Thats a funny slight from a passed off professional. Its like me saying... Adrian Heather has a lot of hype for a coach who hasn't won crap.
Well, that was unexpected For starters, as was stated before, Ochoa as the GK was not what I was expecting. That MacMath was on the bench really surprised me. Is Putna hurt? If not, why the hell did the club bring him back to be the 3rd GK? Whatever. Something to keep an eye on, though. Rusnak wearing the armband surprised me, too. Kreilach still was the captain on the field, in the sense of who players looked to. The cynic in me (so, me?) thinks its a club pushed move to have Rusnak wear it to increase his perceived value. The first 30 minutes were in Minnesota's favor. They probably deserved a goal but, all to familiar for us, they seemed lost in the final third. The way the goal came was a feather in the cap to Freddy and the transition game. To have 5 players on a full speed break was awesome to watch. Julio made a bad pass on the counter, it must be said, but Gaspar(?) made an absolute mess of it not only with his first touch (why is he trying to settle the ball in that tight of a space) but then a slide tackle that was a wild lunge and could have been argued for DOGSO had the ball not popped out to Julio again. A tremendous hit, but completely against the run of play. In the 10 minutes between the first and second goal there was a sequence where both teams decided to just carelessly turn the ball over. It was painful. These teams haven't played in a long time, it was obvious. When DJ is saying "oh, this isn't the best soccer right now" you know its bad. And it was. Like on the first goal, not entirely sure what Minnesota's Gaspar is doing on the second goal. The backpass never had enough pace to get to the GK. Credit to Rubin and Julio, though, to react as quickly as they did. That was a calm and awesome pass from Rubin. Something that stood out to me was the team shape when defending in this game. Freddy has talked about how the shape transitions from one shape to another depending on who has formation. The 4-3-3 in defense was... weird. Kreilach shifts to the point, Rubin goes wide right, Julio left, and Ruiz/Everton/Rusnak sit behind them. I'm not a big fan of this for a few reasons. First, having Kreilach as the point of your press is dumb. Should RSL win the ball, he can't separate from defenders. He's too slow. The second goal highlighted that especially. Kreilach is so slow (and Julio rather fast) that he can't get into the box on the press. The other part of that 4-3-3 shape in defense is the space that Rusnak occupies. SKC (and all other future opponents) should look at that and realize a ball into their left wing (RSL's right) will be an easy way to get into the final third. This isn't meant as a knock on Rusnak, I think it's pretty absurd to ask him to defend like that. I think the pivot to have Rusnak drop instead of Kreilach is just bad tactics. The second half of this one was not a pretty 45 minutes. RSL looked to muck things up a lot and Minnesota showed their incompetence for a lot of the time. Their goal was well taken, but it was also off of a broken play that McMaster (thats a name) recovered and Lod hit cleanly. Once Freddy made the first set of subs, the field felt like it tilted in Minnesota's favor. Julio's pace was keeping the Minnesota back line honest and Luiz was much better on the ball than Besler. Meram had a howler of a game, IMO, so that didn't help much either. The Dougy for Rubin sub also showed how much different of a player Rubin is than martinez. Dougy instantly wanted to work wide and it killed RSL's possession abilities. The comment above about Martinez trying to pass into the middle is accurate and telling: That is where Martinez should be. The Ochoa antics are going to be something to watch this year. The reaction after the goal was just dumb and something I don't want in the game. Calling them "dark arts", like Dunseth kept saying, is generous. It's the worst part of this game and not something I'm going to cheer for. That said, my god how quick did it get under Minnesota's skin. The comments from Heath are bulletin board material and make the next match with these guys - at the end of May - one that could be really really chippy. I was really unimpressed with Minnesota. I don't want to take away from Freddy and RSL getting 3 points pretty much nobody thought they would, but that Minnesota team was underwhelming, to put it kindly. I'll do a post on interesting stats from WhoScored, but the top thing that stands out to me is that we only had 44% possession in the game, but Ruiz was the player with the most possession - 7.4% - in the entire game. Reynoso was next at 7.2%. There are plenty of other nuggets of stats that I'll lay out later. All in all, a huge 3 points for this team. No way around it. Was it against the run of play? Sure, but Minnesota didn't offer much besides their one goal to say they deserved anything. SKC looks like they actually back the preseason rankings so this Saturday's game will give us a better measurement of this team.
