But VAR didn't overturn it, which to me means there would be no suspension. It would seem pretty bad that they'd go back and say 'yeah, both the ref AND VAR screwed up, here's your suspension' The whole point of VAR should be to eliminate stuff like this. I can fully see why the ref called it. In real time it felt more obvious. On replay though? No way it should've been a penalty. He was halfway to ground before even being touched, and it was quite a light touch at that. Not enough to ever take down a player under normal circumstances.
I don't think players should be suspended for diving, since you're basically punishing them for a missed call by the ref, but MLS precedent is that they will suspend players for it if the call materially affects the game. So I'd give 50-50 odds that Baird is available for DC.
On non-VAR reviewed calls, I 100% think that players should be suspended for diving. A dive is an intentional effort to make the ref miss a call, and since refs are human and have to make calls in real time without multiple angles and slow-mo, sometimes they miss it. So you absolutely should punish the player for that type of missed call - that was their sole intention! But, I don't think VAR-reviewed plays should be eligible for the DC to review again. If the play was already reviewed with video, I don't see why they should litigate it again. In addition, I would be shocked if PRO was willing to admit that both the ref and the VAR messed up.
I was on a golf course and didn't watch much of the game. I got pieces here and there and kept up on stats. It looked cold and I'm really not a fan of this "we have a new jersey lets wear the shit out of it!" idea with the new secondary kit. From what I can tell, we stole 2 points here. It's going in the tracker
Oh no. if you get the chance, watch the condensed game. Especially the first half is one-way traffic and 2 or 3-0 would have been a more just result. This result was earned, and I do believe RSL would have scored in the 1st regardless of whether the PK had not gone their way. Even at 1-0, the result seemed pretty comfortable.
Would have to agree that this was a deserved win and if Vancouver had scored late to tie the game it would have definitely been 2 dropped points for RSL. For the most part they controlled the game and should have scored a goal or two more. It is disconcerting that RSL still can't finish.
Yeah, I agree with this distinction. What SHOULD have happened is that Baird would get booked after VAR reviewed it, but somehow the VAR let the call stand. Suspending Baird now is basically just punishing him for an incompetent VAR. I don't know if I've seen a suspension for diving in the post-VAR era. I know they'd do it semi-regularly before VAR (Saborio got hit with it once) but in theory, VAR should have erased this kind of suspension. So who knows.
Agree with all of this. Right now RSL are tied for 4th in shots (32 vs 37 for 1st in league, SSFC). RSL is 4th in SOG (11 vs 13 for LAFC). However, the team has 2 goals to show for it, and one came from the penalty spot. 12 teams have more goals than RSL, with 3 clubs on 6 goals. The difference is taking the right shots, and finishing. Defensively the most concerning thing for me after two games has been Lennon. He continually gets himself caught in poor positions, and he's not a great 1v1 defender even when he is in the correct place. Several times against Van he allowed the defender to easily take the preferred position facing goal when inside the penalty area. Central defense appears to be working even though they make me nervous at times, and Herrera has been very good. Beckerman and Luis seem to be working together (Everton covers a ton of ground). In addition, Petke has made some slight adjustments that help with coverage on the flanks. The Savarino/Lennon side is still easily exploited, but there has been some progress overall.
Lennon going forward so much late while we had the lead was brought up by Petke after the game. He doesn’t like it. He clarified by stating that if we are behind or tied late at home he is all for it. @15 to 32 , I agree with all of the posters who feel this win was deserved. I realize that the game stats seem to indicate an evenly played match, but we were like the white in chess in that we dictated the tempo and forced the Caps to react to us for the most part.
Mark this on your calendars, folks. An internet discussion that actually led to someone changing their mind! It's the illusive unicorn sighting!
To be fair to 15, he didn't see the game and the Van / MLS whining about the PK may have affected his original take on the game. When multiple people (that hopefully he trusts) let him know that RSL did dominate and that a tie would have been a 2 points lost situation, he was willing to change. The unicorn would have been if 15 HAD watched the game and then got his mind changed.
Whoscored paints the result as pretty fair. To have an average player ranking over a half point higher is usually the sign of one team just being better than the other. The Houston match difference in average player rating, for reference, was 0.04 points.
Possession was 50.7-49.3, the shots were 18-16, SOG were 5-3. A couple more crosses from the Caps fizzed across the goal with no one getting a foot too it, so I'd call our chances even. I thought the young Korean In-beom for Vancouver was the most dangerous attacker on the field. Herrera and Luiz were our best players.
He was really impressive. I knew barely anything about him coming in, but he was a constant thorn in our side.
Yet, if RSL was better with the chances they created (Baird and Sava screwing up an great opportunity in the first half; the post by Karate K; Rusnak creating a tatoo on the GK chest) it is a pretty easy win. Van created a couple 1/2 chances and had the open header; RSL had much more dangerous chances (IMHO).
That’s why I pointed out that the game stats indicated an even game, but the live eye test showed otherwise. In-beom is technically impressive. If he had a bit more pace he could play in a better league than MLS.