Wow, it's summer and you guys are still wearing heavy jackets and beanies. I love northern weather. Can't stand the heat. Granted it's not very hot right now, but I don't really even like 80 degree weather. BTW, are they still counting that second goal as an OG? It was clearly a shot on goal that took a deflection. That should have been a goal for Sabo.
Actually, it's still spring here. It was nice and warm before the storm came thru and it dumped some snow in the mountains above SLC. During late spring storms, we can even get snow in the valleys. It doesn't happen every year, but snow in June isn't completely unheard of.
Man it must be lovely to get the occasional reprieve from the heat in June. Last summer here in Dallas was brutal. And even though it's not that hot this year I'm still kinda traumatized by it, lol. I grew up in Buffalo but have lived here for two decades, so I always envy people who can wear jackets in May.
Very exciting game, I loved the pure joy that erupted at Borcher's goal. I also loved Dallas coach's reaction to our second goal, he turned to the bench and, with a puzzled look, asked, "What was that?" Classic.
This is a good observation...he hit that shot near post and Reynish was positioned well iirc. I think Jackson actually beat three guys once. But yeah, Beltran took some chances, didn't stay in front of Jackson, and it was ugly. I thought Tanaka was far more abused in the first half by Benitez though. Reynish was clearly rattled and let a lot of balls fly by that he could/should have challenged. Dallas is fast. They have some real talent - for all his clownishness Perez is an excellent player with a wicked shot. They're going to give people trouble. If you flip it around I'm sure Dallas feels just as anxious about some of our attackers (Espy on the wing, Sabo shooting). Today in the clear light of day I can just enjoy the exultation of that final shot and feel pretty comfortable knowing we put pressure on Dallas all night and that many of our non-top11 got some good experience and confidence last night.
Tanaka was good overall. He did a lot better offensively than he did defensively so I guess that makes him our new Russel. I think Steele was great this game. If only he could play like that for 90+... I thought Reynish was too nervous, he wasn't playing with confidence. That's probably what led to the second Dallas goal, but I'm not just talking about that one instance, he was pretty weak overall tonight and we've seen him play a lot better before. Yordany was great. That is all.
I wouldn't mind if Yordany and KB5 played together at times. I thought a Yordany played a helluva game even with some of his tackles.
I'd love to see this more. Would be a great way to lock down a match without putting the entire XI inside the box.
I wonder if he could play rb/lb? I have no problems with Tanaka he just needs more quality playing time.
Man, I hadn't looked at the standings until just now, and either FC Dallas has been really unlucky, or were playing incredibly well last night, but that didn't look to me like a team that is 3-8-4 (WLD) on the season. It seems like they've got talent all over the field, and one of the best CB's in the league in John. How are they doing so poorly? I guess I should pay more attention to other teams.
I watched the second half over again tonight because DW hadn't watched it yet. I was watching to see how Beltran did while she was watching the whole game. Virtually every time that Beltran was beaten it was because Dallas double teamed him. I'll grant that the second goal was somewhat due to our shifting to compensate, but I stand by my assertion that Beltran wasn't getting owned by Jackson, because it generally took two Dallas players to take advantage of him. I suspect that it was considered an effective tactic because Beltran has a tendency to try to control the ball and find an outlet pass rather than simply clear. By double-teaming him they can increase their chances of stealing it off of him, which happened a good bit early in the first half. He adjusted, but they persisted. The double teaming was still partially effective, though. I can't see how being double teamed means that Beltran was owned last night. Hardly a player in the league can manage to not suffer the consequences of a double team all night.
I really didn't see it either and you are right that Beltran tends to hold the ball and look to pass instead of trying to clear. I missed the game last night and just finished watching it. I thought it was pretty entertaining and I was getting nervous even though I knew the outcome. I thought the weak spot was Gil. I don't know if they just don't trust him yet or he isn't as assertive as Javi in demanding the game be played through him. Either he just disappears or hasn't quite learned how to stay in the game like Javi. You can see the potential. I liked what Yordany brought to the game. He has the bite like Beckerman and maybe even better skills on the ball when it comes to passing. He had some sweet passes, like Tanaka, that created some pretty nice chances. Several that Fabi uncharacteristically left on the pitch. For the most part I thought RSL played well enough to deserve the points. Kyle really looked out of sorts. He played better in Chicago. He looked a little like Perk for LA vs. SJ. Indecisive and easily frozen in place. Make a decision and execute with confidence. Borchers and Olave did a pretty great job in the middle and Will was more than solid. Great win. RSL this season are finding ways to win and playing with confidence no matter what the situation or score. That's the sign of a very good team. I'm excited for the rest of the season.