Someone on reddit posted that Ramirez is no longer a DP, instead it's Rusnak and Kreilach so maybe I shouldn't be so concerned about it but the fact that Ramirez still can't make the bench and we have to sub Meram in is frustrating. Maybe I should be use to by now with Yura and Pool boy, now Ramirez. We looked a lot better than I had anticipated coming into the season. Mainly thanks to Julio, Rubin, and Ruiz. Man I wish we had Reynoso on our team though. That guy is good. SKC didn't have the prettiest game against Orlando, and in fact I don't think they even deserved the draw that they got. However they were missing 2 DPs that they should have back on Saturday. It will be a test for sure.
The league site with the roster breakdown says we only have one DP: Rusnak The team site says we have two: Rusnak and Kreilach Which is right? I'm assuming the team site since we gain nothing by listing a player as a DP when he's not... The league site roster has been updated since last week to correct the "unavailable" issue we had for Julio. However, it still says Powder is unavailable. That's strange. We still have 6 players for spots 21-24 and 5 players for spots 25-28... This league feels like it tries to make things hard to understand
Not condoning Ochoa's antics during or after the game, but the fans singled him out early and yelled "I hate you Ochoa" for the better part of the second half of the game. He returned his love a la Feilhaber - Maestroeni. Did Pablo inspire this? Come to think of it...
I think the "dark arts" Dunny mentioned was just the time wasting tactics which at first I didn't care for but then realized the reason I hate it so much is because we are ALWAYS on the receiving end of them since we are always chasing the game. It was actually nice to be on the giving end for a change, because every team does it. The post whistle antics, however, were stupid in every sense of the word. I wholeheartedly agree with everything Minnesota said about him. He was being a clown, and way too cocky for someone who has accomplished very little. Especially with the howler from the Olympic qualifier so close in the rear view mirror. Reminds me of another overly cocky antagonistic "prodigy" we had, namely Danny Acosta.
This has been the constant talk of Ochoa since he came on the scene. A tremendously talented GK who uses antics like this to add fire to any game he's in. I don't think Pablo created it, but hard to argue he didn't do anything to stop it. One thing I found really interesting was just how quickly and coordinated RSL was in getting Ochoa out of harm's way and building a "wall" of sorts to block him off. It showed that they knew Ochoa was ripe to getting into something but also showed that this team will rally around it's guys. That's a positive note for a team that last year looked very disinterested a lot of the time. You can't manufacture the type of "bonding" that Heath and Minnesota just gave to RSL. Especially with the "Us vs. Everyone" mentality this club should rightly use as their inspiration. This only added to it. Sadly, this team doesn't play at Minnesota again this year. Had we, you know it would have been some really entertaining theatrics. I gotta say, too, that the punt into the stands was dumb. Ochoa is at least 30 yards from the nearest seat in the "wonder wall", though, so it's not like he was going to do serious harm to anyone. That same act is done by teams who win games at home all the time and nothing is said of it. The optics are really really bad for Ochoa, though. A fine is probably coming because of it.
