U.S. Open Cup Final: D.C. United vs. Charleston Battery (Your Running Commentary)

The USL's Charleston Battery are in RFK Stadium tonight to take on D.C. United in the U.S. Open Cup final (7:30pm, FSC).

D.C. United is looking to win its first U.S. Open Cup title since 1996 while the Battery looks to become the first USL team since the Rochester Raging Rhinos in 1999 to win the cup.

If you will be watching the match, please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below. If you can't watch on Fox Soccer Channel, you can also keep track of the match on the U.S. Soccer website.

Enjoy the action.

Comments

[ag nigrin]

Go Battery beat the DC Scum!

[beckster]

Go DC!!! We need to avenge MLS honor in the 2010 Concacaf Champions League!!!

[beckster]

I feel like we have a slow motion camera on. This is so different from European football.

[Reid]

these guys are great they are now pronouncing their LL's like the proper argentine way, Bretos & Sullivan are almost as good at pure 92% oxygen

[john]

charleston is surprisingly not too bad. BEAT DC

[beckster]

DC playing down...they need to be careful

[beckster]

39 minutes and 2 subs...DC is the walking wounded....

[john]

this alonso guy is playing pretty well. mls teams might want to give this guy a look

[Dave's Football Blog]

I'm cheering for Charleston tonight, but I have to say, the Barra Brava's "Thank You Joe Public" sign is the mutt's nuts.

[Giuseppe]

I always thought it would be sick for there to be a relegation/promotion between MLS and USL if they could come to some kind of agreement or buyout

[Dave's Football Blog]

GOAL D.C.! Fred springs an offside trap on the right side and beats the GK 1-on-1.

Kind of nice to see him score one, rather than get 18 assists like he did in the A-League Grand Final two years ago.

D.C. 2-1 Charleston.

[beckster]

Yep...Fred has been a nice spark for a tired team! Poor Santino....hope he survives the night!

[Dave's Football Blog]

I love how Bretos tried to explain to women what it's like to get kicked in the crotch. All the women were sitting at home saying, "Uh huh. Try PMS."

[Dave's Football Blog]

Martinez had a clear shot 15 feet from goal, but he instead chose to pass it into the center of the box, and it was blocked. He must have thought he was playing for Arsenal.

Still D.C. 2-1 Charleston in the 75th minute.

[beckster]

excellent substitution for DC. Gallardo for Dychenko....things should happen now!

[Brant]

is it just me, or is DC trying to out-muscle The Battery?

It seems like if you've got some skill, you'd just pass your way around people instead of trying to pound on 'em.

Then again, I'm not sure Dyachenko wasn't a hockey goon in a previous life.

C'mon Battery! Get the goal back!

[beckster]

Crayton hasn't come out to the 40 yd line tonight. He is showing remarkable restraint! Not sure what that little action was though!

[Dave's Football Blog]

Close call for Battery in 86th minute, but the header went just over the bar. Not much time left for Charleston to take it to extra time...

[beckster]

Fred has really been exciting to watch.

[Dave's Football Blog]

Max Bretos just said something about Alonso "gobbling up balls in the midfield." Yeah.

[Dave's Football Blog]

3 minutes of stoppage time...

[beckster]

DC US CUP CHAMPIONS!

[David]

the Open Cup trophy looks really nice. would prefer that over the MLS cup trophy.

[chg]

US Soccer website likes to hide the match tracker I guess.

[Kartik]

Take that USL!

MLS is now once again one of the best leagues in the world!

At least the 66th best!

Seriously, today's game demonstrated the differences between the two leagues since I seem to be one of the few which watches both regularly.

Charleston very typically held the ball well and didn't give the ball away as much as MLS sides do. USL for my money is a better league to watch because the teams keep their shape better and I don't see as many defensive lapses leading to goals BUT

MLS has far more talent and individual skill on the pitch and didn't play the typical MLS game of giving the ball away and showing horrible first touches.

It also helps to have the game at home for DC.

[Dave's Football Blog]

Full time. D.C. 2-1 Charleston.

A really close offside call killed it for Charleston in the final minute, but I'm looking at a freeze frame of this right now, and it appears the Battery player *was* just barely offside. That was unfortunate.

I hesitate to say Charleston's 2nd-half finishing was Bristol City-like, but there it is.

I also suspect that D.C. is about to pull a Tottenham Hotspur this season, but they might decide to focus on the Champions League now that they have a trophy. We'll see...

[Eugene]

Entertaining game, Charleston are definitely better than a number of MLS squads. It's a shame we don't have promotion/relegation... one day, probably post the Garber-era... when MLS stops looking down on USL and sees the opportunity for increased competition and additional regional rivalries.

[B.A.]

