Can't fault the second half effort1. Can't fault the entertainment value. Can't argue we didn't deserve to crash out either. Heroic last-ditch efforts aside, it was over the last four games that the ghost was well and truly given up, not this one match that sealed the deal.

Talking points?

As the game wound to a close, I was toying with an opening line for a reaction post, something along the lines of: "These two teams could play for 90 days instead of 90 minutes and never find the damn net."
So imagine my surprise when a late whistle finally answered a United attacker flinging himself to the ground in the box.

A win, 1-0 over a second-tier CONCACAF side, and probably just about a deserved one, though by no means hugely impressive. The US showed well in patches against Honduras, and a couple of individuals can be proud of their performances, but collectively, the one word that consistently appears in my notes, often double- or triple-underlined, is sloppy.

You want me to recant? To say that Wednesday's Reaction Post was a mistake?

Keep waiting.

I suppose if I were going to be really cynical, I'd point out that our first team could absolutely dominate the MLS Reserve League[1]. I'm not going to go there. I'm going to give United credit for finishing chances, for learning their lessons from last time around, and for generally answering the challenge Olsen laid down.

I give up. Honestly.
How can you love a team, desperate for points in the playoff race, that takes a 2-0 lead at home to one of the worst teams in the league and conspires through a combination of catastrophic defending, a complete inability to retain possession, and, most damningly, sheer gutlessness in the face of adversity, to throw away two points?

Guess what? United are a middle of the road club. They slot in somewhere between the also-rans like Chivas and the league elites like Seattle. Hard to find these last couple of results shocking when you put things in that perspective, is it? Nor was it surprising to see United struggle offensively in their first game without their second most influential attacking player1.

Granted, these early matches under the Klinsmann regime are all about assessing players and introducing the new boss's style, so it's not yet time to go overboard with complaints about players who don't belong, defensive disorganization, and lack of chances created. Sadly, my suspicion is that we're going to have plenty of chances to file those complaints down the road.

Listen.

I sat down at the keyboard last night and stared at the screen. Nothing. I just couldn't get jazzed to write a reaction piece. Some of that was because I could copy and paste many of my prior talking points. Some was because the match was pretty dull.

But the main reason was because the result was so infuriatingly predictable.

Los Eternos Rivales, eh?

It certainly started to look like it after about 30 minutes when the Mexico we've come to know and love started asserting is prickish best after looking in a different class for the first half hour. It's been weird lately, watching Mexico play within themselves, so it came as something of a relief when their true colors started bleeding through.

Astonishing. I'm not really sure what to think, what sort of coherent narrative I can assemble to summarize the absolute incompetence that defined this match. It was like Christmas in August: both teams (or all three if I include the officials) dishing the gifts left and right. Should I be pleased with a point having played a man down for over 90 minutes (stoppage time included) or disappointed at not beating a side we need to be beating?

(Your pardon is requested, señores y señoras; I've been sampling the vino tinto while half-watching the Vinotinto in Copa America as I compose this. Subsequent grammatical and logical failings will inevitably occur. You have been warned...)
...
And that, my fine feathered friends, is why we can't have nice things.

Someday, when he finds himself in the right tactical situation with the right pieces arrayed around him, when he regains his confidence and stops pushing so hard to prove himself, I have few doubts that Dax McCarty will show himself to be a quality player.

But for those of us who have suffered through his tepid, possession-wasting performances for United this year, it was a comfort to see him lining up to take set pieces or leading the break in transition for the Red Bulls.

Midweek swaps saw two new faces appear in Ben Olsen's starting eleven. Unfortunately, the DJ was playing the same sorry tune when it came to the match itself. Good moments going forward, patchy periods of possession, and, of course, the inevitable defensive comedy routines. You'd think we'd have worn out that record by now.

Rather than let this wait till morning, I thought I'd just float a single, rambling thought while the game is fresh in the memory...
Great game. Great final. The better team won and the hex is lifted. Old Mexico would have gone down 2-0 and proceeded to self-destruct. New Mexico played their game and deserved to win because of it.

