Wow half time. 4 goals! And not one from Rodriguez. Sheesh. Sarah Hagen has been dominant. Like dominant. She can hold, she can turn, she plays the 1-2 with a running player, can take passes and then has the vision to look for players on the run. Got Richmond on the run into the box and slotted her a beauty of a pass. Lauren Holiday is magnificent out there, able to dictate and with her attacking weapons in Hagen and Tymrak, has really pushed the Skyblue defense hard. Erika Tymrak had 2 great through balls to Amy Rodriguez, but her finishing has let her down because she had 2 1v1's against Cameron. Just a ton of scoring chances for the Blues. Great first half.
Oh looks like the Blues have come out in a 4-4-2. Rodriguez and Hagen are playing up top, but its not a diamond midfield, they are using 2 holding mids.
45' Ashley Nick and Nadia Nadim comes in. nadim for kiryu, Nick for Ocampo Amy LePeilbet comes in for Kallman
55' ahh Hagen gets a beautiful through ball and is alone against Cameron but misses the goal for her hat trick.
61' Amy LePeilbet with her second turn over in her own half and this one almost give Skyblue a good chance on goal, not a good match for LePeilbet so far.
76' Sophie Schmidt sends a wicked shot that forces Barnhart to make a tip save to push the ball over the cross bar. Great save.
FC Kansas City 5-0 Skyblue FC FCKC goals: 2' Erika Tymrak (4th) assisted Leigh Ann Robinson (2nd), 9' Lauren Holiday (7th), 20' Sarah Hagen (1st) assisted Erika Tymrak (4th), 42' Sarah Hagen (2nd) assisted Lauren Holiday (4th), 90'+1 Amy Rodriguez (10th) assisted Liz Bogus (2nd) FCKC Substitutions: 45' Amy LePeilbet (Kassey Kallman), 71' Katrina Gorry (Erika Tymrak), 79' Liz Bogus (Sarah Hagen) Skyblue Substitutions: 45' Ashley Nick (Monica Ocampo), 45' Nadia Nadim (Nanase Kiryu), 62' CoCo Goodson (Kendall Johnson) Starting XI for FC Kansas City: 4-4-2 ---------------------Amy Rodriguez---Sarah Hagen -------------------Erika Tymrak---------Lauren Holiday -------------Jenn Buczkowski-----------------Jenna Richmond Kasey Kallman---Nikki Phillips--Becky Sauerbrunn---Leigh Ann Robinson Starting XI for the Skyblue FC: 4-4-2 (Diamond Midfield) ----------------------Nanase Kiryu---Monica Ocampo ---------------Kelley O'Hara---Sophie Schmidt---Katy Freels -----------------------------------Cami Levin Kendall Johnson---Lindsi Cutshall---Christie Rampone---Caitlin Foord This is the second match of the season for these clubs with the first match being the season opener for the Kansas City Blues. The result wasn't what the Blues wanted, a 1-1 draw but it also the Blues experimenting with a 4-4-2 formation with a Diamond Midfield. The Formation had its problems mostly on the defensive side and soon after Coach Andonovski would switch back to the traditional 4-2-3-1 formation and Kansas City would start climbing back to the top of the league standings after a slow start to the season. Today the Blues would again bring out the 4-4-2 formation but with a small adaptation to the previous one. Instead of a diamond midfield, the Blues came out with 2 holding midfielders and a box midfield. This formation is inherently more defensive in nature with the 2 holding mids but this does allow Andonovski to field both his forwards up top where they belong. It wouldn't be long before this formation would show its potential. Starting from the 2nd minute of the match, Leigh Ann Robinson would get forward and send a cross which would get into the box and bounce twice and get to the end side of the post where Erika Tymrak making a run and take a touch to settle the ball and then swing the ball into goal for the first goal. Then it became worse for Skyblue when on a corner kick in the 9th minute Lauren Holiday would bend her kick into goal with a surprised Brittany Cameron watching as the ball would go in. At this point, Skyblue's composure began to suffer as then Sarah Hagen would start to take over and begin to dominant. Hagen with her size was able to hold the ball up and provide good passing and then would get on the score sheet with a great feed by Erika Tymrak who sent an over the top ball to Hagen right outside the box and would chest it down like Abby Wambach would do and then dribble into the box then slot a shot past a diving Cameron for her first goal of the season. 3 goals in 20 minutes. Skyblue would spend about a minute pressuring the Kansas City box and on a counter, Lauren Holiday would lead the attack up the field and fire a laser shot that would hit the left post, the ball would rebound up into the air and Hagen who was making a run would beat her mark to the ball and get to the air and head the ball into the open net for her second goal of the match. Kansas City had 80% of the possession in the first half, they simply dominated Skyblue with the ball possession and deservedly earned the 4 goal lead with some stellar finishing. The second half wasn't so lopsided for possession with the Blues probably controlling about 60% of the possession, it was obvious with a 4 goal lead, they were sitting in deeper and protecting the middle of the pitch. This allowed Skyblue some momentum to launch some attacks with the best attempt coming from Sophie Schmidt who launched a long range shot that Nicole Barnhart would have to make a tip save and push the ball over the cross bar. But otherwise the Blues controlled where Skyblue could attack and limited any dangerous attempts into the box. A great defensive effort by the team. Amy Rodriguez would