Don't blame it on the weather. D.C. United's 2-1 loss on Saturday in their season opener at the Colorado Rapids was played in freezing conditions, but no one on United is using that as an excuse for their loss.
"Today we just weren't good enough," said United coach Tom Soehn. "We all expect more from ourselves and it wasn't good enough."
Defender Bryan Namoff agreed.
"It was one extreme to another, going from 85 [in their previous game in Guadalajara vs. Chivas] to 35 in the blink of an eye," said Namoff. "It was a factor today but we're professionals and we know how to deal with things like that. It's definitely not an excuse for our loss because they had to play in the same weather."
Soehn believed that a lapse in tactical execution was the real reason for the loss. United are a team that relies on possession of the ball and good combination play to break the other team down and Saturday they could not keep the ball under the pressure of Colorado's defense.
"We pride ourselves on possession and you still have to do a lot of work when you possess the ball," said Soehn. "Whether we were tired or something else, we didn't work hard enough today."
Goalkeeper Troy Perkins concurred with his coach's assessment.
"We were not able to get possession and get our rhythm going and they did well because they came right out and took it to us and we didn't do it back," Perkins said. "We would get possession and lose it and they would go right back at us."
The fact that United concentrated their attacks in the middle of the field while neglecting the wings was also seized upon by the coach as an important factor in the loss.
"We didn't have enough service [from the wings]," said Soehn. "We had one service and one goal. That's something that we need to work on."
United's lone goal came from a cross by newcomer Kasali Yinka Casal, headed home by another new United player, forward Luciano Emilio. With Emilio's Brazilian countryman Fred coming on as a second-half substitute, United showcased their next group of quality international players. But with new players it takes time for team chemistry to jell.
"They're just getting acquainted with the team, the chemistry is still not 100 percent there," said Namoff. "But they're learning every day and getting accustomed to the team on and off the field."
Attacking down the wings proved a more fruitful tactic for Colorado, whose offense almost exclusively consisted of crosses coming from Herculez Gomez and Terry Cooke from the edges of the 80-yard wide field.
"They exposed [us on the wings] pretty well," said Perkins. "We were late in recognizing it and getting guys out there and in the first half that killed us."
Added Namoff: "I thought we did all right for the most part. But they did a good job of switching the attack pretty quickly which left us a little slow when we were trying to change to react to that ... and they were able to finish."
Regardless of the reasons for the loss, United will now regroup and recover from their long road trip and prepare for their home opener next Saturday against the Kansas City Wizards.
"Our guys have been through an emotional rollercoaster," said Soehn. "They've had a season within spring training, winning, losing and playing in tough environments. It's going to be refreshing to get home and recharge our batteries."
Geoffrey Urland is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
