1-0 loss at Oklahoma last weekend. The lineup was : Though the result is maybe a little bit tough, this team is completely uninteresting. Arellano had an OK game but still looked way better last year. Zanga is just OK as a DM, but is incredibly terrible in the final third. Vera is having a horrible season (man, his goals saved him last year), and week after week I'm more and more convinced that Frank Lopez is the worst player ever signed by G2. Appiah, Büscher and Aguilar are each good at something, and sometimes I can see why they were signed to MLS contracts, but they're very common otherwise. As I said, this team is uninteresting without the promising Academy players, and it's painful to watch G2 while the young guns are rolling on the Academy playoffs (I'll try to watch the replays if I have time). Game at Tulsa (last in the standings) starting now. I'll watch the replay tomorrow. Lineup : Vera starting over Acheampong is still a mistery to me.
2-0 loss at Tulsa, and it was their first win of the season. Arellano caught ball watching on the first goal, and was sent off just after halftime for a dangerous tackle (though it looked soft to me). Terrible from Hugo so far. On the second goal, Jonathan Hernandez was beaten in a one vs. one situation, followed by a great shot. Otherwise not a lot to say. Büscher was our best player. Hamilton keeps surprising me. Acheampong was subbed in in the second half and looked lively, as usual. He needs to get more minutes. Home game against Seattle 2 tomorrow.
Alvarez, Llanez, Mendez, Buescher, Acheampong starting! Very offensive minded team, I like this from Munoz!
5-3 win. Offensively, maybe the best game of the season, though the quality of the opponent left to be desired. Alvarez with a brace, Mendez with a beautiful free kick (it has been a weekend full of FK for the Galaxy), Acheampong and Lopez with the goals. Defense will remain a concern the whole season. More to come in the next hours, but interesting stats : Hamilton : 7 games, 9 goals conceded, 22 saves, saves rate : 71%. Lopez : 3 games, 12 goals conceded, 12 saves, saves rate : 52.2%. Vom Steeg : 7 games, 13 goals conceded, 13 saves, saves rate : 50%. I've been pointing this for months now : I'm concerned with Vom Steeg, who had another anonymous game tonight.
Great collective performance by our attack. Of course having good players who know each other help, and the Seattle defense was suspect, but the pressure we put on the Sounders during the first 30 minutes was tremendous... Something I haven't seen this year. Mendez was my MVP, and a real surprise. I said a few weeks ago, when he was playing as a CAM, that his best spot may be as a 8, and... I was right (sorry if this was obvious for those who follow the Academy). Mendez is as possession machine, who can make some beautiful passes, and he's very hard to disposess. And what a free kick! Congratulations young man. Alvarez was invisible in the first half, but had an amazing second half. Great finish on both goals but Seattle gave him gifts on these ones. I was particularly amazed by his vision, some of his long balls were beautiful. Be ready Galaxy fans, his faculty to surprise me week after week is exceptional. Llanez had a good game, but not as good as his young partners. He must learn to be more deadly in the box, but he has a big room for improvement. Acheampong had a solid goal, with a beautiful pass to Lopez, a beautiful run and a beautiful finish. He must learn to play simpler but the talent is here, he must play!!! Buescher had a good game (not surprising when he's surrounded by good players to combine with) but missed a couple of very good chances, and gave up two dangerous balls just in front of the penalty box. I can see a possibility of the Galaxy selling Joao Pedro this summer and bring Buescher to the first team. Frank Lopez wasted a few chances in the first half, but had a very solid give and go with Acheampong on the first goal, and created the second goal all by himself (thank you Seattle defender for the gift). So, by his standards, it was a very good game. On the defensive side, Lonergan had a few good moments but was directly responsible for two goals. So, not good enough. I wonder why we've seen a lot of Alvarez, Llanez and Mendez this season (I'm not complaining of course) but nothing from promising defenders like Arteaga, Bailey or Sepulveda. Not necessarily at the same time, but we can't say the defense has been strong this year. Highlights :
As always @LEM-LAG, I love reading your summaries. I've been really bad about finding time to watch G2 this year and you do a valuable service.
Thank you! I appreciate your feedback. If you have time to watch some games, chose the ones when the kids play. Otherwise it's almost unwatchable.
