[R] SoB vs Phila Falcons - Pre/Post Match Commentary

Or will the stench kill him?

 

What a guy.

 

Davey was on his game today too... Saved out butts from it being a true embarrassment.

 

I second that, Davey (Week 1 MVP) definitely was on his A game today, however, now we expect it every week! Everybody did pretty well, we just need to work on making it back on D, making it up on O and filling the onion bag. The stamina will come on its own, but from what we showed today we should be alright once we get used to eachother and playing 11v11 for 90 (thank God for the 10 minute break today due to the heat). Great job boys, the 22nd will be a different story Im sure

 

Great game by Daveykins today. We need to communicate more out there...defensemen need to find a man and stick him, offense needs to be more aggressive and make more runs. Everyone needs to get their fitness up. We've got a lot of potential and I had a lot of fun out there. We need a practice at 10AM next Saturday.

 

Definitely was a good time even thought we lost 5-0. The score is a bit deceiving b/c I think we played well in the first half (they had that late goal). Fitness is definitely a weakness but we just need to work out more.

 

My ankle is all messed up now, but all in all it was a good day.

 

It was great to see you all today. Sure, I'm competitive as hell so losing sucked, but overall it was still an incredible joy to be out there playing as part of this team.

It's a shame that we lost Doug. Here's to a quick recovery for him and our other walking wounded.

Given injuries and how completely exhausted we were by the end of the game, I think we need a few more players. CASA free agents were supposedly scooped up to form a new team, so lets invite friends and fellow SOBs and do it quick!

I'm pumped for practice at 10am next Saturday. I say we go to the Pennypack park fields where we'll be playing the remainder of our games. You can find directions at http://www.phillysoccer.org/field.html. It looks like there will be some adjacent open space we can use if there's not an open field.

 

huh?

 

Yes, Dave made some very big saves yesterday. Well done.

Good effort from everyone that was there. It was definitely a close game until that third goal just into the 2nd half which really deflated us (it was just a terrific effort by the guy who scored it).

Unfortunately, I'm on vacation for the next two weeks and will miss the practice and next game, but I had a few of thoughts to pass along:

1) Fitness levels - true, it was very hot out there, but we have to get in better shape in order to compete. You can get hurt any time when you're playing, but you're most susceptible when you are tired. Running or playing at least once a week will do wonders for all of us (myself included).

2) Formation - Playing with a sweeper really helped in the 2nd half and I think we should use one just behind the three defenders. Also, we should bag the holding role in midfield and just play four across in midfield. They really exploited the gaps that we had in this area and once we switched to a sweeper format, you don't need a holding mid anymore.

Also, we need to stay more compact in our formation. The gaps between midfield and the backline was pretty large at times. While much of that has to do with fitness, formation and not having really played together before, it's something that we should all be mindful of.

3) We need more players. Even though we had 16 guys yesterday, we're were down to 12 very quickly. Plus, we won't have the people that were there yesterday all of the time so it's important to have a cushion.

For our first time playing together (we probably don't even know everyone's names yet), we did pretty well. I know that we can build on that. It's just one match and really doesn't mean that much since everyone makes the play-offs anyway.

 

There is still a lot of free agents availalble if you want to pick up more people

 

I agree w/George, especially regarding our need for more presence at midfield. It was like we were playing a 5-3-2 at times. I noticed that mostly in the 2nd half so definately part of it was due to exhaustion.
Another thing is that we played very directly forward when we gained possession on offense, and were chasing after ourselves most of the game, which become very difficult in that heat and w/our fitness once the game went on. When we could string a few short passes together in midfield and show for each other, it allowed more of a transition and we got bigger numbers forward. They didn't respect us much in the offensive third, but didn't have to b/c we had difficulty moving as a team up the field. On the other hand, I thought we moved and positioned well on defense for the most part.
I'm not against the long ball tactic if it will create the good scoring opportunity, but if and when the short drop pass or lateral to an open midfielder will give the rest of the team time to move forward into space, we should use that. We do have some speed up front, but against a quicker defense we may not be able to rely on speed alone.
I had a great time, and I think we've got some good skills and great defenders that can go forward as well, some particularly nice runs down the side showed that.
George you will certainly be missed but we'll have to make due. The good thing is I think anyone can play just about anywhere on the field if need be.

 

I think we need to consider having a roating sweeper. I know we hate the sweeper position but until we find our fitness level this will allow some of the mids to come back to rest. Especially the quicker and more fit midfielders .

I know towards the end of the game I could barely even mark up. With a sweeper it allowed for those type of fitness mistakes. Let me know your thoughts.

 

Agree with a lot of the recent posts . Practice is a must. Even if we get 10 guys, thats still 10 guys getting some work in and some touches. If we can't do anything, I think we each need to run for at least 20 minutes two-three times over the next two weeks, just to get the fitness level up a bit more. I was honestly a little surprised by the other team. They played on the same page but definitely had some weaknesses and weren't all that skilled.

A sweeper will help keep things together in the back but we need to hold our marks both in the back and MF and win more of the 50-50 balls in the center of the field. Hopefully we get 15-20 players on the 22nd and have a better showing.

 

hey everyone its fitz... hopefully my knee is healed up enough i have no problem playing midfield... our structure is definitely the most important thing for success... i also talked to Davey about adding a few extra guys because of how much absence is anticipated for whatever reason... if everyone is okay with it i have two good guys who would make a nice addition to our team...

I also hope everyone or as many as possible will be able to make it out to the game on Sunday ... i def think it will be good for us to kick around and get to know each other better ... i have a rather large party the night before but have no doubt in my mind that i will be there... so i hope the same for all of you...

hope weekend is well...

fitz