If you can't decide whether to be thankful there was at least a point earned or whether you should be screaming obscenities to the heavens, you're not alone. The answer, of course, is that you should be doing both in equal measure.
Welcome to DC United 2011: Back to the Mean. Ugh.
Some quick thoughts before I settle in for the Gold Cup final.

What an abominable game to watch. Though the US held the advantage for long stretches, Panama probably looked a touch more dangerous when they did come forward. Both sides, however, largely negated each other to make for some terribly dull viewing. The referee, not content to let 30 seconds pass without tooting on his whistle, only made things worse by killing any semblance of flow.

So which was more shocking for you: Clint Dempsey's menagerie of missed sitters or Bob Bradley finishing the game with Dempsey as his lone striker? It's not an idle question. My notes, even from early in the first half, mention Dempsey looking heavy-legged and lacking his usual spark. I think it was about a half hour in that I wondered why Bradley hadn't started the energetic Bedoya, saving Dempsey, coming off a long club season, for emergency sub duty and the latter stages of the tournament.

Ah, youth. It has its pleasures and it has its pain.

Oh boy does it ever have its pain.

The young defense has had its teething troubles this season, and I was shocked that they managed to shut out LA last week on the road. Looks like they just deferred the inevitable. Three rooks and a USL guy arrayed ahead of a second-year keeper isn't anybody's recipe for consistency.

There's the embarrassment of sending out a less-than-full-strength side and getting spanked at home by the world champions. And then there's that oh-so familiar feeling to soccer fans the world over of being the superior side, playing well, and yet being victimized by a ref or caught on the break.
C'est le jeu.

That wasn't exactly "comfortable", but the result was good and getting Altidore a little confidence boost1 might prove huge in the longer term. Blowing the doors off an opponent in the opener might be more sexy2, but there's something to be said for easing into a tournament and building up momentum as you progress.

An embarrassing first half followed by a more competitive second with the introductions of Dempsey, Cherundolo, and Bradley. A few very quick thoughts?
- Bradley is the first choice in central midfield, no question. His partner is open to debate. With a healthy Holden available, I'd be leaning that way, but of those on offer, I'd probably opt for Edu at the moment.

Five games unbeaten? Shutout with three rooks on the back line? Road point against the league leaders and looking the more likely to win if anybody did?
Impressive. Even if the Galaxy were missing a couple of key offensive cogs. Some quick thoughts...
* Josh Wolff has had four fantastic looks at net over the last couple of games.

You can win points through running yourself ragged. They don't often come in batches of three, though.
After the implosions of the not-so-distant past, Olsen choose to focus on consistency of effort as the major flaw in his side. Hard to fault the team for that tonight. Still, I would have thought maybe he might have addressed the inability to either defend or create from set pieces, the frustrating lack of fluidity between lines that are far too often static, and the woeful lack of defensive organization in transition and counter situations.

I'm on the road this weekend, pecking out notes on my phone while watching the Match Day Live stream, so this may not be the most coherent of match reactions. I apologize in advance.
Quick summary? Packed midfield, poor passing, few chances, no goals. In both directions. From that "no goals" bit I suppose there's some heart to be taken.

I'm on the road this weekend, pecking out notes on my phone while watching the Match Day Live stream, so this may not be the most coherent of match reactions. I apologize in advance.
Quick summary? Packed midfield, poor passing, few chances, no goals. In both directions. From that "no goals" bit I suppose there's some heart to be taken.

Double entendre? Mais oui. For a while there it looked like Hamid wanted to gobble up everything in his box, even in unadvisable circumstances. It only seemed like a matter of time before he got lobbed or didn't fist one away far enough and got punished.

But that that never happened.

Double entendre? Mais oui. For a while there it looked like Hamid wanted to gobble up everything in his box, even in unadvisable circumstances. It only seemed like a matter of time before he got lobbed or didn't fist one away far enough and got punished.
But that that never happened.