Solid 3-0 away win at Orange County this weekend. First away win of the season for Los Dos. First goal scored by Zubak after a good run and a beautiful shot, but the lack of pressing from OC was unreal. Mature game from Zubak, I thought he really lead the team especially after going down to ten men. Clever runs. Second goal scored by Lopez, assisted by Vera. Good pressure and good cross from Vera on that goal, he got two assists on the night (the first was on the first goal, but didn't look that decisive) and earned a USL TOTW nomination which looks unjustified to me. Aside from his two assists, he looked just OK. As for Lopez, solid first touch and great finish. Otherwise it's still mediocre but with his two goals in his last two games, he didn't look as bad as he was a month ago. Third goal from Hernandez on a header following a Büscher free kick in the second half. Solid game from Büscher overall, one of the best field players. Acheampong was sent off just before HT after a second yellow card. Not clever from him, he should have been more cautious after his first. Otherwise, OK game. Arellano had a good second half but did something I didn't like. On a very heated situation where Sylvestre made two amazing saves and Zanga cleared the ball off the line, he was standing in the penalty box with his arms waved waiting for a call when his teammates were saving the day. This play sums up his season so far : too passive and not looking like a leader. The MVP was the goalkeeper Sylvestre, who had a couple amazing saves in the second half and really saved the team. First time I saw him in an official game, and if I wanted to be hurtful, I would say that I've seen more in one game from Sylvestre than in one year from Vom Steeg. Sylvestre also earned TOTW honor. Next game is tonight at home against Reno FC.
1-4 loss at home against Reno FC last night. Just not good enough from Los Dos, passing was better, pressing was better, movement off the ball was way better from the opposite side (who's in a hot streak). The only highlight of the game was Dhillon's first goal of the season, a goal he scored all by himself after a good control on a long ball, a few stepovers and a good left footed shot. Like last year, Dhillon is capable of scoring some impressive goals but can miss easy ones. Arellano was once again bad, Requejo was beaten all game long, Büscher passing was off (he gave Reno their second goal), Vera will get an assist on a desperate long ball but didn't do much. As for the first team guys, Joao Pedro was the best G2 player in the first half (good passing and a few recoveries) but was garbage in the second. Lassiter was active but ineffective. Williams didn't look particularly good. Overall the team looked exhausted, which is understandable given the midweek game and the fact that some players have played a lot of minutes this year (Requejo, Büscher, Zubak in particular). The G2 roster has a very thin depth. Next game is at home against the Timbers on July, 28th. I think the Academy players will feature in this one.
3-4 home loss against Portland 2 this week-end. First thing to note : Los Dos played a 3-4-1-2, the same formation used by the first team : Dhillon Zubak Alvarez Requejo Vera Acheampong Aguilar Traore THA Zanga Vom Steeg On the first goal, Aguilar beat the highly rated Farfan to send a cross to Zubak for the easy finish (to be fair Aguilar didn't do much against him otherwise), Dhillon scored the second goal on the rebound after his first attempt on a PK was saved, and Frank Lopez scored on a deflected shot in a tight angle on the third. Zanga was terrible during the first minutes and him not marking his man lead to two goals, but he's not a pure CB so it's hard to blame him. THA was solid during the majority of the game but also lost his man on the third goal. Playing Requejo as a wingback allowed him to show his qualities, he's good in the final third (and drew the PK) but the defensive side of his game remains a concern. I'm slowly reviewing my opinion about Acheampong : yes, he looks comfortable with the ball, but his soccer IQ is not very high, he can make some dangerous moves close to the goal, he's trying too much to hit the beautiful long ball, and forgot to track the run of the opposite player on the second goal. Alvarez was almost a non-factor, but I have a feeling it may be because the players around him don't know him enough and are not used to play with a 10, they kick the long ball too easily. No surprise, he looked better with guys like Mendez and Llanez around him. The good surprise came from Diedie Traore, who was playing his first USL game. It was the second time I saw him (see my post here : https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/of...my-and-progress.1697861/page-50#post-36876968), and he looked as good as during the first. He has the total package : a tall man comfortable in the air, he has a lot of speed, he's very hard to beat, he's hard to disposess, his crossing his solid, and he had an assist on the third goal. IMO he still needs to be more disciplined (you don't need to make some deep runs when you're a LCB in a 3-man defense), he also missed the offside trap on the fourth goal. And to finish, I seriously don't have anything against Vom Steeg, but it was a typical game from him : no mistake but no decisive at all. Home game against Swope Park Rangers tomorrow.
And for those who don't know who Diedie Traore is, look there : https://www.lagalaxy.com/post/2018/07/25/la-galaxy-ii-sign-open-tryout-winner 19 years old left footed french man capable of playing both CB and LB, signed following the 2018 January tryouts.
Game starting in a few minutes. I believe it will be another 3-5-2. No Alvarez, who's with Mexico U17. Mendez and Llanez are still trialing in Germany I believe.