add to her goal total with a nice pass into the box by Liz Bogus for an easy shot into goal unmarked. With the 5 goals, this makes this the best goal performance in the history of the Kansas City Blues. More importantly this gives the Blues a sizable edge in goal differential with +13 now, only Seattle is better. Breakdowns from the match: Nicole Barnhart and the Defense: Played stellar defense, suffocating and limited any dangerous attempts on goal. Sauerbrunn would save a goal off the line off a corner kick. Sarah Hagen: Had a dominating game. Was repeatedly trying to play the 1-2 passing play and free players on the run. Something I loved seeing. Had very good vision on the ball, actually sent a pass to Jenna Richmond in the box who was almost was able to find the net but for a Cutshall knocking the ball out of the box. Used her height very effectively, chested down a ball and then scored from it. Because of her size, crosses or long balls to her were very viable. She outjumped and just blocked off defenders when balls were sent to her. She is exactly the forward that Kansas City needed and she proved that today with her 2 goals. Lauren Holiday and Erika Tymrak: The generals for the Blues attack. Constantly dictating play and moving the ball around. Holiday was dictating from the middle and Tymrak from the flank. Both would score goals for the Blues and both would also pick up assists showing that their influence has been active on both sides of the attack. Holiday's bending free kick for goal was an outstanding goal and the Blue's attack look a well oiled machine today. Jenna Richmond: Hard not to say anything bad about her. Really played another outstanding game today. Holiday had a turn over and Skyblue had a counter and Richmond was able to charge back and tackle the player with the ball and force a turn over and get the ball back, preventing a dangerous chance. Richmond also had a great chance in the box to score a goal when she got a great feed by Hagen but Cutshall would make a diving kick to knock the ball out of the box. Amy LePeilbet: subbed in for Kassey Kallman, did not play well, had 2 turn overs in her own end, with one of them right near the box that would allow Skyblue several dangerous chances to score. Did not really look comfortable back there. Amy Rodriguez: Was invisible in the match. Did not help in the build up of play, was constantly one touching passes back and would force the Blues to switch to restart it because of it. Was send alone on 2 1v1's by Erika Tymrak on through balls but could not convert. Got a freeby goal in the end unmarked with Skyblue's defense leaving her open to take a shot for the goal in stoppage time. But otherwise not a particularly good day for Rodriguez. Great match by the Blues and more importantly 3 points which should keep them solidly in second place.
What have I been telling you about Sarah Hagen guys? You will love her. She may be the piece that was needed to put FCKC over the top and that includes Seattle. Wait till she goes up with Solo to win a crossed ball into the box. Solo or any goalkeeper will have tough time taking the ball off of Hagen's head. Now FCKC has every type of weapon in their arsenal, skilled players, good defenders, good goalie, extremely skilled midfielders, great defending mid, fast forwards and now a tall, stud, target forward that knows how to put the ball in the net that is a nightmare to mark.
“We’re very happy with Sarah’s performance first and foremost, but we’re also happy with the changes that we made,” Andonovski said. ” Offensively it worked tremendous. Defensively we had to do a little more running than we used to, but sometimes you have to give up something to gain something.” (quote from equalizer) - I liked this quote from Andonovski. Perhaps a 4-4-2 isn't ideal to strangle the opposition with possession like KC had been known for but is obviously creates many more dangerous scoring chances and is honestly more exciting to watch. This variation of a 4-4-2 the players seemed to have the spacing down much better and were able to still play there short-passing style. Holiday and Tymrak thrived creating many opportunities and Buz and Richmond continued to quietly be in the right spots keeping possession and stop opposing attacks. Hagen seemed to interchange with Holiday especially on opposing goal kicks and punts to win balls out of the air. Words cannot express how excited I am to have an aerial threat, Hagen's 2nd goal was KC's 1st header goal of the season that I can recall. Hagen just adds something much needed to this already talented team. Not a great game from Arod but I think opposing defenses are focusing on her more, and hopefully this opens up opportunities for others like it seemed to tonight, and I don't think KC is as dangerous without her speed on the pitch. The defense looked solid as usual, LePeilbet look alright but I just see her more as a central defender. And like Andonovski said, this formation will be harder on the defense, so I wouldn't be surprised if LePeilbet and Mathias are shuffled in more often if they continue to stick with this formation to give defenders rest. - I agree with some posters who are slightly frustrated with subbing. Gorry has had some good moments but still and Bogus over Henderson and Silva? Don't get that one...but of course she gets an assit. Ha. - Good showing for the Blues, now plenty of time to prepare for the trip to Portland next weekend, which is always a good show!
