RSL 2019 Leagues Cup, Game 1: Tigres @ RSL, Wednesday, 24 July, 8:30 PM UDT.

A duck I understand, they can fly. But how does a damn cat make it into a stadium and onto the pitch??? He did a good job a slowing the Tigres attack...

#signthecat

 

Looked like he was upset with the amount of time added. 4 minutes was short with the red card injury, subs, goal, and some time wasting. But then there was nothing additional added on for the cat on the field. That's my guess.

 

He forgot to save a sub to use in the 88th minute.

 

The north end is open to the street. The cat probably heard there were free hotdogs in Section 14 and came for a quick bite to eat. Shame he couldn’t get a straw while he was there.

 

RSL show podcast interview in a recent episode head of the grounds crew. He said they have feral cats that wander around the stadium and they will find cats pis and poop on the stadium. The south end opens to the street level.

 

In his post game interview he intimated that he was trying to find out why when the cat incident occurred the ref allowed Tigres to dribble to the box and take a shot, then, after the shot missed, decided to bring it back to the cat spot and call for a drop ball.

 

That whole sequence was odd. Would he have called it back for a drop ball had Gignac scored? But I think there was more to the discussion than just that...

 

I'll do my best 15 without being 15:
1) Fun game. There was some quality and the Tigres fans were into it.
2) Yes, there were RSL chants, but you could tell that the audience was 50-50 at best.
3) The lack of any replays on close plays continues to be a frustration. I have no idea if Sava was on in the 1st half where there would have been DOGSO on the keeper and changed the game.
4) It was a pleasure watching Tigres touch and move the ball. No wasted touches. Crisp. Clean. FAST moving the ball.
5) I hope RSL's youth development coaches take this video and utilize it for showing players what a 1st touch should and should not look like.
6) RSL lacks the athleticism and organization defensively to press effectively against MLS teams - Tigres has no problem 90% of the time.
7) With all that being said, I think RSL would have finished higher on expected goals for the game. When RSL created, it was dangerous.
8) Plata's miss was unfortunate.
9) Other than the miss, Plata was unadulterated crap and a disaster defensively. no reason to continue shopping him. Now you have to salvage him.
10) Glad and Holt defended pretty well. Both were crap passing out of the back.
11) Herrera and Lennon defended well and got forward at speed enough times to be dangerous. The Lennon red was unfortunate but deserved.
12) From the east side, you could tell how much the deflection affected the goal. On replay it looks to be slight - from the other angle Nick was going to have to be 10 years younger / quicker to save it.
13) Becks was still slow, but at least he can usually pass the ball. Everton was NOT good.
14) Baird ran his socks off in an effort to keep Tigres from holding the ball all night. It was thankless labor - so good job. His crap touch prevented him from adding anything positive offensively.
15) It was worth the time to see a truly skilled team play - and to see how RSL found ways to compete.

Bonus note - Absolute comedy watching the referee explain the new FIFA rules to the RSL players. Didn't any of them watch the women's WC?

Bonus note 2: the non-Tigres hispanic fans yelled the slur at the Tigres keeper as well. LOL. I do wish the Mexican league / association can eradicate it.

Bonus note 3: there should have been 7-8 minutes of stoppage. CONCACRAP referees continue to struggle with the concept. Time wasting is absolutely rewarded in CONCACAF and our club and national teams all need to understand it..

 

I literally didn’t hear an RSL chant or song. We were in Section 23 on the NW side of the stadium. I did hear the LBR drums throughout the game.

 

One positive, and it's a significant one: our remarkably young defensive four (22, 22, 22, and 21 years old) played very well against the most expensive attack in North America. Except for the fluke goal, there was little for Tigres' offensive core to crow about.

 

This is true. I think they played pretty well. We didn’t play Tigres at their best, but it was a very good showing nonetheless.

 

you've been around here long enough to know that, unfortunately, that drum is probably our loudest chant

 

Where's Trey when we need him?