As always I look forward to your thoughts on the game. I really thought that the Anderson sub was a bit soon. Perhaps for fitness? But you are correct that they game tilted drastically in Minnesota's favor. If they had squeaked out a second goal then everyone would have been all over Freddy's subs and not gloating because he can now miraculously count to 5. It certainly worked out in our favor but it was more squeaky bum time than it should have been. I'll take the 3 points. On Ochoa I agree and will not be cheering any of his "dark arts". I'm not here for it and neither should anyone that considers themselves a soccer fan. Yes, yes, yes, there's all kinds of gamesmanship in all sports but being a convert to soccer I can tell you that the "dark arts", that Dunny is definitely trying to make a thing, are exactly the kinds of things that keep people away from the game. Even if it's all just hyperbolic BS. I'm all for the unwritten rules of the game, the Yura job off the pitch, etc., etc. but there are some things I find unappealing like Ochoa's antics after the game. Or players, like Ochoa, that react when they have been fouled like they have be blasted in the chest with howitzer and roll around like their leg needs amputation. Ugh. His kicking the ball into the supporters is not funny. It's nothing to be excused or downplayed. It's also not that big of a deal in the big picture, UNLESS, it continues. Perhaps I am a little old school but Ochoa hasn't EARNED the right to even mess around with the "dark arts". He's a punk ass kid that just won his first game and now put a target right on his back. I think this is a glaring weakness in his game that could be detrimental or he could just be that good. Time will tell. Man, if i was an opposing player I would be dark arting the EFF out of this kid all game working to get under his skin. The dark arts are all fun and games until your goalie ********s around and gives up a goal and you don't get to go to the Olympics. I know, get off my lawn you damn kids! It is one game and Minnesota just may suck at the moment so it remains to be seen how good those 3 points actually look by the end of the season. They certainly still count gladly. Now, I will be there on Saturday and I would imagine SKC is going to be a bigger test. Hopefully we see more that will make me start having to catch a crow.
To be fair, Ochoa turned that into getting under the Minnesota team/bench skin really fast. I'm not ok with it - far from - but it took just 2 "embellishments" from Ochoa to set those guys off. Granted, the point about Minnesota being up 2 goals in the WCF with 15 minutes to go and then have since given up 9 goals since was very telling. That team looked REALLY frustrated towards the end of the game both before and after their goal. Ochoa fed on it. Nobody covered themselves in glory though, thats for sure.
Absolutely. I certainly hope that David can back all of this up and have a career as promising as his talent. But I'm old. ish. I've seen too many players come through the sports I have followed with all the talent and bravado of Ochoa only to fall flat on their face. We were watching the pre-game for the LAG/NYRB game yesterday and they brought up the RSL game and the after game stuff and my wife asked what that was all about. I told her what happened and she said, "oh, so he's no Rimando". No matter what I guess it's going to be an interesting season if the first game is any indication.
Rimando had his antics, but they never were that loud or dramatic. If the guy went down, it's because he got hit. Like actually hit. He might have stayed down longer than it probably deserved, but it wasn't on the level of Ochoa getting hit by a sniper when the Minnesota player got the ball out of the net after their goal. That stuff bugs me and has to go. Do the regular GK time wasting stuff. Fall down on routine catches. Go chase down the ball 30 yards wide when there is another one behind the goal. Always take your GK from the opposite corner of the 6. Yell at the defenders on any shot all the way at the top of your 18 after the ball goes out for a goal kick. This stuff isn't "right" but it's not doing 6 rolls on the ground. That kills me.
Yes. And to go back to my wife or other non soccer fan, to them all of that gamesmanship is not really noticed by the casual fan. It's just part of the game, right or wrong. The histrionics on the other hand play into the soft soccer player stereo type and aren't needed in the game.
Ochoa clearly wasn't hurt on the play after the goal, but on the other play he was his pretty hard (the collision with the Minnesota striker). Still embellished, but that one looked legitimately painful.
I think we're making more out of this whole "the dark arts" garbage then we need to. You don't want it in the game? Start punishing players who mob the keeper who is collecting the ball out of his net. Yes, the opposing team wants to get the ball back to midfield quickly so they can restart the game. But Ochoa has every right to collect the ball out of the net, and it is his job to do so especially when trying to preserve the lead late in a game. Minnesota doesn't like the time wasting? Fine. Don't tackle the keeper. Now the punting the ball into the stands is another topic. But if you know the keeper will waste time, why would you continue to tackle him or run into him while finishing your run? Sure, Ochoa made a meal out of it, but Minnesota could've taken away his ability to do so. Edit: If the image isn't working you can find it on the Soapbox article.
Drew Fisher did well most of the game but should have reacted a lot better after the Minnesota goal. As soon as that ball went into the net he should have been on the whistle to give him the ball. Refs are told to separate the teams as quickly as possible after a goal, in those situations, with the ball ideally being in the hands of the ref or the team that just scored getting out of the box/half. Ochoa made an absolute meal of the "tackle" by the Minnesota player. He went down as soon as the player came near him. I'm not even sure he had been touched yet and was on the floor. It made the whole thing look worse - which is 100% his intention. What cracks me up in that is that at every level of the game now (even the u9 kids I coach) there are multiple balls at the field. You don't need to go get that one. Go get the one behind the goal and put it at midfield. I'm surprised Fisher didn't take it as an opportunity to give Ochoa and the Minnesota player a yellow card. It would have been the perfect way to get ahead of Ochoa's further antics and get the ball in his control.
