Like Runstrom is? I didn't really like that substitution. Cardenas was still running around hard, harrying opposing players.
I like the talent on this team... but we play some really, really dumb soccer from time to time. There's some kind of missing ingredient here... can't put my finger on it just yet.
Cardenas looked gassed (dude busted his butt out there) and I was okay with taking him off - though I'm not sure that Runstrom was the move, as he has shown little in his limited time and he certainly isn't going to bring the energy that Cardenas was showing, until his tank went dry. My preference would have been Diego or maybe Rowe, moving Lee up top (if sticking with the same formation).
Agree with Shalrie at CB only, if he's going to see any action, but I disagree about SM. He's definitely a work in progress back there but if Barnes doesn't bail him out late in this one, it would have been the third straight match where he was directly responsible for giving up a goal.
You can say that Cardenas earned a starting spot, but so has Nguyen and Feilhaber isn't likely to sit, so there are decisions to be made. I've been on Sene's case, but this was this best game as a Rev. Not sold on Moreno yet. If we can work a 4-5-1 without bunkering too much, we could be very effective with Cardenas or Feilhaber at CAM. If we're looking for upgrades we probably rank necessity like so... Striker Left Back Center Mid Think about where this team would be with guys like Kljestan, Segares, and Hassli added.
Also, what was up with Feldman calling Cascio "Castrillon" about 5 times and calling him "Rivero" once. They also showed a replay with the offside shadow in the first half and it was in no way parallel with the endline...was weird.
Cut him some slack; he's still recovering from being told that McCarty and McCarthy are two different names/people and they are NOT interchangable.
You can say that again. The fact that they couldn't hold the ball for more than second in the last 10 minutes despite trying to see out the win was perfectly indicative of that. That is down to the coach. Need to play smarter.
I think the main thing missing at this point is---TIME. So many changes have been made since the end of last year that I find it hard to think any coach could get all of the new pieces and his playing philosophy on the same page in less than half the season. At this point there has yet to emerge a clear best eleven and as a roster I don't yet sense a clear group identity. I'm comfortable with this years team being a "work in progress" at this point.
Getting harder and harder to figure out which Rev team is going to show up. Three points is good but I still think we're not getting enough good scoring chances.
This. It was a desperately needed 3 points. I thought we played well at times, and then looked terrible at times. And not shockingly, a pathetic crowd. I think we're going to have the worst home game attendance of the year for the second straight year. YAY!
It doesn't seem like KSG puts out a press release about weeknight games. I listen to NPR all the time and they always mention when the Revs are playing on the weekend but never weekday. I can only assume it's because they don't receive a press release. Maybe KSG is shooting themselves in the foot? More evidence of apathy?
Heaps said a few days ago before this 3 game in 8 day stretch that some different guys would be seeing minutes. Rowe being a rookie probably got the game off. Heaps probaly does not want him to hit proverbial rookie wall too early in the season
I payed close attention to Shalrie last night. Like someone here already said, his feet don't work as fast as his brain. He had several balls taken right off his foot and he had several telegraphed passes intercepted. Between him and Tierney I counted more than a half a dozen hospital balls two were to each other!. SJ needs to be moved to the back line or up top where he won't hurt us defensively
There isn't much positive to say about either of them after their performances last night. Shalrie did cause a few turnovers but those were outnumbered by the amount of times he gave the ball away. Tierney's best attribute was his work rate, while his defensive positioning was really odd and he continues to uselessly boot the ball up field for no reason/purpose.
I think we are getting the ball into dangerous situations but are missing the final pass or just poor/lackadaisical on the finishing. Sene is in that last category. He's been great in the build up and coming back into the midfield and his touch is deft for such a big guy. He does on occasion hold the ball too long, but frankly, sometimes I find myself yelling at him to release it sooner but he ends up creating a dangerous chance by holding. My big beef with him is that he seems to go into his goal scoring celebration just prior to heading/striking the ball as if all the hard work is done and its a foregone conclusion that the balls in the net. He did this on the header that hit the cross bar against NYRB. Had he continued his run and not broken it off toward the corner flag/goal celebration, he would have tapped in the rebound and really scored.
One thing I saw last night that I haven't seen in a while ... good, up close, one-touch passing. When we got the ball in a tough position (especially second half), I noticed that we were doing a good job of setting up the triangles, and quick passes that got us out of trouble, and got the ball to an open man. The problem of course was that the open man (specifically Soares, at least 3 times in the second half) then wasted all that effort by just booting the ball down the field and losing possession.
Our defense is still gaining confidence in the midfield. If the back four are confident that our middle 4/5 won't loose it immediately, they'll be more willing to play out of the back. At points during the second half, Joseph, Feilhaber, Sene, and Cardenas were loosing the ball too easily and Soares and Tierney resorted to booting the ball up the field. It still looks like the team is still building cohesion at times. Everyone needs to get on the same page. Its not surprising considering all the late arrivals and the turnover this off-season.
Good win against what should be a better team. Bold Prediction: Going up to Montreal for the last game of the year, we'll need a win and some help to sneak into the Playoffs