1-1 draw against Swope Park Rangers at home. I watched the game live so I don't remember very well, sorry fot the shorter recap. Los Dos were indeed playing in a 3-4-1-2 : Lassiter Lopez Acheampong Requejo Vera Büscher Aguilar Traore THA Zanga Vom Steeg Goal from Frank Lopez on a beautiful finish after a good run from Lassiter. Otherwise both players were terrible in their decision making in the final third. Acheampong was mediocre and missed a PK in the last minutes. IIRC THA was solid, one of the best player. Traore was not as good as he was last week, and the SPR goal came from his side (the replay was terrible, impossible to see who's at fault). That said I like how he advances the ball and just based on this quality, I would love to see him at LB. Still more to watch from him. Vom Steeg made a fine save by going out of his penalty box (see the tweet under), I must be honest. Game today at San Antonio. N🚫PE. @jvomsteeg smothers up a breakaway.#LAvSPR: https://t.co/AZ9yxVxwFQ pic.twitter.com/5IxM1R4wFv— LA Galaxy II (@LAGalaxyII) August 2, 2018
I guess it's another 3-5-2. BJ4 starting so he's not in Denver. On the bench is Justin Fiddes, a 22 years old LB who signed with Vancouver earlier this year, then loaned to Fresno and released at the beginning of the month.
2-1 loss to San Antonio. Not a bad performance overall but the team is limited offensively and can't count on the defense. Nothing new. Another 3-4-1-2 started by Munoz : Zubak Lopez BJ4 Requejo Acheampong Büscher Aguilar Traore Engola Zanga Lopez Another solid game from Traore, who was not far from great but conceded a penalty in the second half. My opinion has not changed : the boy is very good, you have to remember his name, he needs experience that USL games will give him. On the other hand, Engola had a bad game, and is still prone to bonehead mistakes. BJ4 was effective as a 10, and it's not the first time we see this (remember his first MLS game this year). He faded a little bit in the second half and was subbed off around the 60th minute, so I believe he's not fully fit yet. I was pleased with Eric Lopez game. Our GK had a few great saves in the first half and also saved a penalty in the second. Couldn't do much on the two SA goals. He needs more minutes. And I must say a few words about Frank Lopez, who scored a late goal following a Jonathan Hernandez cross. Lopez had a very good game and has now 4 goals and 1 assist in his last 5 games. I'm not a fan of his play, which is basically run to a wall with your head down and shoot everytime you can, but he's full of confidence right now and very hard to defend against. His game against SA was the best he had all year. Home game against Fresno on Thursday.
✍️ NEWS: #LosDos have signed defender @justinfiddes: https://t.co/kqWSWAiQfQ pic.twitter.com/Qj7DxSOi5u— LA Galaxy II (@LAGalaxyII) August 8, 2018 Official for Fiddes. If his main spot is LB, it's a little bit odd since we already have Requejo and we just signed Traore. We don't have many options on the right though.
NEWS: #LosDos have mutually parted ways with midfielder Julian Büscher: https://t.co/JQpGFtlTFQ pic.twitter.com/aXikfscrC9— LA Galaxy II (@LAGalaxyII) August 8, 2018 Wow, very surprising! Maybe he's going back to Germany.
I kind of get it. He was a very solid USL player but I don't think there was enough upside to make it in MLS. Partly it depends on who we sign. If we keep Mendez, he should get starting minutes as one of the central midfielders behind Alvarez/Jamieson. The other midfielder should be more of a defensive player - Zanga? Acheampong backing up both. Of course the 3-5-2/5-2-1-2 is only because of Zlatan, and he's probably only here for another extra year, so I don't think that Los Dos has to play this way.
2-1 win against Fresno. Two goals scored by the unstoppable Frank Lopez. The only chances we had came from him running through the Fresno defense, it's a little bit sad, but credit to him. Great finish on both goals. He's full of confidence right now and is a constant threat (on the other hand, Zubak was trash). Good recovery, run and pass from BJ4 on the second goal. In a limited time with the team mostly defending, he managed to have an impact. He's interesting in this CAM role. Traore went down injured early (it didn't look too serious) and was replaced by Justin Fiddes, the guy we just signed, who looked OK. Another solid game from THA, I wouldn't be shocked if he had more playing time with the first team. That said, I don't like how our defense can sometimes miss simple passes so close to the box. Great save from Vom Steeg in the end. Next game in 9 days at Sacramento.
Seems like they are grooming Tomas Hillard-Arce as the Ciani replacement (or at least backup for this year) in the middle of a 3 man backline. Not a bad way to use the G2 games, since we may need to play the same formation next year if the same DPs, plus Zlatan, are all back. In senior squad games, THA has been shaky in the right center back position on that formation.
Game at Sacramento in a few minutes. After the first team was demolished at Seattle, there's a real possibility this mediocre G2 team (especially without THA, Alvarez or BJ4) will also get a beatdown from a good Sacramento side. Jaime Villarreal is starting for them. Edit : Alvarez and Jorge Hernandez are on the bench. Worth a look I believe.
Incredible stuff at Sacramento, Los Dos are winning 4-0 at the half (!). Professionnal game from G2, everything is going their way. Sac defense is giving them goals like crazy. At 4-0, if we don't see the Academy players soon, I riot!