area at the very least.
Anyway, that’s all I’ve got. I’m off to read the DCenters compilation.
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