RECAP: RBNY Draws With Chicago . . .

My crystal ball is doing me little good . . .

We tied Chicago 2-2. And this is how it happened . . . . .

CLAUDIO REYNA

Well look who is showing his importance! Reyna had a solid game, for the most part. He was directly involved in the DVB goal, and was a part of the eventual PK goal. He was steady in the back, intercepting key Fire passes, and calming the field for RBNY when there were pressure situations (even if that means he was passing it to the goalie half the time).

And he got a questionable yellow for a late tackle on Blanco! In the 2nd minute!

Reyna, each week, is regaining my respect. For those that are expecting him to be a scoring machine, don’t. For those that want to see him feeding Angel, it aint gonna happen. What he can do is stabilize the back 4 with smart passes, and alert defense. And that is enough coming from him (again is it worth 1.5 million? Thats debatable. But he is playing CLAUDIOBALL the way we know he does . . . we cant expect this old dog to learn new tricks).

THE DUTCH MASTERS

Wow. Waterreus. Van Den Bergh. Wow.

Our dutchies were doing amazing out there. Waterreus made, on my count, made 4 amazing saves off of the FIRE attack. And they were absolutely amazing. One sequence in particular saw a point blank Barrett shot 15 feet in swatted to the right, followed by a beautifully placed header into the left corner being tapped away. Ronald was amazing.

And Van Den Bergh . . . where did he learn to smack a ball off the volley in mid air like that? Off of a Chris Leitch cross no less! And what a goal from the Reyna corner!

Vandy has been playing great, but this has to be his finest MLS match ever. I am assuming that he didnt have any big ones at KC, and I think I would be assuming correctly.

Vandy is making a case to be the next person of quality to fill the Dunivant role on this team - pressure up, cross in, look for openings, shoot when necessary.

Major props to the Dutchies - they came through when it counted.

HANDLE WITH CARE! FRAGILE!

As much as any sponser should be on a shirt, the above should be tattooed on Blancos whole body. The refs treated him like Michael Jordan.

Everytime someone breathed on Blanco, they got the refs warnings, and eventual cards.

Kovalenko started a nice halftime broohaha off of this same issue. He felt Blanco was getting too many calls, and was flopping like a fish. Typical Dema . . . he starts a shoving match and all hell ensues.

THEN, Van Den Bergh got on NATIONAL TV and CALLED OUT THE REFS saying that “Their #10″ was getting away with everything. Remember, Blanco threw the ball at DVB’s face on a set piece at one point . . . and Dave didnt forget.

The calls were ridiculous. And I cringe hearing Max Bretos saying that this star treatment of a player is “a breathe of fresh air.” yea. . .from a sewage compactor. Please. i understand its nice to have a player of such stature, but no one likes preferential treatment unless its happening for their own team. Breathe of fresh air . . . sheesh . . . .

WHERE IS CARLOS MENDES?!

Hello? What did you do wrong Carlito? Did you try to steal Bruce’s girl? If so, then I get it. If not, then what the heck is going on? You weren’t even on the bench this game! Someone explain this to me . . . . and speaking of questionable defenders . . . .

HUNTER FREEMAN

Bretos also said that Bruce Arena not playing Freeman has nothing to do with his performance. Supposedly, the man just is not fully recovered from his early season injuries, hence the starting position of one Chris Leitch. Bruce is very high on the kid, at least according to Max.

. . . . And of Course . . . .

WELCOME BACK DEMA! NICE HALFTIME BRAWL BROTHA!!!!!!

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OVERALL:

A great well contested, highly fought for tie on the road. Which mind you is better than a loss.

Though we were up a man for 20+ minutes, and we couldn’t take advantage of the situation, we still escaped Chicago with a point. And in this playoff atmosphere, every point counts . . . wait, the cliche police are chasing after me . . . . .

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STAR OF THE GAME: This was a toughy, what with a couple of dutchies in there, but Ron Waterreus kept us in early and often. He is TOSRB player of the week for damn sure.
PLAY OF THE GAME: Again, I would have to say that save off of Barrett by Ronnie was straight amazing and kept us in it. And those plays speak volumes.
JACKASSES OF THE GAME: THE REFS. Look. Dont treat Cuat like some 90 year old lady crossing the street. he is a big boy that can handle his own. Take it easy, you almost ruined the game!!!!!!

Enjoy . . .

Category: CURRENT ROSTER

Tags: Players

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