For this match the teams seem to be pretty even on the number of really important players missing. Baring in match injuries or stupid red cards this should be a very even even match. I think the "best" of Washington is superior to the best of Gotham but it can go either way depending on in match events. If the old "truism" of "Offense wins games and defense wins tournaments" holds I thing Washington hold an advantage but Gotham's defense is pretty strong also. I expect a low scoring but very dynamic match it which we could easily have extra time with the final score being 2-1 with Washington winning and, should it go tp PKs, Washington still wins as their shooters are calmer, in general, than Gotham's. It is the shooters that make the difference in PKs because very very very few PKs that are even remotely well taken are saved. That is most shootouts are lost not won. I expect this to be about as entertaining a final tournament match as possible and I just hope that neither side chooses to play excessively conservatively because conservative play is boring. The one concern I have is that this is played at a neutral site which means the crowd will not be supporting anybody and so might just mask the quality by sitting on their hands too much. I do NOT like noise but I am not there so noise is a positive for this match. Edit: I expect Rodman to start. She looked, on the sideline, in the last match like she was ready to go and she has a whole off season to recover from any injury that gets aggravated at all. If she is on the bench to start that says she is not as "ready" as she acted in the last match.
@GoodHands Never a good idea to aggravate injuries. There is a cumulative effect. I would be pumping the brakes on signing a 23 yr old who has a problem staying on the field and a history of back issues. I am praying she avoids injury if she plays. I am sure you are too!!
I did NOT say she will aggravate her injury I said that if she does she has plenty of time to recover. Also she was moving around on the sideline the last match like she was totally uninjured. But that is not what I was actually meaning. This is an important match for her and her last chance before her "long winter's nap" to impress those that need to see her play. I am sure that if there is any doubt she is fit to play then she will not play to protect her value but I think, from all the reports and seeing her move on the sideline, that she is fit by the standards used in the NWSL and football in general. I do not want her to be injured but she seems ready. Also, if she has limited minutes, she should start so she can see how it goes during play and only one sub, the one that would be used to get her in the match in the second half, will need to be used. The only real risk is that she hides her injury status during play and therefore plays too much. But that is unlikely as most good trainers can see the changes in her gait that cannot be hidden and have her pulled if her injury acts up. But, on that last note, I would not want to face her wrath if she believes she is pulled prematurely. That is "prematurely in her belief." The match start is pretty soon (45 minutes as of my banging on these keys) so we will know pretty soon if I am correct or just talking through my *******. I did not think I would be, because of the the way I feel about these end of season tournaments, but I am actually excited about this match. I hope it is a good one.
First half thoughts: Lots of good pressing forcing quick ball movement. Neither team being overly cautious, though Washington has slowed down their play as the half went on. Gotham look better getting players back for defense. Match started to get a bit sloppy/chippy the last 5 minutes of the half. Berger playing as a the sweeper-keeper is putting a bit of a halt to Washington's long attack. Reale is having the better match v. Kouassi which is making a difference. And then Reale goes and gets a yellow. Could have had 2 or even 3 goals in the first 5 minutes with balls sent across the face of goal on both ends. In the first 10 minutes, Bethune had 3 solid fouls and I think she was borderline yellow card. She backed off, but then went back to being aggressive in the last 5 minutes of the half and I thought she was gonna get a yellow. Cantore seems to be playing the best for Washington. And I think Simon is officiating a good match. Good field awareness, good decisions between when to call a stop in play and when to play advantage. One final note: Morgan, Santos, and Cantore for Washington and Esme, Berger, and Carter for Gotham all played in their confederations semifinals or finals this summer, and all seem to be playing with the most composure out there.
It was a pretty good first half but it was spoiled by the CBS coverage. They cut to closeups during play and the stupid "flying" camera pretty much stayed in the frame for the entre half whenever they were using the better wider angle view. The closeups pretty much ruined the flow of the game because there was virtually no way to even tell what was happening. To add to that many of the closeups were of coaches and that really yields NOTHING to the match. Oh the score is 0-0 but that was hard to tell because history was discussed more than the match for much of the time. I see numerous empty seats scattered around the stadium but they say it is a sellout. I guess it is a sellout and most of the seats seem to have butts in them but there are too many to honestly call this a sellout. The only true sellout is the NWSL cheapening the match by claiming an audience they do not have and allowing these fourth rate announcers that do not even seem to understand soccer. I would rather have Foudy than the morons calling this match. Also the "Spanish" style that both teams play has been boring in the extreme. The closest we came to a good goal was off the kickoff when they tried for a first touch shot. Other than that the "excitement" has been missing almost totally as both teams seem to be playing not to lose instead of trying to win. This match has been every bit as poor to watch as I feared it would be.
The mute button is your friend. I'm not seeing the same thing as you as I found the match pretty good. Not great, but not a drag to my eyes. Of course, it also got more interesting when I put the volume on mute. And I fully expect to see Rodman on around the 70th or 75th minute if Washington is not in the lead.
The problem with that is that my old eyes have trouble identifying the players without help. For me this match has NOT been particularly fun to watch but it is WAY better than some of the regular season matches this year. I keep hoping that someone will take a chance in the attack but I have been nearly totally disappointed. There have not been any close chances much less a real goal scoring chance. Rodman is coming on soon and that can be nothing but a positive.
Playing s..l..o..w..l..y out of the back and looking for the "safe" pass first. Playing out of the back so slowly is simply a way to make the play of the match very very slow even when players run hard. I actually do not think I have ever said "tika-taka" but I might have at some point just not this thread. I also detest that CBS is letting their commercials remain on the screen even when the match has restarted.
It's hilarious that people still don't understand what a sellout is. If all the tickets got sold, it's a sellout regardless of whether or not everyone comes to the game and is in their seats the entire time.
In my opinion, US soccer has lost its identity. The buzz word was be "technical" and that has led to overplaying short passes, too many touches and a lack of the directness that made the game here what it was. DIfferent. I dont see a central controller on either team. Hershfeldt and Howell are both destroyers. If you want to play tiki taka, you need a tempo controller in the middle. Im seeing lots of aimless clearances and tired legs now. This game will be decided by a mistake.