Agreed. Ochoa went down like a sack of potatoes as soon as Minny's player was near him. I think he's in a tough position after the goal. If he lets Minnesota get the ball and run it up to midfield for a quick start and then they come back down and score, we'd all be saying he needs to do better to slow the restart. If he hams it up too much to delay the restart he's accused of using the dark arts. A more experienced keeper probably handles the situation better. Like you said, it's best if the ref takes the ball to avoid the confrontations in the net.
I'm pretty sure that Rimando did a lot of the same as Ochoa. Also.. kicking the ball into the stands? It wasn't like he launched a line drive. He punted it high. That looks like sad whining on the Minnesota fans, and an excuse for the frustrated players to come at various RSL players.
Statistical Notes from WhoScored: The overall rating for the two teams was pretty close (RSL: 6.66; MIN: 6.52) with the top two rated players being Julio (8.3) and Rubin (7.7). The next three best players were all on Minnesota (Reynoso, Metanire, and Lod). Next best for RSL was Kreilach, who I thought had a quiet game but did the small things to make a difference, obviously. RSL was out-shot 11-23 in the game, but was able to put 4 on target compared to Minnesota's 2. That's a horrible rate from them and not an overly great one from RSL. Julio just had 2 shots in the game and scored on both, that's something. Possession was tilted towards Minnesota (56/44) but, as mentioned before, Ruiz dominated the game with 7.4%./ The next closest RSL player was Glad at 5% and Kreilach at 5.2%. Rusnak had 4.1%, which felt low for what we should do. Julio only had 1.1%. Passing was ugly in this game for a professional level match. Minnesota completed 81% of their passes, RSL 76%. The best non-subbed in player was Luiz at 91% and Trapp at 91%. Ochoa was at 53%, which isn't overly surprising given the number of times he just sent the ball long. Frustrating was Toia at 68%, though. Dribbles favored Minnesota 13-2. That's quite a difference, especially with Freddy's known tactical approach of finding the wingers and letting them take players on. The two players with successful dribbles for RSL were Rubin and Ruiz. Reynosos, on the other hand, had 7 successful dribbles. Herrera completed the most tackles in the game at 5, which doesn't surprise me given that he has Rusnak in front of him. I think Herrera is going to be our Tony Beltran in that he'll be asked to defend on an island a lot. Reynoso was far and away the player with the most touches (103) with Ruiz the next closest at 88. That's what an attacking midfielder who wants to control the game looks like. Kreilach, for comparison, had just 61 touches on the ball. On the flip side, Reynoso loss possession for Minnesota 9 times. That's a pretty terrible rate for him or any attacking mid. Rubin loss possession 6 times for RSL which, given the setup of things, isn't all that surprising. Minnesota, unsurprisingly, dominated the passing stats. They attempted 515 to RSL's 428. Of the numerous categories of passes WhoScores tracks (e.g.: long, short, freekick, corner, etc) RSL only led in 3 areas: Throw In, Long, and passes in the defensive third. So... that's not great Surprising on the passing side of things, though, was the leaders. Ruiz was the leader for RSL at 73 - that isn't a surprise. But Gasper, at 76, was the leader of the game and for Minnesota. Reynoso looked a bit selfish at 71 given how much of the ball he saw. All in all, a fairly even game that tilted in Minnesota's favor if you had to pick a side. The telling part was just how poor Minnesota was in front of goal. To only put 2 shots on target of 23 is just indefensible.
The striker went in with both knees to the abdomen. Ochoa could have been seriously injured (he’s already injury prone). As Ochoa was milking it I was thinking “He’s completely justified in making the most of this.” My mind hasn’t changed on this.
Minnesota only putting 2 shots on target out of 23 attempts is eerily similar to some of RSL’s outputs last season.