2022 Game Day 17: CBus at RSL Sat. June 25, 8:00pm FIREWORKS FOR SURE!

RSLer · Jun 30, 2022

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I haven't done this in a bit, so I might be a bit rusty

It doesn't matter what time the club posts as start time and what they do to delay the kick to x number of minutes after that, fans in this area refuse to show up early, let alone on time. It's irritating as hell. Firework game only amplified that

That said, the rainbow smoke bomb thing in the supporter's end was cool as hell. I saw it from a not great angle (directly west) but the colors and the lack of a strong breeze made it look really really cool. Well done.

Rubin getting the nod up top wasn't a surprise but also a surprise. With Menedez back in training and the talk of chemistry he's shown with Savarino and Cordova, you'd think maybe he'd get the start instead. I wish he would have.

From the literal first play Columbus showed their tactical approach: go at Brody/Meram. It was funny to watch the two sides swing the ball to their attacking right side for real dangerous chances - especially early on.

Our best chance of the first half was actually a warning sign of things to come: in the 8th min Rubio gets in behind off a poor play from the Columbus defender on a ball over the top by Glad (a well-played ball, I will say). Rubio gets a decent shot off from about 15 or so yards out, but he did so on a tighter angle and didn't go at the 1v1 situation in front of him. It was saved off the post, so it looked a good chance, but in watching it back it's really weird that Rubio slowed down and took the shot at that angle.

I say this was a warning sign because this was the only way we were going to build chances the rest of the game: through ball from the backline/deep midfield. Columbus had a really well organized 4-1-4-1 in defense that clogged most any passing lanes. The few times a lane would open to a forward, they'd immediately close on that player from behind. Both Corodova and Rubin were awful when this pressure was applied to them.

We have the dumbest fans in the league. The constant booing of any call against us is beyond dumb. The "ref you suck" chant is juvenile.

I really don't know what Pablo saw from the front 2 to not make a sub at half. I really don't know what Pablo saw from them to wait until the 66th minute to finally yank Rubio. The Caldwell for Ruiz sub, given the information on his lack of training, made sense. But man, it took our midfield play from bad to terrible.

Not sure if it was the heat or what, but this game never felt like it shifted to a higher gear after the 65th minute. Columbus was perfectly fine with the pace of the game and, honestly, RSL was too until late when Columbus cramped up. The fans booing should have been on RSL earlier to actually up the tempo.

It's weird to watch this team week to week because they live on the edge of being good and mediocre. The last two games had some (including myself) wondering if they were actually maybe a great team. I mean, you don't get to second in the West/League for nothing... but it's all so fragile it feels like.

This game marked the halfway point of the season. If ever there was a time to evaluate where you had enough evidence of what was happening but also enough time left to potentially change, now is that. So I went to whoscored and scrolled to this teams characteristics. It's an interesting read.

What especially stood out to me there was that this team statistically strong at creating chances but also weak at finishing chances. The amount of money the club has put into the forward position, and we still have this problem. Though, I've gotta say, the creation of chances feels a newer wrinkle.

This was the first game since Nashville (one of the worst performances of the season) where RSL didn't score. So maybe there isn't as much to that as it feels. However, this was certainly a warning sign for me. Too much of this game was systemic/tactical inefficiencies as opposed to players just not having a good day.

The 2-1-1 record for June is certainly respectable. I didn't expect a win in Vancouver, but thought we could maybe get a point. The draw here stings for any top of the league aspirations.

July's forthcoming schedule is a tough one. Six games in total, split evenly on the road and home. The road trips are some long ones: Minnesota, Atlanta, and San Jose. I'm not liking our chances in any of those 3 for a win, but you gotta say that the two Wester Conference games should be opportunities for a draw. At home its the cRapids, SKC, and FCD. Of the 6 games, only one is against a current playoff level team. This should be a month of double digit points, possibly even 2 ppg type stuff.

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2. The huge plume of black smoke behind the NW corner of the stadium caused most of us in the East stands to miss it.
7. Yep.
12. The lack of a true finisher is our biggest problem imo. Of course, it can be said of many MLS sides.