So what's worse, United fans, having the worst offense in the league or the worst defense? Unless we get somebody planted on the bench that has a clue about how to structure a defense or import a player that's going to be vocal, bang some thick (or just inexperienced) heads, and do the organizing on the field, we're looking at another year wandering lost in the non-playoff forest.

So what's worse, United fans, having the worst offense in the league or the worst defense? Unless we get somebody planted on the bench that has a clue about how to structure a defense or import a player that's going to be vocal, bang some thick (or just inexperienced) heads, and do the organizing on the field, we're looking at another year wandering lost in the non-playoff forest.

I'm going to keep this mercifully brief, or at least I'll try. Why brief? Well, I could pretty much point you to a couple dozen match reaction posts from last year that would sound almost word for word what I'm going to say here. Defenders who didn't appear to speak the same language? Check. Lots of possession but no idea what to do with it?

I'm going to keep this mercifully brief, or at least I'll try. Why brief? Well, I could pretty much point you to a couple dozen match reaction posts from last year that would sound almost word for word what I'm going to say here. Defenders who didn't appear to speak the same language? Check. Lots of possession but no idea what to do with it?

So the question runs something along the lines of ... Was this a big response after a challenging week or were we pitched a softball by a TFC side that's clearly struggling tactically and was coming off a mid-week tilt? I'm going to split the difference and take a little from both piles. United clearly came ready to mix it up and put pressure on a back line that TFC head-man Winter has been coaching to play things short, controlled, and on the deck.

So the question runs something along the lines of ... Was this a big response after a challenging week or were we pitched a softball by a TFC side that's clearly struggling tactically and was coming off a mid-week tilt? I'm going to split the difference and take a little from both piles. United clearly came ready to mix it up and put pressure on a back line that TFC head-man Winter has been coaching to play things short, controlled, and on the deck.

Eighty-eight minutes into this match, the post-mortem taking shape in my head made for grim reading. It was splashed with gory reminders of last year's numerous "toothless attack, defensive letdown, no creativity in midfield" sad-sack match reactions. It was laced with words and phrases like "stagnant" and "static" and "useless" and "balls magnetically attracted to the touchline" and "pedestrian.

Eighty-eight minutes into this match, the post-mortem taking shape in my head made for grim reading. It was splashed with gory reminders of last year's numerous "toothless attack, defensive letdown, no creativity in midfield" sad-sack match reactions. It was laced with words and phrases like "stagnant" and "static" and "useless" and "balls magnetically attracted to the touchline" and "pedestrian.

Boy, that felt awfully familiar, didn't it? Makeshift starting lineup due to injuries/suspensions. Decent amount of fight and a few nice combinations in the middle third. Missed marks and poor one-v-one defending. Lack of a cutting edge. Undone on the counter. It could almost be 2010 all over again.
That said, biblical weather at altitude without half of the normal starters.

Boy, that felt awfully familiar, didn't it? Makeshift starting lineup due to injuries/suspensions. Decent amount of fight and a few nice combinations in the middle third. Missed marks and poor one-v-one defending. Lack of a cutting edge. Undone on the counter. It could almost be 2010 all over again.
That said, biblical weather at altitude without half of the normal starters.

Let's be honest. After the stirring fightback against Argentina, you always knew the heavy legs and emotional comedown were going to cost the US against a side built to grind out results. While there were significant flaws, the performance was actually better than I expected and, save for a set piece let down and a possible missed PK call by the ref, the song might have been a more satisfying one come the final whistle.

Let's be honest. After the stirring fightback against Argentina, you always knew the heavy legs and emotional comedown were going to cost the US against a side built to grind out results. While there were significant flaws, the performance was actually better than I expected and, save for a set piece let down and a possible missed PK call by the ref, the song might have been a more satisfying one come the final whistle.

Considering my first half thoughts would have boiled down to "physical, got bodies around Messi, kept shape," the stirring second half that saw the US really make a credible match of it leaves me with a few more talking points to get through. Let's do so, shall we?
* There can be only Juan?