Coffee Pot Cup! This season is a success.

Ahem.

Dave's Football Blog,

Considering I hate Tottenham, and I love DC, I hope we don't. To be safe, I'm suggesting DCU stay away from any foods which could make them sick.

[PCFC]

Congrats DC

[hokiegooner]

VAMOS UNITED!

[AGUNTE UNITED]

VAMOS UNITED! CAMPEONES! CAMPEONES! OLE OLE OLE!

[Rafael]

To MLS and the other teams in the league, YOU ARE WELCOME!!

Someone had to put a good face on behalf of the league.

DC United puts another silverware in the trophy case.

[Tim]

Go DC UNITED

[Dave's Football Blog]

B.A.: I think it all depends on how much value D.C.U. puts on this CONCACAF Champions League. Do they want to focus on that, or do they want to try and chase after MLS Cup?

I figure the Supporters Shield is almost out of reach and probably isn't necessary, now that they have a trophy for this season. Either way, I don't think they'll be deep enough or healthy enough right now to put everything behind both MLS Cup and CCL. If you had to choose, which one would you rather see D.C. pursue?

[Cameron Schulten]

I live in charleston and support DC that was win-win for me

[KingSnake]

Max Bretos is a retard. (Which is an insult to retards, sorry.)

My favorite Max-ism of the night: Him trying to explain how women could not possibly understand how painful it is to get kicked in the huevos. Hey, Max? Try pushing a bowling ball out your ass sometime, if you want to understand female pain. Knob.

[Kire]

Life is beautiful.

[AGUNTE UNITED]

I feel like we have a slow motion camera on. This is so different from European football.

Posted by: beckster | September 03, 2008 at 07:55 PM

Do you feel the need to say this about any other leagues outside of Europe? Ever watch the Argentine league?

[Dave's Football Blog]

Beckster: You want slow? Try watching an FA Trophy Final. Corey Ashe could run circles around most of those guys.

UP THE FLEET!

[Kartik]

I believe Puerto Rico has shocked Aljeuense again if the CONCACAF website is to be believed!

So score one HUGE scalp for MLS. Heck even FMF sides have had trouble with that club in the past.

[KingSnake]

Puerto Rico is an USL side, not MLS. The MLS sides lost.

[Northzax]

I vote for CCL focus over MLS cup. Do enough to make the playoffs and anything can happen, but it would be very nice to see a mls team make a CCL run. Supporters shield would be nice, of course, but let's be realistic and write that off. It may be time to once again take one for MLS. I say go all out for San jose this weekend and then focus on getting more international cred for the team and the league, especially after crashing out of superliga. Getting out of the group stage would be great, and would mean more than the crapshoot that is MLS playoffs to a damaged squad.

[Kartik]

Yeah that's what I meant. Thanks for the clarification king snake. MLS sides have NEVER beaten a side from Costa Rica in a CONCACAF competition, and had never lost to a side from the Caribbean before last night.

USL and MLS both made history the last two nights.

[Kartik]

2-1 final, PR goals in minute 87 and 89. I got my DVR set to record the game at 1 am ET. Cannot wait to watch it in the morning.

[John]

1. Congrats to DC United--it's nice to see an MLS team win it.

2. You have to conclude that, at present, Ives is correct to rate the Red Bulls over United: DC just has too many injuries so they're not playing coherently. That said, United will be a bad team to face in the playoffs if they get healthy and Emilio is in form.

3. This win plus Puerto Rico's win really shames the Revs in the CCL performance. The argument about cap and rosters ignores the reality of Joe Public's salary and roster (smaller by both accords than what the Revs have to work with). Previously, I would have argued that the NE Revs have been the best and most consistent performer in MLS this season. But that performance of their's was just shameful. If they were not serious about performing in something (USOC, Superliga, CCL) then they should have declined the invitation. Instead, they get appearance money, sell a few tickets and put on an embarassing display of ineptitude. Boo on them!

[Bootsy]

John -- Re: your #2, the question is, when is that going to happen (DC overcoming their injury woes)? With six added CONCACAF Champions League games, and games moved to September and October to make room for annoying SuperLiga in July, DC basically plays two games a week for the next two months straight. I expect some DC players to come off the injury list, but be replaced there by others; or some people to come off the list and go right back on. I think with less-severe injury issues, and some time to actually play together and gel, DC could play as well as most teams in the league, perhaps any. But I don't know how that's going to happen.

That's why a lot of the DC fans were so ecstatic last night: most of the fans I know are fairly realistic about our chances re: rest of season, CCL, and playoffs.

[TonyT]

Open Cup winners and USL champions should get bumped into the MLS league, and depending on the open cup winner 1 or 2 last place regular season MLS teams should get bumped into the USL league.