point I should have made in my 15: The "traveling" LAFC fans were tremendous. They've passed Seattle and Portland as best away fanbase, currently. I look forward to when they play at the RioT because you know it's going to be a fun atmosphere. I've read a couple posts about how folks in the section below them got water (and probably beer) spilled on them. Which made me laugh, honestly. Gone are the days that section 35 could help battle with the away section. LAFC fans ran the RioT on Saturday.
If RSL can play as "well" as they did against LAFC the rest of the way then they absolutely could make the playoffs. Too bad they had to wait until the circus came to town to get a little mojo back. That kind of effort and urgency would have gone a long way over the last few weeks as RSL gave away games and points to teams that were, at the time, seemingly not as good. It was a fun match and one day maybe RSL will have a supporter section and culture to right home about. Kudos for the great TIFO but not the ******** part that seemed to come from their end. One question, is there a player on RSL's roster that could make or start for LAFC? I can't think of any. Not even Sava. That team is stacked.
I heard the chant twice, as well. Couldn't tell if it was the supporter's section or just spread out. I'm right next to the SG's so could easily have been there. Really made me mad. I agree that RSL had a gameplan that made sense. The very high and wide outside backs was a smart move. With the right balance, you can catch LAFC out and split their setup from that spot. The problem is you are playing high risk/reward in doing that because it gives Vela a gap to run into out wide. Bale even more. It also put our CM's under a lot of stress that they had a mixed bag reaction to. One concerning thing, for me, was that the middle part of the field had a bad performance - a common theme in this 10 game poor run of form. Silva and Glad haven't been terrible, but they have regressed from that start of season performance. MacMath has had some really bad moments over the last few games. I don't know what his positioning was on the second LAFC goal. The weird play there made it hard, but he was so far off his near post there and it didn't make much sense to me. He got the assist in SJ for their second goal. Ruiz is Ruiz. Expecting him to be anything better/more consistent is wrong. Loffelsend was second best at the biggest moments of the game. Those 5 punched above their weight when RSL was good. They've seen a step back and, unsurprising, RSL has too.
I agree on all of this and I really don't know why RSL has not addressed the issue in the midfield. How you can expect Ruiz and Loffelsend to be your starters and hold down the middle is beyond me. They have shown improvement, grit, and determination, but that's not going to win you a lot of games if other teams can simply out talent you in the middle. Loffelsend looked like a rookie out there which is what he is but hasn't been exposed before this game really. Ruiz has really matured and damn if that ball didn't look like it was going in from where I sit. The movement was pretty damn cool on that ball. But at the end of the day you can't expect two guys barely 5 feet tall to hold down and be a winning combo no matter how good they are in this league. I think the midfield will be a glaring and exploitable weakness for RSL until they can get some talent and size to help out and hold it down in there. MacMath has been a bit out of sorts but so has the entire team. Rimando rarely got beat near post and Zach should have had that ball but he got caught guessing far post and froze. Silva and Glad have not been as stellar as the start of the season but neither has anyone else this last run of games. Where the heck is Herrera? The guy is getting out played by Brody back there at the moment. Rah, Rah, effort and positive attitudes can take a long way but if you don't have tactics and options to counter poor performances and better teams then getting back to rah, rah, effort and positive attitudes can be incredibly difficult. Sadly, I'm starting to wonder if Pablo can get this thing turned around just by a little yoga motivation. Really, really, really, going to be an interesting end to the season.
I thought Herrera was really good on the offensive end of the field in this game. I lamented to my brother that he deserves a target better than what we offer. When the game was 3-1 or 4-1, can't remember, he hit a cross perfectly to Rubin who somehow jumped under the ball from the 6. It was truly astounding.
I'd say MacMath and Creapeu are a wash but the going down on one knee because he was hurt move from Creapeau put him in my top 5 favorite GKs in the league. That was hilarious. Up there with the Yura hamstring stretch when being subbed.
I thought Crepau should save that for when it’s needed. There was no need for a team of that caliber who was in complete control of the game to be that silly.
The game was 2-1 at that point, if memory serves right, in the second half. RSL had the better run of play in that moment. It was actually a really well timed delay to get LAFC some extra rest, get under the skin of RSL (possibly), and especially get under the fans skin
I thought it was 3-1, but I could be wrong. At the time I stated almost word for word what I posted above.
Does anyone know if Chiellini had additional punishment from DISCO? I looked at the recent reports and it looks like he wasn't even so much as fined. People get fined all the time for simulation because it goes against the spirit of the game, would this not be the same case?
he was shown a yellow card, per the letter of the law. VAR reviewed it, as well, to check if it would qualify for red card handling. It didnt.
I’m not implying it should’ve been red. I’m asking how is this different than simulation? Players are often carded for simulation and then later fined by DisCo. i don’t think it should be a red card but it just feels like a yellow card isn’t enough for such a blatant disregard for the spirit of the game.
Simulation is punished because of what it would have done if it succeeded: get a player sent off, get a penalty called, etc. Chiellini's play wasn't designed to do anything other than what it did, namely stop the play and prevent a dangerous chance. So the call and the punishment is considered finished. Similarly, simulation that is caught during the game and punished with a card and the ball going the other way is not always fined after the fact (the call sufficing in most cases), unless it is particularly egregious.
Particularly egregious like that Chiellini hand ball? also I’ve seen tactical fouls, whose design is only to “stop the play”, also get fined in DisCo.
Chiellini’s handball = the typical “professional” foul where a player purposely grabs an opponent who is about to dribble past him. It just looks more egregious because it’s rare.
There is nothing in the laws of the game or in how the league assesses fines to do anything additional to chielinni.
I just chalk it up as a learning experience. Did you know that you can volley a soccer ball, very poorly of course, during a game and only get a yellow if there is another team mate behind you? Now I have to move on to something else I have no clue about but think should be a red card. Thanks Chielinni.
Spirit of the Game vs Laws of the Game That battle presents itself in some very ugly fashions. We've become "accustomed" to things like time wasting, feigning injury, delaying restarts, etc. without realizing just how much those things are completely against the actual spirit of the game. I know there are plenty that would argue these things give the game more character. I'd rather the game just be played as it is designed...
Exactly. I was embarrassed for Chang. If you're going to fake a cramp at least put some effort into it for crying out loud.
I'd argue tactical fouls are worse, due to the risk of injury. Which is why you sometimes see fines after the fact. A handball with no risk like that shouldn't be considered the same. Had it directly stopped a shot from going in? I could see a fine happening then. But there would've also been a red card and penalty on top of it.
Agree to disagree I guess. Soccer is a contact sport and there is going to be physicality in an attempt to stop an attacking player. Soccer however is not a sport played with hands (by outfield players).