Wednesday, July 18 • Kickoff: 8:30 PM • NSC Stadium The quest to get that first road win won't be easy, we've not won vs. Minnesota this year in 3 tries so far. Paulo Jr. is back in the fold on loan from RSL, dunno if he'll play in this one though.
I think he just wasn't getting enough playing time and rather then have him sit on the bench they chose to get him on the field. Kreis has a pretty decent team in RSL and good depth, but with their recent lack of form he should have given Paulo more of a shot. Their mistake is our gain.
Love that caption and photo DR, good stuff! LOL We are indeed in need of a road win for sure. I would go so far as to say I think we need to come home from this two game trip with a minimum of four points. A tie in one of the two would be fine as long as we can win the other. Personally, despite our poor form against the Stars over the last two seasons, I think tonight's game provides the better chance for a win. As Big O talked about on Ultras Alive Monday, these road woes have got to be mostly mental. Blaine seems like a far less intimidating place to go on the road to than that packed house in SA, especially if we don't win yet again in MN first. Maybe another veteran guy lilke Paolo Jr. can help calm some of the younger guys too. Don't know if Paolo will be ready to play tonight, but if he is, here is what I'd like to see: Glaeser Gordon - Stewart - Stahl - Laing Shanosky - Restrepo - Anderson - Lorenz Herron - Paolo Jr Wow is what comes to mind when I see that lineup right there. If we could put this lineup on the field consistently the rest of the season, I think we could contend for the title for sure. I think that group of four in the back is about as solid as we can hope for all around. Shanosky and Lorenz can play in a more defensive role in the MF to help them out too because of the massive firepower offensively those other four guys should be able to produce...along with runs from the back from Lance and Gordon of course as well.
About time, eh? Finally able to hold on(barely) and get that road win! Here's hoping for a positive result on Saturday.
I'll take a 2-1 road win anytime. Saturday's game is a challenge. The top team in the league in front of around 9K of their fans is going to be tough. Here's hoping for another road miracle. Amazingly, the Strikers are only 5 points out of 1st place. That should put the 2 draws we enjoyed so much before the Minnesota match in the proper perspective.
Finally! Wow, I gotta say, even though we were a bit lucky in this one, it was good to see the guys able to see out a lead to the end. It was hairy, but when is it not with this team? We don't crush anyone, especially with our constant makeshift backline. We've had more than our fair share of bad luck in games this year, so it's nice to see some breaks going our way for once. Couldn't have come at a better time too. The attacking combo of Anderson, Restrepo, Herron, and Paulo Jr. looked very good. They created a number of good chances even though Minnesota was pretty dominant in ball possession. Our counter attacks are becoming lethal! If we could pair it with some better MF control and possession at times, I'd feel very confident that we could match offensive might with anyone else in the league. The backline...well, I think they played a bit better last night then in recent games, but still a lot of work to be done. On the plus side we were able to get a road win and hold the opposition to one goal in a match where our two NASL Best XI defenders did not play, and Jack Stewart told me via Twitter he's definitely not 100%, but gutted it out anyway. With a healthy back line of Laing, Stahl, Stewart, and Gordon, able to play together consistently the rest of the way, I think we'd see the defense improve significantly. From what was said in the chat last night, I'm guessing Stahl and Laing will still be out Saturday. But I think the Stars are better defensively than the Scorpions too, so we could have a good chance of pulling out a 3 - 2 or 4 - 3 type of win.
King looked outstanding again playing in the back. I'd love to see a back line of him, Toni and Scott Gordon in the middle and Lance moving foward.
We looked good last night! I hope we keep this momentum up versus the Scorpions. We must be solid in the back. Campos must be shutdown! #VamosStrikers
Hey DR, I too have been impressed with King's play in recent weeks. But I still think that ultimately our best chance for an all around consistent back line for the remainder of the season would be Laing, Stewart, Stahl, and Gordon from left to right. If King could play in the MF, I'd love to see him get a shot ahead of Pecka, Motagalvan, and others. Tell me what you think of this line up the rest of the way: Glaeser Laing - Stahl - Stewart - Gordon Anderson - Shanosky - Restrepo - King Herron - Paulo Jr