I talked to a Revs fan last night after the game. The ref isn't really that good with his game management skills. Beric was visibly frustrated by the 60th minute, so it couldn't have just been home crowd bias if the players were rattled that much by the decision-making.
I liked him because he did exactly what his job asked him to do. I also don't think he's a winger, he's clearly a striker; but those two goals were created because of his ability to hold-up the ball. I'm not gonna say he deserves to start over anyone, but he is a solid supersub in the 75th minute for Beric.
meant no better than final Fire season Dax, not MLS XI Dax, but still, what a disappointment of a DP I re-watched the highlights -- Offor does indeed do good work in the build up to the second goal happens to be involved in the first, but no skill shown in that build-up just felt like his touch was heavy and his passes errant much of the night
The entrance from the north garage was open they just didn't let me go in because my ticket said gate 6. I also am wanded every match because of titanium in hips..
Our team can't win a header to save their own lives. I expected a loss last night but a draw was fair if not disappointing. Kappelhof minus the rust and/or Pineda will help clear up some of the problems in the back. Besides that I have a hard time being cynical about last night. It was great to finally be back in the city for a game (even though I no longer live within walking distance of the stadium). Even with only 8k, games at SF feel like a big event, and stuff like the video board presentations are just night and day better than they were a couple years ago. Once my wife gets shot #2 fully, getting to pregame at Flo and Santos or (hopefully) FatPour is going to make the experience over there even better.
I thought the officiating was fine last night, aside from us getting boned on the PK. Felt like the refs let the teams play for the most part and can't recall too many misses or heavy-handedness from the evening aside from that. As Abraham Lincoln used to say 'the refs weren't the problem last night' (paraphrasing).
There were one or two calls that annoyed me, but most were around midfield, and not game changers. Unfortunately DOGSO but no PK was probably the correct call in the end. Fire had a few tactical fouls that could have drawn yellows, so I think things were equally unfair to both sides from the official.
I don't understand any praise for Offor. Maybe it is first match nerves that were getting to him. I remember in the first ten minutes or so, the ball was played on the left side were he was, and he just gave up, made no attempt to try to keep the ball in play. He seems to have the speed of Niko, not much. I know that he was a starter in the Latvian first division, (which I consider a step or two below their neighbors to the north Estonia), but MLS is played at so much higher of a level and much quicker. Not sure if he will add anything to this team. Hope that I am wrong.
For a 20 year old who came from the Latvian first division in his first game in MLS, I thought he was fine. Not great, but better than I'd expect for a kid in that position.
Probably the best review I’ve seen. I WANT him to win the Golden Boot but what expectations can we really have?
I have to remind myself that it has been only one match. Plenty of time for players to make their mark.
Yes, but the official line is that they didn’t have any significant additions because they wanted stability in the lineup. So they had a (weird) year together already. The expectation from the technical staff is that the team should have already or should be ready to gel. If they cannot, they absolutely do not deserve more than (?) six games to prove their worth. They’ve already had a year together.
FWIW, Stojanovic received a lot of praise last night for how he performed too. I'll have to cue in on him more next game. Heitz does seem like he knows how to find diamond in the rough players. I'm not sure yet that he really knows how to pick a squad that succeeds in MLS. Though his general ignoring of defense does fit right in among league GMs....
This is exactly how I feel. Let's be honest, Heitz's track record is something none of us could ever achieve. The guy has found talent in the past and will continue to do so. My concerns are with his ability to manage a salary cap and how he seems to want to make things more complicated than needs to be (for example signing Aliseda over a sure thing big money transfer). I'm okay with Gimenez because it was a big money deal for someone that is allegedly established. He has yet to play up to his expectations though, but at least it wasn't a gamble on hitting on a diamond in the rough with a DP slot.
I think both views are right. He is clearly a grade A athlete, and his speed and strength was giving the Revs defenders fits. On the flip side, he was all over the place, and not in a good way. I saw enough to be optimistic about him going forward, but I'd rather see Aliseda start.
Welp...for good or bad...the Fire will be exciting to watch this season. I think they will be and do better then last but curious to see how much. Offor impressed me some but defensively I think he is weak. Aliseda...I am not sold on him at all yet. Gimenez needs to cover better when Sekulic and Bjornstein move up and attack and I would keep Sekulic in there. I like him. The rest of the attack seems very dangerous but by the Goddess that defense can be so good and yet so bad at the same time. Just my little two cents.
The MLS power rankings said something along the lines of: If the fire ever figure out how to not give up multiples goals while winning, the league is in trouble. I couldn't agree more. Hopefully Pineda can take over for Calvo in the middle and this should get a little better. That would mean benching the capitan, though.
seems like Giminez escapes much blame for the defensive failures -- I realize he's not the guy holding the bag at the end of a bad goal, but seems like he's not really doing much as a destroyer to limit pressure on the back line
I am not sold on Pineda, either, but benching Calvo would be a good start (or, better yet, signing someone more capable and then releasing him). If we need a central defender to "just clean up behind" behind our "star" (as in team captain and high priced player) central defender, that points to a major deficiency in the "star" central defender. Pineda needs to be more than a "DoodyCalls Scooper" like in Parades. Hey, at least the horses in the parades provide something for crowds (in addition to pooping, much to the delete of 7 year old kids). I have yet to see Calvo do anything that makes up for the numerous bonehead plays. [okay, maybe I am going a bit far here]
None of our three CBs are grade A starters. If Kap ever was, it was as the #2. Calvo shows it and then ********s it up. Pineda may be it one day but doesn’t have as high of highs as either of the other two, at least as of yet. That said his bar may be higher. I would add that Kap is on his way down, Calvo has plateaued and Pineda is on his way up. Time for my annual call for the 3-5-2!