Saturday, Aprril 7 | 7:30 PM | Papa Murphy Park Republic FC (7 pts., 2 - 1 - 0 overall, 1 - 0 - 0 home) Sounders FC (3 pts., 1 - 0 - 2 overall, 0 - 0 - 1 away) Television: KQCA My58; Estrella TV Sacramento Radio: none Online: http://www.SacRepublicFC.com/matchday-guide
Pregame stats: Seattle - lots of shots on target, lots of goals allowed. Poor crossing accuracy. Stay at home, let 'em up the wings and push back up the middle of the field when we gain possession? Assuming the numbers can be trusted.
So...yay. right? Having a bit of a tough time with the smell test on this team. Worst looking 3-0-1 team in the league. Only serious upgrade from last season I see is Cohen in goal.
My thoughts exactly. The record is a little misleading as to how good the team is. We’ve had some luck and scraped out some points, but I wish the failures would be more obvious in results early on because things won’t change until they are. This is the sort of team that can make the playoffs but go nowhere when it counts. At least that’s what it looks like.
Are they a goal scoring machine right now? No. Are they the reincarnation of the Berlin Wall in the back, right now? No Are they a USL championship team? Who knows? Its a long season, and they have time to evolve. What they are, right now, is a team that finds ways to win, fights hard even when down a man, and are much more fun to watch than last year’s team. IMHO, that makes them worth the price of the ticket, and of my cheers and tears.
The thing is, being a time that wins because they’re good is always going to beat a team that “finds a way to win” in the long run, and when it matters (playoffs). I’ve suffered through years and years of this with the Quakes. Scrappy wins or points salvaged masking real problems with the team, and always falling short when it matters against better teams. Wins and ties are fantastic for Republic, but they mask real problems that need to be addressed. Maybe Elliot will show me up, maybe Iwasa will be a scoring machine, maybe the midfield will be a controlling, chance-creating machine.. but not to this point. Only Republic players I’ve been impressed with are Cohen and Taintor, with Kneeshaw and Bijev still showing well. But i hope I’m wrong.
As a long-time ‘Quakes fan, I share your pain, lol. Remember that with the USL all you gotta do is play well enough to get in the playoffs and then get hot. Real SLC’s USL leading 67 points last year didnt mean squat in the playoffs. I hear what you’re saying QT, and the season results may prove you right, but we are only 4 games into the season. No sense getting too high or low on this team right now - our past seasons have proven to me that the main factor of deep USL playoff runs is which team is hot in September/October.
not going to lie - I love what I see from Villyan Bijev - dude is on another level & is a joy to watch
I agree with you and QT. Bijev, Cohen, and Taintor have looked good. I also thought Partain played well at midfield. Hopefully they can keep that up throughout the season. I'm going to have to see more of Eiselle before I form an opinion....kinda anxious to see how that new midfielder they signed last week looks too.
Completed 41-46 passes; four tackles; one interception... Midfielder Jaime Villarreal has been named to the @USL Team of the Week for Week 4. Congrats, Jaime! 👏📝 | https://t.co/ZsVFNx7czy pic.twitter.com/NNMofJr18h— Sacramento Republic FC (@SacRepublicFC) April 10, 2018