Backline? I thought they played well even under pressure all night... It would have helped if we had kept possession for any length of time, but Chivas kept pressuring constantly. 1st goal was the fault of Kamara\Sapong in the box. Sapong not going after the ball, Kamara losing his mark... Second goal was an offside trap but a forward (can't remember if it was kei or CJ) didn't pull forward... neither of those are direct reflections of the backline, IMO. Other than Auvray, seemed our midfield was almost non-existent...
Nice 3 points to start the season. Our defending on set pieces was poor, and will obviously need some work. Bravo, well, what can I say. He's a great addition to the team. Sapong was impressive, and Auvray did a solid job breaking up plays in the midfield.
The backline got caught out of place a few times, the majority of the time pretty early in the game. As the time went on, the D solidified. Sassano never really looked that good, but that won't be a big worry once Harrington is back. Besler/Cesar were both composed and passed well, but I still think we could benefit from a larger, more dominating CB (Conrad/Thomas.) After a few more games, I'm sure the backline will be much better after being able to build more chemistry. Strong offensive performance. Sapong was a very pleasent surprise. A lot to look forward to this season.
The midfield looked weak and had a lot of turnovers. The defense played well and held their position, hopefully that will take some pressure off the holding midfielder so that he can help control the midfield. But, most importantly they got the 3 points to start the season and 10 game road trip.
too early to try to figure out where Smith, and Teal fit in? CJ is young but man he knows how to use his body well.
3 points on the road are 3 points on the road. A bit ugly at times, but 3 points on the road are 3 points.
Tonight was wonderful. Boys really brought a lot of heat to LA, got the result and hope they can ride the momentum on to Chicago. Watch party was grand too, lots of free beer abound from the team and Johnny's. Really regretted having to drive..........
Now that I'm enjoying my celebratory McCallan 12 year old, here are my player thoughts... Jimmy - Can't be blamed for the goals. Absolutely awesome foot save in the first half that kept the game from being 1-1. That probably was 50% of the difference between a win and a draw. Sassano - nice fill in for Harrington. Not much to mention, which is a good thing when you are a defender. Chivas tried to take advantage of him early, and had a bit of success, but none of it lead to a goal. He held his ground and performed well. Cesar - some nice saves and positioning. First impression is that his experience puts him in positions to be successful. Besler - see Cesar. Good clearances. Neither goal can really be blamed on the D. A bad bounce and a poor job by CJ in getting OUT caused our goals. Espinoza - What we've come to expect. I really thing we have one of the more solid LBs in MLS in Roger. The sequence where he juked the guy and played the ball to Cesar in the center was nice. Rochastle/Auvrey - solid, ball busting d mids. Either will work, although it may be more difficult when the other team has more fire power. Hope Rochastle isn't out for a long time, but Auvrey was ready to step in on short notice. Stojcev - I couldn't have told you this guy was on the field in the first half. Then in the 2nd half he explodes on to the scene. Nice long range shot, but also some nice runs out of the midfield with the ball. Dude looks like he's got some skill. Davy - Typical. Nothing more, nothing less. Kamara - What pace. What ups. His service into the middle to Brave won us the game. His value is there and less in his long distance shooting (one long shot goal last year does not make you a long shot expert). Good game, keep up the hustle. Sapong - Nice early goal. But please watch the replay, the guy nearly gave up on the play. He stepped back thinking "well, the keepers got it" then saw the ball bounce free, pounced and scored. Granted, it worked out, but he should be all over the defender to force the error instead of being lucky that the error happened. Great finish though, and what a start to a career. Must learn from the 2nd goal. You have to exit the defensive area when the ball is cleared. His laziness lead to a man being on side and a goal from it. In most games that will cost us points. Rookie mistake for sure, but we'll only let it slide because we won. Bravo - WHAT TOUCH. Both goals displayed the touch of a pure pro and vet. It was what Lopez was supposed to bring us but never quite could. He has the speed, quickness and ball skills that will make our attack scary to every team in the league. I wondered what he would bring, would he have the same fear that he brought to the USMNT each time we played them, and I wasn't disappointed. Great debut. Overall this game should have been 3-1, and we were clearly the better team. From what I saw out of Chicago we should expect another 3 points next weekend and we should be 6-9 point in before we enter the tough stretch of our road trip. Now get Teal healthy and we're set.
Oh, and I like Cesar. Not a very big guy, but that backheel to Espinoza in traffic to get out of trouble was sweet.
Absolutely. We had Teal on the bench tonight for goodness sake. Harrington at RB, Auvrey able to come in 10 minutes in. And yet all along we appeared to be the better side? Granted, Chivas isn't a playoff caliber team IMO but you won't get to plat a each team's house once now, so we have to make it count. We must win at Chicago.
Rewatching the match already and I have one question: did they put a mic near our traveling guys, guys that loud or is the mic naturally near the away fans? Cause I can hear every chant and it sounds great for an away game.
I hate to be the debbie downer here, but we will be killed by any team that knows how to keep the ball at their feet. We lost the ball WAY to much, and the first touch in the mid field was WEAK. If we want to be the best, we need to work on that. All of last year we look great when we kept the ball moving around, but it only lasted 5 mins of 90mins. The same was about tonight. I would love to cheer for the victory, and I have for last hour, but the truth is we are lacking a lot in the form keeping the ball. to many balls were lost in the midfield. If we want to be good. We need to be able to hold onto the ball. I didn't see that tonight. Love the win, but I think against a team like RSL... We might be going for a tie.
Should have asked him when I when he popped into the urinal next to me earlier in the men's room. Class act that he came out, awesome guy.
Behind Bravo. Our left side is gonna be sick. Week 1. Only 7 of our regular starters actually started. Overthinking it.
That's a bold statement. Our depth worries me a lot. We were playing a pretty weak Chivas team whose poor defense contributed to our goals. Our problems from last year were prevelant tonight. I am pleased to get 3 points on the road and Bravo could very well be the answer to our offensive problems but I dont think we should get too excited. Our clearance on defense was piss poor. I think maybe I missed something but where the hell was Harrington tonight? He wasnt even on the bench. I dont recall hearing about him being injured.
Probably in the minority, but I thought Cesar was our best player tonight. Solid, under control, great possession, great positioning. Bravo was the offensive player of the game but was a bit shaky at first. Besler was solid defensively but didn't value the ball enough. Sapong is an athletic freak. He and Kei are a dangerous explosive duo. Sassano was a solid fill-in for Harrington. Espinoza was solid. Jimmy played well. Davy was solid. Auvrey was good off the bench. Could have possessed more against a poor Chivas team but we got 3 points on the road. The last 2 minutes of the first half right before the goal was A+ soccer. Too bad we didn't see more of that.
Yes. Yes. WHEN ARE WE GOING TO SEE YOU AGAIN?!? You should've driven into downton tonight. Agreed with all the points and stuff.
I got season tix for the first time so I'll be around quite a bit. If there's another big watch party or meet the players event I'll be there too. I've never been as excited for a pro sports season as this one.