I don't understand how are defense is this bad. Literally can't mark a runner into the middle of the box, and guys need to step out and actually contest the crosses. This is not lack of talent. Puig and Brugman were immense, Dejan is quietly having himself a season. Pec and Painstill are actually DP caliber and McCarthy made some great saves again.
That game was wild. fullest I’ve seen our stadium for a non traffico and non Messi game in a looong time. I thought Cerrillo did a reasonable job as fill in right back except for (of course) the lost man on SJ goal 2. weird not to start Cuevas though. Hey, With Neal and the new kid imminent, maybe we’ll never see Zaveleta again! this was a nervy game as soon as it became 3-1 and the type of game you feel a little worried about in your gut and in the last decade these games have ended up as soul crushing losses or draws. I think it’s very meaningful that we held on. All quibbles aside about subs and coaching. It matters we held on.
Greg Vanney mentions that Cuevas was sick the day before the game which is why he didn’t start at right back. Also the sub for Caceres, which brought Zavaleta on, was because Martin Caceres “felt something.” Vanney doesn’t think it was an injury but didn’t have a definition on…— Corner Of The Galaxy (@GalaxyPodcast) April 22, 2024
While I agree with your later point, this one I do kindly disagree. Paintsil has had a tendency to "run through" players sometimes earning cards, often whenever he tracks back on defense. Not enough to be a "card" magnet I agree, but he's earned 2 yellows already this season. I don't want him to earn a 1 match ban at an inopportune time. These are his disciplinary stats at fbref.
I know many of you will think it heresy, but I thought the center ref did the best job we've seen all season. He was making it clear to the players where they stood with repetitive fouls, he took the advice of VAR on the chicken wing handball, and I think he got the Zaveleta red card absolutely right. When it happened I said to my wife, "he's got to call that. DOGSO." The only egregious thing that happened was the AR on the near side waiting forever to put the flag up on Paintsil (?) and letting the play continue. I know that's something that was encouraged a few years ago (because if it's close VAR might overrule you), but I still think it's a dumb idea. The AR on the other side was showing the flag immediately. I guess it's a function of how obviously offside the player is. Advice to the defense: Don't assume the other team isn't going to take a quick restart. On SJ's second goal it looked like every defender was slowly walking back on the assumption that San Jose would take some time setting up a play.
No I agree with you for the most part. "Best job all season", considering the low bar its been so far "only a few mistakes" seems to be "best job". I agree that the major decisions were correct calls though (can't wait for Zavaleta to no longer be needed). As to the "AR" allowing play to happen, it does seem to be a "if its close let it happen until later". We've seen offside goals happen only for VAR to prove it wasn't offside, so I get it. Then there was another one later where the dude was clearly offside and the flag came up right away.
The stats you presented shows he gets a yellow card approximately once every 360 minutes of play. So playing him 15 more minutes wasn’t high risk. Especially since (presumably) he would be a little more careful knowing he was on a card. I think Vanney should have left him in and reminded him from the sideline to not do anything silly.
More disappointed, angry and embarrassed than scared if you want to know the truth. We have an old tendency to play down to teams or lose our focus. Our coaching staff does not know how to close out games on the fly when clearly ahead. But I hope you guys enjoyed it.
I'm ok with subbing people out to save legs and whatnot but that if the game is IN HAND. This game was far from that and the momentum started to swing toward the lowly Quacks. We are playing at home. We have the responsibility to win especially against a weaker team. As much as people are praising Pec, he is no game changer. Maybe he'll get to that point as the season progresses but right now the game changer is Paintsil followed by Puig. Had it come to SJ tying us or God forbid they are beating us at home whom I want on the field is my game changer. You pull Pec and you allow Fagundez freedom to operate in that area. Just my two cents.
Rewatched the minutes after the red card again this morning. What an immense performance from Brugman. He was great the entire game combining with Puig and getting us going vertically but, my goodness, what a shift as an emergency center back.
Despite how poor we played over-all as a team, I thought this was Brugman's best game since coming back from injurty.
He did well, definitely, but (always a but), a couple of his fouls in dangerous areas were problematic for the team. Brugman is not a big guy, his small size was noticeable in person. When the game ended, Aude collapsed on his back in the middle of the field. He took a beating at times, because he tends to hold the ball and dribble a bit until he's really sure about the pass. Or as my husband said, he holds the ball too long. I forgot how much you miss when watching a live game. Play that is far away, or blocked by your neighbors, or just missed because you're distracted with your binoculars can't be watched on instant replay. Half the time I'd even miss the replays on the big board. Looking forward to watching a replay on Apple TV. -I agree with the rankings that Pec was the best player in this game. He makes great decisions with the ball, has entertaining skill, and showed his speed and effort level. He's very exciting to watch. -Puig was close behind - his running at top speed, at the very end of the game, over and over, AMAZES me. What an engine he has. He took the role of harassing forward at the end, while Berry covered the right mid. -Paintsil looks frustrated. I don't know if he really is, but he seems mad, on a hair trigger, and he saves his energy for the right moments, which can appear lackadaisical over stretches. Good for him for taking and converting the PK. -Aguirre was invisible to me. Was that good? I didn't see him do anything. -Fagundez is having an awesome season, I'm kind of surprised and very pleased.
Pec makes Team of the Matchday and Paintsil makes the bench. Team of the Matchday: Minnesota United, Real Salt Lake dominate in road victories | MLSSoccer.com
Paintsil was visibly upset about being subbed out. I imagine that is because a) he’s competitive and wants to make sure we win and b) he wants every chance to win the Golden Boot and/or MVP trophy. Scoring stats matter for these guys.
When asked about the chaos in the game Vanney said this: “Most attacks don't finish in goals; they finish in turnovers. And now what's happening in between those lines is nothing. So now they play out of it, and now we are backing and we are retreating going into defending, and that becomes an end-to-end game, which is anybody's game. Even if you're up 3-0, it could be anybody's game.” - Greg Vanney Anyone want to take a stab at interpreting this? I have no clue what it means, except that Vanney doesn’t trust 3 goal leads with this team.
I think he's just saying that we have to be smarter about managing the game when up 3-0 or 4-1. If we go on an all-out attack, we run the risk of a counter, especially if we don't haul ass to get back and help on defense. We're worse off in that situation because although our offense is potent, the chances that our attacks will lead to goals is still statistically small and you've increased their chances just by being stretched rather than compact.
I think one thing possibly going overlooked is that we've been able to absorb injuries or player absences a lot better this season. Cerillo has been a big part of that, plugging in without missing a beat, many times. He's proven to be an excellent pick-up. With Paintsil on a yellow, I don't think it's a mistake to pull him at the 65th minute while up 4-2. I think you'd expect us to see that out comfortably with Pec, Fagundez and Puig still on the field. Obviously no one expected us to go down a man and concede a goal moments later. Zavaleta had a bad moment, but had been solid filling in there his last few appearances. The crazy thing is all three goals conceded -- once again from set pieces!
Yeah I think you are correct. That was part of a question about managing the game when up 3-0, which is he started by answering that we were only up 3-0 for a couple minutes. And then basically was talking about the guys getting greedy and wanting to get more and not managing the game properly - which then leads into that quote.