One other thing, I really enjoyed Ian Joy on the broadcast. I thought he did a great job not over talking and simply making some pretty good color commentator comments. Is he on the Dallas broadcasts now?
Which is funny. Ex-RSLer and RSL's PBP guy doing the Dallas broadcast. I know they tried but I am sure if I were a Dallas fan watching, I would probably be upset by the RSL slant to game.
Yeah, unlike Dunny, Ian knows when the hell to shut up. He also has a much better voice than Dunseth and it's not just because of the accent (though that does help). I would love to have Joy become our color guy is Dunny moves on to bigger things (which seems to be the case, so good on him) As for the Beltran thing, he did paint himself into a lot of corners in this game. I know we are a side that values possession, but our outside backs shouldn't be looking to beat the other teams forwards with the ball at their feet in our own half. Dallas saw that Tony wasn't just going to knock it up the line like Wingert loves to do so they applied a smart double team. And yeah, it lead to a lot of problems. Still, I think Tony got exposed whenever Dallas was given a chance to run at us. The wing play for Dallas is something special, and they didn't even have Shea on the pitch. Jackson, if running at Tony, would beat him 6 or 7 times out of 10. That's a terrible ratio for a defender.
Huh. That's weird. The Salt Lake broadcast had Fox Sports Southwest graphics on it, and they were doing promos for tournaments in Dallas and such.
You assert these numbers, but it doesn't make it so. I rewatched the game to see if there was any evidence of it and I simply didn't see it (nor did others who have repped my earlier post). I think you let your perception of Jackson's Brazilian speed overwhelm the reality of how effective it was one-on-one with Beltran. Beltran only was beaten once by Jackson that I saw, and it did result in a corner kick for Dallas, but that was it. Otherwise it was double teams on him and they were only effective in the first part of the first half. Later, they were not so effective.
A few thoughts on this match (probably a few controversial ones): - Reynish was clearly to blame for the 2nd FCD goal, but he was probably also to blame for the first one. Watch the replay and notice the big looping cross that was headed at the top of the 6, then there's a furious scramble in front of goal prior to Hedges' shot. Reynish should have come out and nabbed the initial cross, but he stepped out and then retreated. Bad decision. - Sabo was in as good of a mood as I've ever seen him after the match. - I think Grabavoy should be RSL's 2nd-choice corner kick taker (behind Morales) when he's available...I thought his corners were well placed, and far better than what Beckerman's been offering up this year. - I talked to one experienced RSL player (off the record) who said that Jackson is "the dirtiest player I've ever played against." Said Jackson was hacking at ankles and doing stuff away from the ball all night. I'm not going to say who this player was because I respect his desire to remain off the record, but he would be considered an authority having played against pretty much every attacker in the league. - I hate to say it, but I don't think the Borchers goal should have counted. Watch the replay - Espy completely flattens Zach Loyd right before Borchers shoots. Had Loyd not gone down, Borchers' shot would have hit him in the chest. Watch the replay and keep an eye on Loyd...he's wearing pink boots. So there's my controversial thoughts...let's hear yours.
I had to rewatch it a few times because I had thought Loyd had fallen trying to clear it. Yeah it does look like Espindola kicked his leg out. It appears he's trying to shoot it, but does hit him pretty good.
Yup. RSL got away with one there. Regardless of whether there was actually a foul (opinions vary - go read the FCD board, they're about 50/50 on it), there definitely appeared to be a foul, and it would have been justifiable to call a foul. IMO, it's one of those things in soccer (and maybe MLS in particular) that you try to remember to take the sting out of the times RSL has been/will be screwed. No MLS team is immune! SIDE NOTE: That sequence wouldn't have happened but for Ned Grabavoy COMPLETELY selling out to try and win that header. Y'all watch the replay again because he's badass.