After watching the Phoenix game, if Klimenta can be benched for poor play then Zach Carroll and Duke Lacroix need some splinter time. They were terrible and responsible for all 3 goals. This isn't Zach's first bad game, either.
I had a chance to talk to Ian Russell after the game and he was very upset with the performance. He said all of the players were slow of mind and foot. I suspect this has been so far and will be a week from hell for the players leading up to Wednesday's game at Portland.
Reno had a pretty good performance in Portland. That team has good skill and speed. They are a legit second place team that was riding a 6 game unbeaten streak until last night. Ian started Cade Cowell at striker. He was replaced at half and Reno scored both its goals in the second half. I thought Cade did well, but he’s still a work in progress. He had one really good run up the right channel that he crossed perfectly and should have had an assist. Rivas played the whole game and was pretty good. His size will be an issue in MLS I think. Mfeka came in as a sub and I thought he really improved possession. Also Galindo Jr was mostly solid in the back. JT was great at times, but he’s still lacking some confidence that I saw from him last year. A few times he was indecisive and it could have cost Reno points. The guy who really impressed me was Musovski. He has been compared to Wondo and the goal he scored was a real “Wondo style” goal. He was very active the whole second half and he just needs to adjust a few things to become a more consistent scorer. He had 5 goals for Reno last year and I’d like to see him improve to double digits.
That was the best game from JT in quite some time. I agree his confidence needs to increase. Rivas seems to have issues with keeping the ball in tight quarters with your size issue quite possibly being the reason. He seems to do well in an open field but dribbles into trouble more often than not. Cade seems to come and go in games so as you said he is a project still as well he should be at his age. He needs to take advantage of his size. He is big enough to challenge the defenders and should start looking to do so. He should only get bigger. Cade seems to have a poacher's game right now and just needs to stay with those instincts. Musovski and Mfeka need to stay healthy. Danny needs to improve his vision. He had Mfeka open on his 2 breakaway attempts but tried to do it on his own and failed miserably. Danny does seem to be a good poacher like Wondo. Galindo still has a tendency to wander out of position and cost the team. When he keeps positional integrity he is a real asset in back.
Cowell started and played 45. Made some good plays but nothing came of them. Rivas was his usual up and down self but his goal was a tenacious one from what I could see. JT had another good night. Still looks to be a little short on confidence at times, but all in all he looked a little better than at Portland. Galindo made some very nice plays tonight and stayed home better. Our record against the future not ready for MLS players in USL moved to 5-1-1.
Ian must be following orders to play Cowell for half a game. That just seems like a planned substitution thing. Good for him, Fuentes’ confidence has skyrocketed after the games he played for Reno. I feel sorry for Bersano who has played very well when given the chance. I wish the Quakes had traded Tarbell so Bersano could be Vega’s backup. JT needs a run of games to get back to the beast he was starting to become last year. Man, Reno really owns Sacramento. I swear Sacramento plays better against San Jose than Reno. Has to be a mental thing. Has Aune got any minutes this season? I was hoping he might start developing.
Forgot to say, congratulations to Reno for moving up to second place! Will be pretty hard to catch Phoenix, but second place is excellent. Once again Ian Russell is getting the job done.
Agreed on Ian. It is nice to have a good start to the season. Hopefully we will hit a hot spot and Phoenix has a cool period at the same time.
Aune was subbed in once for 3 minutes. I would prefer we own Excremento as well as we have Portland. We are 6-0-1 against Portland. We are 5-0-0 against Los Dos. JT is looking much better since he has returned from U-23 National duty.
Cade is also quite likely to start Wednesday against Rio Grande Valley according to one of the Reno players. JT will most likely start in goal according to my source.
