Paint the Park Night! Get there early! I know I shouldn't post this from the pre-game release, but here it is: Las Vegas Lights FC (7-9-5, 26 pts) are a tough team to beat at home, but on the road is a completely different story. The Nevadan side have just a single win away from home all season... Out of 10 away games this year, Lights FC experienced defeat in eight and have been outscored 26-8... This means they can't beat us 4-2 again, right?
Right now, the stats matter less than which Republic team shows up......but either way, i enjoy paint the park night.
Ohhhh, too bad. The woman singing the national anthem botched a lyric. Poor thing. Proof through the night, not peace in the land.
That was possibly the worst professional soccer match I have ever had the misfortune of seeing in person. I don't know if I'm more pissed off at Eric Wynalda for using the hack-and-delay WaldoBall approach, at Simon Elliott for not being able to X-and-O his guys out of Wynalda's trap, or at ESPN for putting that shitshow on national TV in the first place. All I know is, SRFC is not doing well on the field or in the box office either, as they had ticket reps up in Mt. TBB giving away tix in the east bleachers to fill them up for TV image purposes. Blergh.
Not enough time on the pitch to get a good first impression on Formella. It looks like he has a nice, soft first touch but beyond that, not enough to go on.
A few thoughts about tonight...... 1. Yeah, she botched the lyrics and swallowed a note. She must have been very nervous, i know i would be if i had a national audience. 2. A bit disappointed with the "paint the park" this year. Seemed like a lot fewer participants, and i thought the quality took a dip, too. 3. Had a couple of friends attend tonight for their first game. They had a blast. The SRFC game experience for the fan is still strong. 4. We are a mid-table team. Our record, and our inconsistent play, supports that point. 5. I wish every summer night cooled off as fast as tonight. I needed a windbreaker at half, lol.
Then you should love this quote from last season. “Simon has us playing however we want to play,” said Kneeshaw, who had five goals and five assists last season. “He’s set out ways to get us to the final third, and then in the final third you go and do whatever you want to do. Once in the final third, if you want to express yourself by taking someone on, or looking for little passes, (Elliott) is not going to discriminate or hit on anything, so from that sense we are freer in our movement and in our ball movements. I’m really excited.” https://www.sacbee.com/sports/mls/article205394064.html
Regrettably, we no longer have a Kneeshaw on the roster who can take advantage of that system. Instead, we have a plodding striker who seems to have lost his touch (Iwasa) and a semi-fast tall dude who's just as dangerous in front of his own net as he is in front of the opposition's (Bonomo).