Reno 1868 FC: USL affiliate of the Earthquakes

A nice comeback win away at OKC Energy, 3-2 after being down 2-0 at the half. I only saw the very end when Bersano was fending off a flurry of late attacks. Bersano was the only Quakes player in the 18.

 

Apodaca and Mendiola were subbed in mid 2nd half and were difference makers.

 

Reno started off horridly with a weak back pass that was intercepted and then placed in goal. It took Reno 15 minutes to get into the game and they started dominating from there although were not putting shots on target. They came out of the half a bit slow then poured on the control again eventually getting the win. Fells like a smash and grab with awful start and poor finishing. The goals were all quite pretty from Reno though.

 

Reno is just as hot as the Quakes are right now.

 

Bersano had a good night in goal saving a handful of good shots and getting lucky on a couple of balls off of the same post in a 60 second period.
We looked slow a foot and mind. Almost like the team was thrown together at the last moment. Los Dos looked to be very quick so they may have something to do with it.
Galindo was a last minute scratch, so must have been injured during warm ups and Casiple went out with a knee injury during stoppage time and did not come back in. This looks to be a bad one as he hopped off the field.
Akanyirige had trouble on defense all of the first half and was out at the half.
Haji and Fuentes were mixed bags during their time on the field. Haji was subbed off at 60 and Fuentes at 79.
Some thought from Ian on the game. https://www.reno1868fc.com/news_article/show/1036243
Longest winning streak is 6 games from the first season and longest unbeaten streak is 17 from last year.

Next game is Wednesday against OC at 1PM. Reno will be back home Saturday against Colorado Springs.

 

In spite of that looking close, Phoenix is the class of the league right now. They are on a 9 game winning streak and if you look at that goal differential you will see they have the best offense by far and one of the top defenses if not the top. They have scored 52 goals and are well ahead of our pace for the league goal scoring record from our first season. They would be giving the MLS fits with the way they are playing right now.

 

What Reno and Ian Russell are doing right now is ridiculous. Keep in mind that several of these USL teams have owners with ambitions to become MLS franchises. They have money and are stockpiling talent to help that ambition. The fact that tiny Reno is as good or better than them is wild. In addition, Ian has been rotating tons of players, giving minutes to the Quake’s teenagers and other players from San Jose and oh yeah, they just sold their best striker after the Gold Cup. This is some kind of magic act....

Austin and Nashville, joining MLS.

Phoenix, St Louis, Sacramento and maybe Las Vegas close?

 

Oops, thought they were affiliated as the USL team

 

Depends on what is meant by affiliation. Austin Bold are the only professional outfit in that town.

 

I’m so angry about this since it was a dirty tackle that did it. LA gonna LA.

 

According the fivethirtyeight's world club rankings (which are clearly broken) Phoenix is 212th in the world... basically tied with Atlanta United and behind only LAFC and NYCFC in MLS (Quakes are down at 314). Obviously it is crazy talk, but it is still pretty remarkable:

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/global-club-soccer-rankings/

 

Explains why Kip Colvey's pub team is ranked so high.

 

According to the Athletic, a lot of Phoenix’s success is due to dollar beer nights. They’ve never lost on those nights.

Quakes should try it, apparently it really ups the atmosphere. Altho, apparently Reno tried it and lost 0-3 ... to Phoenix!

 

. . . It’s exciting getting to work for [the San Jose Giants] a team that I used to watch from the stands as a kid. It all feels more intimate, a “small-town” feel in the midst of a big city. Instead of 40,000 people and nose-bleed seats, there’s 4,000 and you’re right on top of the action. There are theme nights and quirky on-field promotions. There are also fan favorites like the “Beer Batter” (if he strikes out, beers are half price) and the In-n-Out Double-Double batter (if he hits a double, free burger coupons are given out). The players are more accessible and most haven’t grown tired of being asked for an autograph. . . . (Emphasis added).

http://www.spongecoach.com/working-in-minor-league-sports/

 

For those of you that have ESPN +, the Reno game will start at 1pm today (Weds).

 

What's the tweet after today's game?

 

Yeah, Ian Russell looked frustrated. Announcers were saying that Ian is in the midst of transitioning to the Almeyda system. He has played a high press in the past, but Almeyda’s style is different with the man marking assignments. For sure there were players confused about where they were supposed to be.

 

They were confused and a step slow in thought and foot much like the Quakes at the beginning of the season. Those goals were pretty much uncontested by the defenders. JT was on a very small, sinking island with sharks circling around him.

 

Ian has consistently played his mentor’s (Yallop-Kinnear) 4-4-2 with a diamond midfield. He has had success with it and is quite comfortable teaching his team how to play it.

Problem is, it doesn’t match up with most opponent’s current formations so it’s difficult to play a man marking system with it. If he expects to have success emulating the Quake’s system he’s going to have to switch over to a lone striker formation (like Almeyda’s 4-2-3-1).

Why would Ian want to change what has already worked for him? Because I think the Quakes are grooming him as a future replacement for Almeyda. Everywhere Almeyda goes he takes his entire staff with him so the Quakes will need someone outside his circle if they want to carry on his project.

Reno has the fitness to play the “Almeyda Way”, but Ian himself has to understand it well enough to adapt and teach. That’s not easy in the middle of a season.