Watched replay. Pearce knocks the ball up in the air in the box with his arm at the 62:30 mark. Granted, he was being bumped by Saborio, but yeah, surprised happy fun whistle didn't call something.
First game. Give him a break. Once he gets more comfortable he has a chance to make Sabo, Olave & Schuler goal scoring fiends with what his left foot could bring in service
As always it was great to be at the RioT last night. I don't think Chivas in anyway played to deserve 3 points. Yes, they get them in the standings but MLS should clean up the hackery that goes on in some of these matches. RSL has one glaring weakness that teams will continue to exploit until they figure it out and that is this team is mentally weak. RSL lets the officiating and rough play get in their heads way to often. Last year it was a definite problem for RSL getting way to consumed with calls and losing focus on the play. Kyle and Will being the main culprits in losing their minds and focus last season. Last night Will Johnson probably would have gone ballistic and would have taken himself right out of the game marking the ref. The officiating doesn't lose games but if you can't adjust to the ref no matter how much he absolutely sucks which was the case last night you let your opponent have too many opportunities to steal 3 points. Which is exactly what the hacks from Chivas did last night. I think that Kreis is taking a long term approach to the season thinking that RSL needs to be playing their best in Sept., Oct., & Nov. It's tough to get a good gage on where they are right now. I think you will see a continuation of playing the new guys whenever possible to get them acclimated to the system. Steele, if he pans out, would be a deadly addition to the offense with the way he can drop a ball right on Sabo's head in the box. If that pans out he will be a great find. It's early. I am very interested in seeing how this team bounces back in a very tough environment on Saturday night. Could be very interesting indeed. Let's see if RSL can stay composed or crack under pressure.
pretty much agree with everything you said, chivas did exactly what they needed to last night to get the 3 points. hack the shit out of RSL, bunker like no other and get lucky on a quick chance. RSL has an extremely tough time breaking down entrenched bunkers, they always have. this part above though, i'm not holding my breath. steele has to figure out how to get the ball into the box first. he was, flat out, ********ing awful last night. his service was pathetic, just pathetic, last night. he had multiple opportunities to play dangerous balls in and completely whiffed on all of them. he's got a LONG ways to go before i want to see him on the field in critical situations again, he receives a flat out F for last nights effort.
He does? Because he's Argentine? I don't see that at all. More Clint Mathis than Ned. It was a tough situation. In the first half Velasquez was non-existent, and Espindola was getting pretty PO'd at Paulo Jr. for breaking up attacking plays.
Fabi might want to be a little pissed at himself as well. In half two, Sabo flicked a ball on perfectly for a breakaway. Because Fabi almost always shoots across the goal with his left foot or with the outside of his right foot, Kennedy cheated way to the center of the net. If he shoots with his right any place on goal, it's in. But he went with his left across goal, making a very out-of-position Dan Kennedy suddenly perfectly positioned for the player coming at him. Good save, say some, but the shot was going wide of the far post anyway.
Reffing aside, one observation that I have had, and this is since last game, is that the movement of the team changes when Javi and Sabo come on. And this past game, I think it was a major negative. I know, I know, its sacrilege, but seriously, I think we might have been better off leaving Sebas and Paulo out there, at least for more than 45. Otherwise, I am just as depressed as the rest of you, back to my caffeine enhanced BARQ's root beer for my sorrows.
Everybody step off the ledge for a minute. If RSL plays that same game against Chivas 20 times, RSL wins 19 times. Do you know why visiting teams all over the world tend to play bunker ball and hope for a cheap goal off a counter or set piece? Because occasionally it works!
I was more going off of his highlight video as opposed to his nationality. Sure, it's argentine 2b, but he had class in his touch. Any idea if Kreis has plans to bring back Lucas Acosta or another intl midfielder/second forward once Paulo, Enzo and diogo get their green?
Completely agree. RSL has plenty to work on and could have done better, but don't forget that RSL had far more quality chances in the game as well. Sabo, Schuler, and Espy all came very, very close multiple times. I'm willing to chalk this one up to bad luck more than anything else. Have to give credit to Chivas for nicking their goal and bunkering very well, but over the course of the season that's not going to win out. As others have said, I thought Sabo looked very dangerous out there. He had several great flick-ons, a couple of headers that he couldn't put on frame, and that chip that skimmed the crossbar. Agree that we didn't keep possession as well once Javi came on, and that the team seemed a bit off in the second half in general. If you look at the chalkboard on mlssoccer, I think it's interesting that Javi had 75 touches in his half of play, versus 30 each for Sebas and Gil. Javi just gets involved a lot more. Also, he seems to be more of a risk-taker--he had 25 successful passes to 13 unsuccessful, while Sebas and Gil both had far fewer unsuccessful passes (Sebas: 18 suc./ 3 unsuc., Gil: 11 suc. / 4 unsuc.). Maybe his touch was off, and that's why he had so many unsuccessful passes, or maybe he was just trying to create. I'd have to watch the second half again to decide. But, I'm not ready to say that team is better with Gil and Sebas on the field than Javi and Will.
