So I'm finally getting around to a review and only a week and a half late! Oh yes! I'm just that good. Let's get right to it.
The RSL lineup was basically what was expected:
Esky leading up front with Espi and C. Brown.
Talley, Beckerman, and Sturgis manning the midfield.
Kotschau, Mantilla, Pope, and Wingert across the back.
Oddly, we haven't seen much of Kipre lately, not sure why he pulled a Forko and disappeared. Did the Ivory Coast call him up so we had to feign another injury? Also, Brown over Findley AGAIN! AGH! Also, Esky is without the headgear in this one, although you'd be hard pressed to tell since his hair is basically the same color (and shape). To the game!
Kyle Beckerman opened the game (and his return to Colorado) with a sweet karate kick to Cancela's midsection, earing a yellow card just 5 seconds into the game. My problem here is that if you are going to karate kick someone, at least let it be Pablo! Then the Crapid fans kick in with a "Where's your lion?" chant, as if anyone in Salt Lake cares about our mascot. Ooooo, you really got us guys! L A M E. Fourth minute, Red Card Kots is beaten downfield by Cooke but makes a nice recovery to get back on the play, recoveries and saving the day will be his hallmark on the night. Tenth minute, Mantilla with a lazy cross field ball that is intercepted and rushed forward on attack, luckily Colorado is unable to do anything with it. Still 0-0. Soon after, RSL fouls just outside of the box, but the wall does its job and denies Kirovski. Well done. In the 14th, a bouncing ball comes downfield and as Rimando goes up for it Clark comes in trying to head it and levels Nick who goes down injured. Wingert pounces on the loose ball and clears it and RSL smartly fouls near midfield to stop play and get Rimando checked out. In the 17th, Chris Brown uses some good positioning (yes a Brown compliment on the RR, believe it or not) to force a dangerous play on the edge of the box. Unfortunately, Brown is forced to rush a play by an onrushing Condoul and puts it WAY out of bounds. Fortunately, Brown is flattened by Condoul, which made me happy in a twisted way. In the 19th, Beckerman goes 1 on 1 with Petke wide right, but can't break him down. He needs to do better with opportunities such as that. In the 21st, Terry Cooke, who had been limping around nearly all game, finally gives up and comes off for Jacob Peterson. Bonus for RSL, Colorado has burned a sub very early. The next 10 minutes or so have Pablo being his douchebag self, cheap shotting RSL players left and right. He even comes in, runs over Sturgis, then complains about being called for a foul, while making a baby sucking his thumb gesture about Sturgis. Classy. Then came the 32nd minute. Clark got behind the entire RSL team on a nice through ball, juked past Rimando, and...hits the crossbar and on entirely open goal. Or as RSL superfan Garth Algar would say... In the 36th, Clark appeals for a penalty, but is thankfully denied, as a) the ball looked to have been out of bounds on the sideline seconds before and b) the tackle by Mantilla was pretty clean. Still tied. Soon after, Espindola gets a 1 on 1 with Condoul only to put it right into Bouna's stomach as he fell to block the ball. RSL needs a better finish there! Colorado comes back the other way with Casey all alone about 6 yards out diagonal right, but he pulls an RSL and puts it into the side netting. Some terrible RSL defending left him all alone. RSL goes back the other way less than a minute later, but two Becks crosses find no one as the RSL forwards continue their year long theme of not crashing the box. Ugh... In the 40th RSL catches another break as the Crapids are forced to use another sub after an injury to Ihemelu. On comes old man Tony Sanneh, who makes a difference in the 44th, by getting in front of a big Esky shot after he had beaten pretty much the whole team coming down the field. A nice run by Esky, but unfortunately he is denied. After just 2 minutes of stoppage time, which seemed a bit short after 4 injuries: Cooke, Ihemelu, Rimando, and a minor stoppage for Talley, the half ended 0-0.
Half grade: C+
The defense was iffy but RSL did create a few chances. While they did seem to have more possession than Colorado, they seemed unable to advance the ball past midfield, with a lot of balls going back and forth around the back 4, before someone would bomb a long ball upfield. Findley is much more suited to a long ball game than Brown, but guess who's in? Sigh... Colorado looks fairly complacent seeing as how they are at home and HAVE TO win to have a chance at the playoffs. They just seem to be bunkering and looking for a counter. Odd.
The second half started with RSL getting another bonus. As they switched fields, the wind picked up and RSL now would have a 30+ MPH wind at their back for the duration of the half. Lucky lucky. After kickoff, Sturgis came out with passion and was all over and in every play for about 5 minutes. Nice to see some flashes of what could be out of the kid. In the 48th, Clark comes down with the ball and does what few others have, he totally beats Eddie Pope, but his shot is poor and is right to Nick. A couple minutes later Esky puts a nice ball into the box that is quickly passed to a waiting Espi at the edge of the 18. Rather than put a quick shot on goal, or passing to one of a number of open teammates, he tries to force the issue (1 v. 3), dances around, and is dispossessed. He seems to be forcing a lot in this game, rather than getting his team involved. In the 52nd, Colorado counters with Wingert ending up behind Clark who puts a nice little cross into the box. Kotschau saves the day by getting a shoelace on it and breaking up the pass. Very nice recovery by Ritchie. (Note: the following needs its own paragraph)
A minute later saw the end of an era. EDDIE POPE was subbed off for Chris Lancos, ending his professional soccer career. Thanks for everything Eddie, you will be missed!
