Kansas City vs Seattle (Sun May 26th, 5:00PM CT) [R]

Discussion in 'Sporting Kansas City' started by vividox, May 21, 2019.

  1. vividox

    vividox Moderator
    Staff Member

    Aug 10, 2005
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
  2. vividox

    vividox Moderator
    Staff Member

    Aug 10, 2005
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Wanted to keep this out of the OP, but I'm really starting to get bummed at how many games I'm missing this year. Seems like all the things are happening exactly on game day. I've only made it to a handful of games all season so far, and I'll be missing three of the next five as well. Ugh.
     
  3. BitterSoccerFan

    Jun 15, 2005
    Kansas City
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    It really sucks when life gets in the way of the important things! I gave up one of my three season tickets this year because it was so difficult juggling my daughters' schedules.
     
  4. BenDover

    BenDover BigSoccer Supporter

    Aug 4, 2010
    Rio Verde, AZ
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    This game will start a brutal three game run. Starting with red hot Seattle and SKC with no striker. Three days of rest and Nemeth comes back to face LAG. Then, two days rest and travel to face Houston. Factor in the long list of injuries, lack of quality subs with 3 games in 8 days against quality teams,,,,,, wow this could be really ugly.
     
  5. Buzz Killington

    Buzz Killington Member+

    Oct 6, 2002
    Lee's Summit
    Club:
    Kansas City Wizards
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Not to mention that LA game will have the Galaxy getting Zlatan back from suspension.
     
  6. BenDover

    BenDover BigSoccer Supporter

    Aug 4, 2010
    Rio Verde, AZ
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Nobody seems to be saying much about a game that could possibly define the look of the rest of the season. SKC goes in crippled against a nemesis team that is doing well. A win would go a big way in lifting the cloud that has hovered over the team for months. If Kansas City is truly the Soccer Capital of America, we should see a full CMP on Sunday. I was a bit disappointed by the turn out for the Vancouver game. Hell, even the members stand area wasn’t full. I am hoping that everyone shows up in full voice for the game, because the team is going to need every bit of help it can get.
     
  7. Buzz Killington

    Buzz Killington Member+

    Oct 6, 2002
    Lee's Summit
    Club:
    Kansas City Wizards
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I guess the Vancouver butts in seats attendance wasn’t surprising, in fact I was impressed considering the threat of severe weather all day and how many people I saw on social media asking if the game was going to be canceled.
     
  8. Inca Roads

    Inca Roads Member+

    Nov 22, 2012
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Yeah, Vancouver was largely weather concerns. People will brave scarier weather if the team is really exciting, though. And we've been struggle bus lately.

    Not sure I'll be able to make either game this week. And I'm disappointed by how not disappointed I am about that.
     
  9. BenDover

    BenDover BigSoccer Supporter

    Aug 4, 2010
    Rio Verde, AZ
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Some better news from Sam McDowell. He also says Busio and Croizet in consideration for the #9 spot .

     
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  10. Buzz Killington

    Buzz Killington Member+

    Oct 6, 2002
    Lee's Summit
    Club:
    Kansas City Wizards
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I mean with Salloi still out it's not like there are really any other options to play there. Russell, but then you're putting one of them on the wing.
     
  11. mschofield

    mschofield Member+

    May 16, 2000
    Berlin
    Club:
    Union Berlin
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    Medranda on the bench is a huge boost. I mean, he isn't likely to turn a game for us this week, but good for him for getting over a horrible injury.
     
  12. BenDover

    BenDover BigSoccer Supporter

    Aug 4, 2010
    Rio Verde, AZ
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    10 minutes before kick and the crowd looks really sparse.
     
  13. VFish

    VFish Member+

    Jan 7, 2001
    Atlanta, GA
    Club:
    Atlanta
    #13 VFish, May 26, 2019
    Last edited: May 26, 2019
    Looks like the crowd filled in nicely... at least on my TV.
     
  14. BenDover

    BenDover BigSoccer Supporter

    Aug 4, 2010
    Rio Verde, AZ
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Yup, they came late, but looked good by the first whistle.
     
  15. Kooth

    Kooth Member

    Sporting KC
    Mar 11, 2012
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    A beautiful brace from Johnny, let’s get him the hat trick!
     
  16. lukeD

    lukeD Member+

    Jul 7, 2011
    Olathe
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Playing well. Midfield trio dominant. Impressed by Hasler. Croizet doing well as the 9.
     
  17. kcfooty

    kcfooty Member

    Feb 16, 2011
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Hey Seattle..

