55' Nelson 2-0! From a beauty of a cross by Willock. The flood gates seem to have opened. Just like last time w/ Molde?
58' Eddie misses a wide-open header from a nice Pepe cross. Do they only play for 60' in the Norwegian league?
Say what you will about Willock's quality and ceiling, but he's been arguably our most creative player these 2 matches against Molde.
Molde with a great shot from the left after blowing by Cedric & Niles. Could've easily have been 2-1.
Runarsson's been OK. Doesn't look nervous, and seems to have boned up on playing it out from the back.
82' Balogun comes in for Nketia. Maybe he can put some sort of stamp on the last 10'? Edit: I guess he was listening! 25 seconds later it's 3-0 on a spinning move goal by Balogun!!!!!
Watering turf fields is routine before games/ matches. It alters the texture of the pellets within to make it feel softer like earth and in soccer helps keep the ball from bouncing like a ping pong ball. They'll typically do it just before warm ups and the start of each half.
FT 3-0. We advance to knockout rounds. @And_ROOS has something nice to wake up to. p.s. Mikel, please play ALL KIDS in the next 2 matches.
You're welcome. My home team Atlanta United plays on turf so we in the stands are familiar with the routine.
Survive and advance. That's the name in tournament play and I'm pleased the side is moving on. More importantly I'm glad they got multiple goals today. Hopefully they remember the taste in their Premier League matches.
Just watched the extended highlights. Looks like reasonably comfortable match, save for that good Molde chance in 1T. Still a long ways to go to consistently contend with better competition, but at least we’re going in the right direction.
according to the athletic, they are planning to have fans in stadium for the rapid vienna game next thursday. that should be nice for the players, at least.
You always water turf before the game and at halftime when it’s hot, but it clearly wasn’t hot today. It may have something to do with the speed of the ball on the pitch and possibly the elimination of the crazy bounces a ball can take when there is English on it.
For those who watched was it actually a 4-4-2? How was player movement in the final third? Was there anything you saw today that can be built upon for the premier league?