We said this last year when we lost to Monterrey and Portland. Ah, don't worry, it's just a bad game. That game against chivas was the away 2011 Portland match to a T. We control possession but look inept in the final third. We fall asleep on our defensive duties and get made to pay for it. I'm not saying that the season is doomed or that we all should panic like the sky is falling. What I am saying is that we just lost at home to the worst team in the league so something needs to be changed and/or talked about. Sweeping it under the rug with a "well sometimes those are the breaks" mentality is dangerous
i hate mondays after a loss, they suck 10000x worse. i'm also not willing to do the "well, thats how the ball bounces sometimes, the better team doesnt always win, sometimes you just get unlucky, blah blah blah" bullshit. losing to a team like chivas, at home, who have not scored a single goal all year and was winless in their two HOME games previously, is flat out unacceptable. at the end of the season when we are looking back and sitting in second place short a couple points, we point to games like this one and say "how did we ever drop points to ********ing chivas at home." you cannot lose these games. period.
That mentality is dangerous for the team, but we are not the team. We are a bunch of fans. We can sweep it under the rug because deep down we all understand that any time you outshoot your opponent 20-2 or whatever it was, you're going to win 95% of the time. Soccer players are human beings, not washing machines. You can't expect the same performance every time. The same input does not always yield the same output. Well, we already did...so now what? Do we write off the season? Is there some trophy that's now out of reach? I guarantee that every team in the league will lose at least one of those "you cannot lose this game" games. I can almost guarantee that RSL will lose one more. So what happens after that?
3 SOG for each team, RSL had 13 shots and chivas had 7. RSL had 60% of the possession.....pointless when you only get 3 flipping shots on target.
ya, call off the season, there is no point in continuing seriously though, this isnt some aberration. RSL has long had trouble breaking down tough bunkers, growing impatient and trying to rush things. maybe they ought to work on that, just a wee bit. teams are going to see what chivas did, they are going to sit back even more and just park the bus. the team must learn how to handle that situation, otherwise it could be a longer season than you think.
what is even more hilarious is that the 3 Chivas had, in comparison, were more dangerous. How the hell Nicky made the double save in the first half is beyond me.
Except for maybe Morales early run in the 46thish, all of RSL's chances seem to come after Chivas scored and they started bunkering. The season is still just starting and no one is giving up. But me personally, I didn't think Sebas or Paulo needed to be subbed and if left in for a little bit more in the 2nd might have been the difference.
I agree with these sentiments. RSl crapped the bed at home. No 'if, ands, or buts' about it. They did not play well (for the most part), they did not finish their chances, and they got burned. For me, and I hate to say this, I thought KB5 and JM had really subpar games for all their talent. I believe they'll bounce back, but.... WOOF. I mostly agree with this sentiment too, however: (emphasis added) (quote from RSL Soapbox). I get that what a coach says publicly is not what a coach says privately. I also get that JK is trying to implement a style of play, that on average, should help RSL win more games than not. I do not agree, however, that RSL created a ton of chances, nor do I agree that RSL were more dangerous. From a mental perspective, this quote is a bit of a head-scratcher.
Ceremonial???? What the hell is the definition of ceremonial? http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/blogsrsl/53793520-49/kick-yards-free-referee.html.csp
this is complete and utter bull shit the morons are being lead by even bigger morons. Kreis "they didn't ask for the yards. he shouldn't have been marking it" Rodriguez "but the center was treating it like they did" Kreis "so he ********ed it up" Rodriguez "no, you guys should have watched and said 'oh the ref is asking for 10'" Kreis "but we didn't want 10. we didn't need 10. we wanted a quick set piece" Rodriguez "it was a ceremonial thing" Kreis "you're just making shit up now" Rodriguez "it was a ceremonial set piece"
Wow...what a crock of shit. I went to the 2011/2012 FIFA Laws of the Game online (http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/affederation/generic/81/42/36/lawsofthegame_2011_12_en.pdf) and searched for "ceremonial"...it says nothing was found that matched my search criteria. How could that be? Somebody from MLS/U.S. Soccer wouldn't be making stuff up, would they? I'm afraid it appears it would take a doctor with a bright flashlight to show us where Rodriguez got that answer from. I can't help but wonder how different that game would have turned out if that goal had counted.
what a LOAD OF SHIT. seriously, look at a team like the timbers who LIVES off of taking quick free kicks. you NEVER see this crap being done and i cant tell you how many goals the timbers have scored off quick restarts in the final third. (shit, the timbers scored a goal off a quick restart against philly in their home opener when the ********ing ball was even back in the field of play and the ref still allowed it to continue) the ref ********ed up and the league wont ever do anything to put their refs in a bad spotlight.