Funny thing about Sunday’s contest down in Houston – about so many contests, in so many different sports – is how one moment could have reversed the entire narrative.
Fans from D.C. United are spending lots of time today debating the big deficit, the big call, the dead-legged circumstances of it all and the Black and Red’s chances of a big rally in the coming second leg of the Eastern Conference finals.
But what if this moment had turned out differently?
What if Lionard Pajoy’s 67th minute shot had not been cleared? What if Houston center back Bobby Boswell hadn’t put himself in just the right spot? What would a 2-1 score at that point have done for all of the above?
That’s what this Houston Chronicle story talks about. It includes some words of praise from Boswell’s central partner, Andrew Hainault.
It certainly was. United was absolutely dead at that point. In fact, about 10 minutes earlier I had put on Twitter that both teams were looking tired. Truth is, United looked exhausted.
But we know about DCU’s tough ambition and dogged ways. Would it shock anyone if a goal at that point might have inspired a little more, perhaps squeezed even more from the weary, tired bodies of the visitors? Could they have held on and taken a one-goal lead back to RFK?
We haven’t talked much about Boswell’s defensive giant – but maybe we should have.
Here’s a look at Boswell’s massive moment:
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