Marcinkowski, Cowell, Fuentes, Partida and Akanyirige all started. JT looked good and controlled the box well. RGV had a lot to do with that with their woeful offense. Cowell played 60 and did not stand out one way or another. He does play with a high energy and pretty much fearlessly. Akanyirige played 45 and appeared to be solid. Fuentes went 71 with struggles in traffic but looking dangerous in the open. Partida played all game and got a yellow. He looks to be confident and quite aggressive. Musovski replaced Cowell and was his usual non-passing self. Mfeka came on for Fuentes and looked good and not worried about getting injured.
Thank you for the report. From the highlights it looks like Reno is playing with all kinds of confidence.
That was a nice pass from Fuentes. I think it really worked out to the Quakes’ advantage that RGV was poor. It’s very unlikely that Russell would have started all three teenagers against a stronger team. Clearly Fuentes is seen as most in form and ready for MLS minutes. Cowell getting 60 minutes is great. He needs to find ways to influence the game and he’s only going to be able to do that by playing more minutes. Akanyirige sighting is exciting. He’s been pretty much invisible except for a few Academy games so there has been speculation that he had some kind of lingering injury that was keeping him off the field. Some people think he might be a little undersized to be a pro centerback. There has been some speculation that he might be developed as an outside back or defensive midfielder. Right back could be his best position if he can adjust. The Galaxy are started a kid about the same age as Akanyirige at right back (Araujo) and he looks really good.
Ian has the last say on whether a prospect plays if I remember correctly. I believe I read/heard somewhere that if Ian doesn't like the players attitude or how well they practice they will not play. I wonder if we will see more academy players and those getting less playing time in the coming weeks We have 4 games in 10 days coming starting July 17. Ian feels good about the team depth this year and it does seem we are the deepest in our short history. Akanyirige was playing RB so your info could be spot on. The conversion process could also be the reason he has not seen playing time. I like the idea of giving him time to acclimate to the position through practice time until his confidence is high enough to take to the pitch in a live game. Do note my viewing angle is tough to get a good feel for the whole game and pitch as my supporters group location is in the bullpen behind the goal. We ride the opposing team's goalie mercilessly so a lot of our concentration is on what happens close to the goal.
It’s still really helpful to get your insights and impressions. I do have ESPN plus so I can watch the replays but tight camera shots don’t show what’s happening off the ball. Who is out of position, who is lazy, etc.
I am glad to provide them. They are all eye test and game feel. This is my 3rd year watching the beautiful game at the park. May not be a lot of game nuance in my observation repertoire but I am gaining a greater feel with every game.
I just finished watching the game on ESPN+ and it looked even more impressive than it felt at the game. This is something I need to do with all home games. The San Jose boys all had good to very good games. They all did their part and played at high levels.
Bittersweet news for the team. Brian Brown has transferred to the reigning Albanian SuperLiga champion, FK Partizani. https://www.uslchampionship.com/news_article/show/1033081
I enjoyed watching him, but it didn't seem likely he would get a chance in MLS, especially as an international player, so he has to find the opportunities where he can. Reno has still been scoring goals without him, so they should be able to move forward.
This is true and we are quite happy for him to continue his journey. Reno has been doing well so should be fine without him. Hopefully his transfer fee will be put to good use.
Danny needs to step up and be the man now. He’s shown flashes but now he has a chance for consistent minutes
1868 beat Club America U-20s in an entertaining international friendly 3-2 last night. Most everyone on the team played and then some as a local player or two were added to the team. Russell subbed out all of the field starters at about 60 minutes although that was not plan according to the club president. The plan was for them all to be subbed at the half. Bersano started and gave up both of the goals. The first was from a scramble situation where the scorer was first to a popped up ball and made a good quick move to get wide open. The second was a defensive lapse where the scorer was allowed to move laterally through the box to get a wide open shot. JT came on at the half and had a much less adventurous game. Akanyirige and Haji started. Both had some trouble dealing with the skill and pace of the U20s but also had some good moments. Haji was the sole starter that was not subbed at around 60. I believe he was subbed at about 75. Aune came in a looked good in the back.