    [​IMG]

    Hahahaha
     
  18. mschofield

    mschofield Member+

    May 16, 2000
    Berlin
    Club:
    Union Berlin
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    A couple interesting bits to drag from the Audi numbers. First, overall, SKC 3538 is a decent score. Seattle 2626 indicates a team that got outplayed. So good on that.
    However, our lead in Audi points comes pretty much from Johnny, and only Johnny. His monster 1351 is probably player of the week in MLS. Aside from him, we had 3 players surpass the average MLS player Audi number. Rowe (524) had far and away his best SKC game, and it was really nice to see. He wasn't spectacular anywhere, but aside from being 21-8 with his passing, he did a lot of good little things that added up to an elite level performnace. Ilie was Ilie lite at 304, solid at everything but not involved at the Ilie Classic level.His passing was 46-6, so accurate but he often hits double that number.
    And Hasler! a very solid outing, 322. 66-3 his short passes, 9-10 on his long balls. That's 87 passes at a high completion rate. Those are Zusi on a good day numbers. He won three tackles, which was a nice add. He really is an option there.
    The Audi numbers I found most interesting were Croizet, who had a crap Audi outing at 103. This is despite an assist and winning five aerial challenges. I went in expecting to see him in the well above average group. But ... he didn't do much other than the stuff he did really well. His passing was 23-7, or 23-8 if his lone long ball is included ( I usually see those as separate things). He was also kind of all over the place, no surprise, but his action map shows him about as active in each of zones 2 and then 4-12. that's a really false 9. It works, and he clearly covered a massive amount of ground, but, and stop me if this is shocking, it might indicate a slight lack of discipline on his part.
    Also, and this just a way to say these numbers are far from perfect, fascinating to see our fifth best Audi performer was Medranda. In 1 minute he put up 173 points, 4-1 on his passes btw.
    Good signs, we had solid performances in back, middle and up top, which is always a good thing. Medranda, if he can get up his points per minute rate, should break Audi as the season goes on.
    Most important number is the 3 points, though.
     
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  19. BenDover

    BenDover BigSoccer Supporter

    Aug 4, 2010
    Rio Verde, AZ
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Well, that felt better leaving the stadium with “Going to Kansas City” booming in the sound system. It was the Johnny Russell show slicing and dicing the Seattle back line to make Frei pick the ball out of his net three times. Credit the SKC coaching staff to put a game plan together to attack the weakness in the Sounders back line. Brilliant. But how about Yohan? He was a bulldog all night long and showed more heart than the entire Sounders squad.
    I have been bagging on Rowe all season long, but last night he actually became a part of the team and contributed more than he hindered. Again, the midfield combo of Benny, Felipe and Ilie is so fun to watch. They controlled the midfield for most of the first half keeping the ball away from Seattle.
    My standout player besides the obvious contributions from Johnny was Hasler. This guy is the real deal and will make PV think hard about putting Zusi back in a starting spot. Really good to see Medranda back on the field, even for the couple of minutes he was there. But, we didn´t need another injury to Besler. That will hurt going into Wednesday´s game with LAG.
    Lastly, I don´t think the way Chris Penso called the game did anything the change the outcome of the game, but his consistency in calling similar fouls was puzzling. That worked for SKC one time in what could have been a red card on Yohan for a ridiculous challenge where he just got a yellow.
    In the final analysis, anytime SKC can beat Seattle,,,its a good outing, but If you want a good laugh, watch the after game interview with Schmetzer :ROFLMAO:
     
  20. Buzz Killington

    Buzz Killington Member+

    Oct 6, 2002
    Lee's Summit
    Club:
    Kansas City Wizards
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    That game may very well have been Croizet's best game with the club over the last year and a half, he really was great yesterday with his movement off the ball and his play against Seattle's CBs.

    I also thought Penso was incredibly inconsistent throughout the game, similar fouls were yellows then minutes later weren't yellows.

    Also, I'll be interested to see if anything happens to Lodeiro for the slight push he gave the ball kid late in the game. I was way over in M9 and didn't get a good look at it and haven't seen a video of what exactly happened, but people closer to it said it wasn't a big push but he definitely made contact with the kid.
     
  21. BenDover

    BenDover BigSoccer Supporter

    Aug 4, 2010
    Rio Verde, AZ
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    This may be an unpopular position, but the lack of defense with SKC has really exposed Melia. Tim is a great guy who plays with a lot of heart and discipline, but he has not been the solid keeper we thought he was. His brain fart last night almost cost SKC the win. Luckily he bailed himself out with a couple of good saves. While a bad defense poses a lot of problems for the keeper, he still needs to make more of the saves that he has not made. It´s probably time SKC started searching for another keeper to challenge Melia for that starting spot.
     
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  22. mschofield

    mschofield Member+

    May 16, 2000
    Berlin
    Club:
    Union Berlin
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    It's never a bad idea to bring in compeititon for a player, and esp not for a 33 year old player. Melia hasn't been making that one OMFG save a game he had been for the past couple seasons, and he had the sort of silly slip last night that did not cost us but really could have but that he wasn't making before. I still don't worry about him, but I've thought for a year now that we need better competition at the position.
     
