Anyone going to this game? Sounds like it should be fun as I'm bringing alot of friends and hoping for a great game.
It will be interesting to see what the attendance is tonight. Could be on the low side with the Flyers game on and possible thunderstorms. I heard a Sky Blue was trying to get a bus of fans to come down. Should be interesting.
Was at the game tonight....surprised at how quiet it was... I was the loudest person there and my side of the field (left of the Philly Bench in the Blue section) Some quick thoughts Ease of getting to and Stadium: Very easy to find the stadium, Parking lots were nice. Stadium was setup nicely, got program as I only know half the team for Philly. Food Prices were great 1 dollar for a bottle of water, 3.50 for a large pretzel. Team stuff... prices were what you find at Schukyl Valley sports (The store local to me has all the apparell and frequent player apppearances) Field has the football lines so that is a bit disapointing, Other wise this is a very nice venue and setup was well done Fan Base: Quiet (Charge Games were pretty quiet back in 2003, so not unexpected) Supporters group - (Daughters of Betsy)non existant near as I could tell. very disappoiting, no drums, a few scattered noise makers... most fans did not know how to use Thunder sticks, some one did have a horn, but I never heard it during the game.. I did not here the social chit chat that I constantly hear at Sky Blue games Need to have someone organize the and inspire the fans during the game, the biggest cheers were for the autographed Tshirts being thrown into the stands The twilight give away was for younger kids and not the mid teens that the movie was aimed at (that was from the gate people) Game: Was very well played by both sides, the first half was very competitive... Not sure what Philly was doing in the second half but were less agressive and lopping more longballs that failed... They did manage to keep SB from scoring and that counts for something Players: Got to see some that we know: Had a shout with Heather O'Reilly when she came on the field and saw her later My lovely wife baked 2 nice sized loafs of banana bread for LeBlanc...said hi to Kacey White chatted that we would be up to she them at Sky Blue My Daughters have a new buddy in Amy Rodregues. SHe calls my daughters KK's Girls... AMy seems to be playing much better for Philly Falk, Very impressed with her... Mentioned to her that we were SOL fans because we we had some connections with the team... Henderson was in goal very solid, just got beat on the one goal Amy and Lindsay goals were sweet, wish the attack continued in th second half Mitts was not playing due to a sprain, but we got to talk to her I am still trying to get to know the players so forgive me if I don't know them all Overall, I was great to be at the game and get to talk to many of the players, I did promise O'[Reilly that we would come to Sky Blue and cheer for them, we will have to Pick a game where Philly is not there... I will link up some pics soon
I was also at the game in the yellow section and try to make as much noise but what can one person do. Some fans are really fustrating as they just sit there and don't even move a muscle. I don't know if you were in the section in which the little kid and her friend was trying to get the wave started, which was adorable, and it never got by my section. It was always just the blue and yellow section responding as the next section was like a dead zone in which nothing got past it . As for the actual game, the real soccer was in the first half were we got killed in the mid field but we did capitalize on our chances and that was enough. Random observations: 1. Our mid fielders, except Lindsey, are all afraid to lead the attack and would always give the back pass to Lindsey who then brings it forward. I think this is were we miss Seger (what happened to her foot ) yesterday as she is not afraid to attack. 2. I have never seen a forward who has her back perpetually to the goal as Sanderson. She's a hard worker no doubt but if you're always recieving the ball with your back to goal and have to make the turn, you're not score many goals. 3. Philly still do not yet have a true left back and that showed in the last 2 games against WSH and SBFC as we were very vunerable on that side as Senty was getting beat all the time. I know Magnusdottir for the past games have been playing forward but she really haven't done anything significant so I won't be surprised if the next game she is moved back as the LB with the freedom to roam up top. 4. It seems Jersey have all the players back except Lloyd as Schnur, Kai (heavily straped) and Rampone all played yesterday. Their team is solid to their lack of finishing is worrying. The were two times yesterday when Henderson was caught of position and goal was empty and SBFC opted to pass the ball back for a better shot when they could have taken the shot and hoped for the deflection as our defense was scrambling at that point. In the second half, we really didn't test their defense at all as at one point it seemed like it was a game of catch between Henderson and Bardsley. All in all, it was a great game as the predicted thunderstorms didn't come at all.
We were in the Blue section sitting across from the girls.... I was the loudmouth yelling GO PHILLY.. and we had the woodpecker (Great noise maker btw) my youngest smashed through 3 thunder sticks and clearly knew how to use them If they let me, I would consider bringing a bull horn, but I think that they would worry what others in the stands would say (It would save my voice though)
some of the pics my daughter and I took http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2039069&l=5dd2673ca9&id=1280076874
Appreciate both game write ups by pasoccerdad and blaze 20, always nice to get a first hand description of the game and hear what it was like at the game. New players - tricky situation for coach/GM as current record pretty good for a first year team. They drafted much better and wiser than ATL. I would say Philly needs more depth (probably why they picked up DiMartino) and also a natural left back as mentioned (though tough to find, Frida might be their best bet here). I think Fletcher is a right back or defensive mid type. Klein might be another player to look at.