Because we're known for coughing up late goals, teams fight harder against us. If we were better at closing out matches, we wouldn't need to work so hard.
who was Keita marking ? Mensah ? Yes Maloney could have done better but your center backs need to track that ball so i blame Keita he was nearest that area
Mensah was at the near post, staying between Andy Rose and the goal. Not his fault. Keita was protecting the middle of the penalty area, which is OK when you have numbers up. I guess there's an argument to be made that he could have slid over and applied pressure, but that would have required a very fast read-and-react. Until the cross is struck, he has to be prepared to defend against a low ball to the center of the penalty area or maybe help Mensah at the near post. Still doesn't change the fact that the guy who actually was marking the goal scorer was on the wrong side of the guy he was marking.
I get that but he is also 4th string 5’6 RB playing LB and your center back needs to mark a player and not guard a area with nobody in it.
We had a sub available and a stoppage at 92:30 in a game with an additional +3', so I think Caleb Porter is just as guilty as any one else on our team failing to put this game away.
Sometimes the other guy makes a good play and beats you. It happens. We got a point for this game on the road. Had we gotten points in some of those middle of the season games we would be in the playoffs. We are a much better team now than we were then. The team has improved. It will get better next year.
Watching the replay of the goal... There are three Vancouver players in the box on the far side of the goal: Montero, Chirinos, and Reyna. By the looks of it, Keita should have been keeping track of Montero as Maloney is tracking Chirinos and Santos looks to be helping cover Reyna and possibly Chirinos. Andy Rose is right behind Mensah making a run and Artur points him out to Keita who starts to focus on him until the ball is crossed in and Andy makes a near post run that takes him out of the play. Maloney seems to start to shift over but also looks to be keeping an eye on Chirinos who has pulled up and now sitting open in the box. As a result, Maloney is wrong sided on the play.
The Monkey is right in the main. We have bigger problems on offense than we do on defense. Though our 3rd recent late game collapse makes it a closer race. We have 37 goals in 32 games. Only Cincy & Vancouver are worse. 22nd out of 24. Which is, incidentally, where the team sits as a whole. Defensively, middle of the pack. 46 goals allowed. Tied for 11th. And two of the teams ahead of us have allowed 44/45 and have played one less game. Obviously, when you are 22nd overall, there are lots of areas to improve. #1 has to be offense. #2 has to be holding a lead late. I would also say that Room needs to improve command of the box (generally). And Porter should have used all our subs. Other than LB, I do not think we have a stud at any position.
We don't have a stud at LB. Valenzuela was fine last year but it's not like he lit the league on fire. I hope you weren't referring to Maloney or Jiminez or Francis.