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  23. KC96

    KC96 Member

    Mar 2, 2013
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    #23 KC96, May 27, 2019
    Last edited: May 27, 2019
    A win is great, but this game was three spectacular strikes from one of our players, including one outside the box, and another which is a Goal of the Week candidate - vs. two avoidable defensive lapses, to win 3-2.

    This is not a formula you want to rely on repeating, to inspire confidence in future wins.

    Let's look at the highlights video on the two goals we gave up.

    https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/m...ting-kansas-city-vs-seattle-sounders-fc/recap

    **
    Seattle's first goal starts at the 1:45 mark, and I put a lot of blame on Barath. At 1:46 you see Barath properly marking Ruidiaz (#9), who is Seattle's leading scorer at 0.72 Goals/90 (top 5 in the league, equal to Nemeth).

    The prior game minute (not shown in highlights), Barath has been lazier and lazier in marking Ruidiaz - to the point I'm screaming at Barath to stick with him as the ball nears the 18.

    At 1:47 Leerdam puts a spin move to get by Besler, and Melia runs out to challenge and cut the angle on a potential shot. At 1:48 Barath then completely abandons Ruidiaz, leaving him wide open.

    Even worse, Barath's not even going towards Leerdam to challenge the ball or cut off a pass angle to Seattle's #9, Barath's going, where? It's not like Barath doesn't know where Seattle's most lethal scoring threat is, he was just off Barath's right shoulder a half second ago!

    This isn't Ruidiaz making space to receive a pass and shoot, this is Barath completely surrendering.

    **
    Seattle's second goal starts at the 2:46 mark. I was at the game, but I hear FS1 cut away from the field action at this moment to show a pre-aired interview with Feilhaber, and thus this clip starts, ironically, with Melia and Feilhaber having words. Note this.

    The replay of the goal starts at 2:55. Note SKC's defense is setup decently, with Feilhaber covering the near post. The ball heads towards the 6yd goal box in front of the far post and Feilhaber immediately abandons the near post.

    Every other time a corner heads towards this spot (by either team), I expect the GK to run and punch it out. I don't care how high a tall field player can jump. A jumping GK with arms up is the highest player in the area. Melia just stands there - possibly rooted because Seattle took the corner somewhat quickly. A mental mistake, or lack of aggression/confidence on Melia's part.

    The ball goes into the near post Benny abandoned - leaving the two mistake makers yelling at each other afterwards.

    **
    SKC used to be able to play Defense. Now we can't. Is a 3-2 win more exciting and entertaining than 1-0? Sure it is - I said so myself during the 1-0 win years, and I stick to that today.

    But that doesn't mean the goals given up like this isn't frustrating. And if the winning offset requires spectacular strikes from our players (Excellently done, Johnny Russell!), I don't like the future chances of repeating this formula.
     
  24. KC96

    KC96 Member

    Mar 2, 2013
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    I think Melia's high performance relies a lot on confidence, similar to Nemeth. Ever since Monterrey put 5 on us two games in a row (nothing to be ashamed of - given the quality of their players), I feel Melia's mental state has been shattered.

    Melia's distribution was never awesome - but now it is putrid to the point where it is breaking his confidence and hurting our team. His short passes get intercepted (e.g. his brain fart), leading him to make long passes - which go out of bounds way too often or are just giveaways to the other team after 5 seconds in the air, because we have no height or high jumpers.

    When you are a possession team with the midfield skill we have, you kill the clock with the lead by owning the ball.

    This is doubly important since playing keep-away with the ball takes way less energy then playing desperate defense.

    And triply important since we can't even field 18 healthy players and we have a game against ZLAtan Galaxy 72 hours later....

    Melia completely gave up on our team strength/identity in the final minutes of the game - leaving us way more at risk of giving up the tying goal then we needed to be.

    The prior game it was Croizet giving up on our identity with his stoppage time chip shot attempt instead of possession keep-away or corner stall ball.

    No wonder the team feels like it is in such dire shape. Individuals are playing away from our known, proven, collective team strength.

    I want the 2019 SKC back that was unafraid to play their game, and dominated the other team into submission with possession from minute one to minute 90.
     
  25. Buzz Killington

    Buzz Killington Member+

    Oct 6, 2002
    Lee's Summit
    Club:
    Kansas City Wizards
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I think a large part of him going from playing short to playing the long balls came from A) Besler going out of the game, I'd have to go back and rewatch the games where Barath and Smith played CB together but I'd guess if we looked at it we played less out of the back with those 2 in there. And B) the give away in front of goal he had when Lodeiro stepped in front of Ilie. This also goes back a bit to point A since with Besler out, Ilie becomes the primary outlet out of the back for Melia and Seattle stepped up their pressure on Ilie there.
     

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