It would surprise me too with KC's lack of depth on defense but I just made a mental note at the 2 previous home games and Williams wasn't even on the bench. Other players that are on the roster sat with the team during the game on the bench even if they were in street clothes and not part of the gameday 18 (Hagen, Henderson, Marlborough, and Laddish) have all been attendance even without having an intention of gametime minutes for varying reasons but no Nia Williams vs Chicago or Portland though. That's just my hunch...
Pretty sure my grandma could have "assisted" on that last goal, that was a garbage time gimme goal for sure. Silva has earned the right to start over Bogus every single time so it's kind of insulting really. As for Henderson... this season-long mystery gives me such a headache.
for those of us who wanted to see hagen, this game was a pleasure to watch. but note andonovski's statement, and remember that sky blue does not score too many goals. so even tho they had to do more running because matthias was not there to cover as much ground tracking back on defense, the system still worked. i wonder if the coach will be tempted to switch back to the old system against a team that scores more goals.
I think all he has to do is pull Amy Rodriguez back a little bit and there's your 4231. I've never seen Amy as any kind of defensive liability so I don't understand the hesitation to make the switch.
Was it really a 4-4-2? I saw a 4-3-3 with Buz, Rich ,and Holiday forming the center triangle Seattle style. The difference was that General Holiday still covered the whole pitch and the 2 of the 3 forwards didn't keep shape - Hagen and Arod took turns hovering centrally. Silva is being completely wasted. If I were building a brand new team and I was taking players from KC, Silva would be fourth off the board. 1. Tymrak, 2. Richmond, 3. Holiday, 4. Silva.
Looked like a 4-4-2 with a box midfield to me. 2 forwards played fairly high and Holiday was able to move from the middle to the top. What was key was the 2 holding mids. It allowed Holiday to stay more higher up the pitch instead of forcing her to defend that much. That is very key because Holiday was able to dictate the tempo and the attack when Richmond or in the rare case Buczkowski would get the ball to her. Richmond I can't state how important she is to the build up. She really is a defensive stalwart and when she has the ball, she can hold onto it even under a tackle, she won't pass it off immediately like Buczkowski does. She will ride the tackle and then move the ball forward and find open players to make runs on. This alone creates space for the other players and passing lanes. Its such a key feature to Richmond's game and very underrated. This allows the team to keep possession longer and keep the ball up higher instead of defending too deep.
If Andonovski is going to stay with this formation, then I would like to see Frances Silva start over Rodriguez or sub in for her. She brings pace and technical skill plus her vision on the ball is just as good as Holiday and Tymrak's. Having these 3 control the tempo of the offense would really help our offense fire on all cylinders.
good commentary on the match, just was wondering why Leigh Ann Robinson gets no love? I thinks she's the best FB in the league, and just like in this one, she keeps proving it every single game! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ and what's with Ohara? It looked like she was taking every shot for the Sky Blue(she's not that good!)
The equalizer article in which Andonovski was interviewed called it a 4-4-2. I agree it looked like a box midfield. But I agree a 4-3-3 could work with Tymrak as a left forward, I bet we see that especially if KC is trailing. I don't think Silva is being completly wasted. She on her hometown team that plays a style that very much fits her. I wish she played over Gorry and Bogus offensively but I think the line-ups have been pretty spot on other than that. The impression I got from Silva and how she was used in preseason is that she's not looked upon as a forward but as a Tymrak/Holiday play-maker type. Obviously, she wouldn't start over those two. Silva seemed to be more of a future/development type pick and will get her chance to shine next year during the WWC. Also, i've read all the comments throughout the season with the "bench Arod contingent." I don't agree, she may not be a seamless fit into our system but she scores and works hard and tires defenses with her speed. I did see her attempting to hold-up the ball and show for short passes when Buz/Richmond/Holiday weren't available. She could have had 2 other goals too had she played better. Two things missing from last years offense was speed which Arod covers and aerial threat which Hagen covers. So lets just enjoy the ride and see if it's enough to beat Seattle.