Looks like Wright is off at 69', but McKennie comes on. I honestly think McKennie might be more likely to get a goal.
I feel like the announcers were unduly harsh on Haji. What the hell did they expect him to do? Split the centerbacks and then dribble through the entire defense and score? He had one decent opportunity to create a chance, and he looked a bit stunned. But It wasn’t bad enough to pile on like that.
73': Another penalty, this time for Schalke. Bentaleb scores, 1-1. McKennie was wide open at the penalty spot had there not been a foul.
Even through red-white-and-blue glasses, he was awful. The only positive contribution he made was to earn a corner. His passing was bad, his touches were bad and far too infrequent, his movement was OK at best, and he should have been called for a penalty. He was clearly the worst outfield player on either side. He's basically playing college soccer every week, so you can't blame him, but he is not even close to this level.
He wasn’t good. But that means he fit in with most of the rest of Schalke. And I just don’t see the point in them piling on.
McKennie with an open header, but straight at the keeper. Still more dangerous than anything Wright did.
78': McKennie with a free (but low) header from 7 yards off a corner, and he puts it directly at Baumann. Should have scored, really.
I’m taking the positives out of Haji performance. No it wasn’t good. No it’s wasn’t tactically astute. No it wasn’t effective. But it was experience. Experience none of us would have pegged him for 3 weeks ago. Hopefully the opportunity, though he was a little lost, whetted his appetite to get better and grab the bull by the horns.
Did him getting the ball ever not result in a turnover (other than his cross blocked out for a corner)? You can't fault him for not generating chances out of nothing, but he would have been better if he had just passed the ball 30 yards backwards to his CB every time he got it.
I like your positivity! Hopefully a lower-league team saw something valuable in this performance and he can get out of the Oberliga on loan in January.
I didn't get to watch the game. I have one question. Did Haji match up well physically? Strength, quickness, etc?
Not really. He held up the ball decently a couple of times, but he couldn't get it off his feet. Plus, they had him lurking outside the box on corners, which suggests to me that his movement and strength hasn't been good in training. When he had the opportunities to show his pace, he was a bit timid.
I think Oczipka is not very good. He manages to squander any chance to get in a cross. It’s comical. ETA: And just as I type this, he squanders another good opportunity going forward. What a liability he is.
the counter leading to the penalty was started by weston smartly besting the press. had there not been a penalty, he could have scored
Not much to add, since I only saw a small bit of the game, but when McKennie first got playing time, he too seemed to have the cloak of invisibility on his back. His teammates passed around him. And, McKennie was almost always outside of the box on set pieces, when we all know he's remarkably strong in the air. So, Haji being avoided doesn't mean alot to me, other than he has to earn it on the field.
I see it completely different. Mckennie first game was the last game of the previous season and he got spot minutes. Since then, he played during the preseason with the first team and did rather well throughout the preseason. Here we have a CF getting 60+ minutes and looking out of his playing level.