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Darlington picks up the ball in space, skins a midfielder (leaving the defender to decide to either take a yellow or let the play develop and in MLS frustratingly lots of guys just take the yellow there; Darlington has been the most fouled player in the league ever since he entered it), then plays a simple ball to Dempsey's feet for the one-two (or Clint could try a Clint turn), continues his run, then once he traps the one-two in the box he's unfoulable, ergo un-removable from the ball, so Darlington plays a simple touch to Yedlin giving him acres and acres of space inside the 18 which leads to the immaculate Pulisic tap-in.
Does Darlington score it? Nope. Does Darlington assist it? Sure, hockey assist, but that's not in the stat sheet. Does Darlington selfishly try to emasculate someone inside the box? Nope, and you'll hear people bitch about that all the time.
MOST IMPORTANTLY (and I can't emphasize this enough, there are Timbers fans that struggle to understand this and they watch him every week) he links the hell out of the play. The ball starts with him on the defensive side of the midfield, ends with him inside the 18, something like three or four defenders were removed in the transition, two teammates are put into attacking positions where they have options to make a play, and the end result is a goal that according to the scoresheet Darlington isn't involved in.
Goddamn I was fired up when that happened, Pulisic was the cherry on top. Honestly when D fired up the shoulder shake I started laughing. I knew that sucker was about to get traffic-coned. I just *assumed* that midfielder was going to kick D after he left dude standing, I've seen it so many times, and when he didn't chop Nagbe it led directly to a goal. So honestly I can't say with certainty that Nagbe is the sort of player that should start in Russia, because he definitely has his flaws, but I can say with certainty he's amazing, he unlocks play even if he isn't scoring or assisting, he has a wholly unique talent in his ability to hold the ball within the US talent pool, and it's fantastic that Bruce is using him well within this setup. It's the difference between a coach like Jurgen that looks at Darlington and sees all his flaws v. a coach like Bruce that looks at Darlington and sees his unique skillset that opens up possibilities other players don't. Although I am sad I'm only watching D on TV right now, the entire Timbers team attack can be so much more robotic, uninspired, and ultimately bottle-necked when he's not here to embarrass dudes for us, it's been one of my greatest moments as a sports fan to watch a Liberian refugee develop in front of my eyes to ultimately wear the red, white, and blue and do the things that I know he can.
Pulisic is exciting, yes, but watching Darlington make plays like that for the USMNT is one of the highlights of my soccer watching life so far. And yeah I'm mad Bedoya fell over on his sprint cuz D hit a pass a little outside of his run, he did the thing where he blew past like four defenders from the CORNER FLAG, single-handedly launching what should have been a high percentage counter attack ... but yeah, wonky through ball (poor technique *sigh*) leading to the Bedoya trip ... what a fucking run before it, though ... ___________
HOPE!
https://vine.co/v/i7JjIBL3Qix
https://vine.co/v/i7JtqEFwxDu
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