In the 55th, Espi puts a cross into the box, unfortunately he didn't bother to look and see if anyone in white was withing 10 yards (they weren't) and it was cleared no problem. However, this was typical of RSL on the night (and the year), their crosses NEVER find anyone on the right team. Hopefully the staff will find a way to fix this next year. Speaking of Espi, in the 57th he was subbed out for Robbie Findley putting RSL's two golden boot candidates on the field at once. Espi was active but forced things a bit too much. While I'd have liked to have seen RF for Brown, this was a good sub. Right after, Peterson hit an absolute rocket which Nicky dove after and pushed wide. Nice save! The 59th saw RSL finally break a ten minute or so run of play for Colorado. The team was finally able to find some openings to pass upfield, getting it to Esky wide. Esky made some sweet moves to get free and put a pretty cross into the box for Beckerman. Unfortunately, Pablo got his foot about 1/4 inch past Beckerman's and cleared it away, but it was nice to see an RSL cross that was actually dangerous. Colorado then decided to use its final sub in the 61st, somewhat oddly subbing Omar Cummings in for Jovan Kirovski. Once again, at home, needing a win, and with no other subs I'm not sure I sub offense for offense. I think I take someone out of midfield, or go 3 in the back and really try to push for a goal. I can see why Crapid fans question Big Poppa Clav. This also means Mehdi Ballouchy will not get off the bench. A solid starter for a bench warmer, what an amazing trade that was. Thanks again Crapids! About this time, the wind, which had already been playing tricks, seemed to come even more into play. It was very reminiscent of the Metrostars/RSL match in '05, with balls flying backwards. Very interesting to watch. Cummings tried to give the Crapids the lead in the 64th, splitting a couple defenders, but his shot looked like something I would do and it bobbled harmlessly away. At this point RSL had evened up the play and got a chance when a high floating ball (perhaps an attempted cross-the wind was crazy) danced around in the air and landed right in front of Findley just 3 yeards out. He attempted a header but slightly mis-hit it and it went wide near post. Some may think he should've tried to settle it, but I like the decision with the goalie and a defender right in front of him and the ball probably going to take a 20 foot bounce and catch up in the wind again anyway. Either way, still tied, 0-0. On the ensuing play the ball came across for Talley who attempted a pretty and entertaining, but fairly unnecessary, bicycle kick that went wide. From where he was positioned, that shot would have had to be on a rope to go in anyway, but it was fun to watch nevertheless. In the 71st, RR and RSL fan favorite Chris Brown had an amazing chance after Cripids defender Erpen put a stellar cross into the box for him. Instead of scoring on a basically open net, Brown instead bobbled it and knocks it out of bounds. Doesn't this guy get paid to score goals? That one was harder to miss than to get. Pathetic. Colorado quickly countered and put not one, but two great crosses through the box, unfortunately for them no one was able to get on the end of them. Their finishing has been VERY reminiscent of RSL's. Everything is wide or missed, thankfully for RSL. In the 73rd, Kreis inserts Williams for Brown, much to my delight, especially after that pathetic play just moments earlier. Esky then puts a free kick on net, forcing a big save from Condoul. Nicely done. Then Colorado seemed to finally remember that they needed to actually win this game and showed a little urgency. A first attack was again broken up by a heads up Kotschau play, but the second wave was dangerous. It was classic RSL defending with the ball bouncing around the penalty area but no one clearing. Usually these situations lead to opposition goals, but somehow Colorado squandered the opportunity and Mantilla hit an amazingly dangerous header BACKWARDS off his head to Rimando. Craziness. In the 78th, RSL went on the attack but a dangerous ball near post from Findley to Esky was JUST broken up, keeping the game scoreless. In the 81st, Findley took one of his patented runs past the defense, going one on one with Condoul. He beat him, but went just a half a foot wide on the far post. This was starting to look like one of those games where everyone goes close, but no one can close the door. In the 83rd, Rimando comes off his line to knock the ball away, but doesn't get all of it. It bobbles to Clark who does...well, I'm still not sure what, I guess half pass, half shot...with it that is way, way off target and RSL is able to clear the danger. Then it happened. Finally. Talley puts a gorgeous long ball upfield onto the end of another Findley run, who is again alone with the keeper. Condoul rushes him, but Robbie calmly chips it over him with a sliding, outstretched boot and into the net. 1-0 RSL!!! RSL takes control in the Rocky Mtn. Cup! Robbie Findley clinches the RSL golden boot with his 6th RSL goal on the year (8th overall)! Very nice goal. However, as RSL so often does after a goal, they forgot the game was still going on. Colorado rushes down field forcing a jumping save by Rimando on the near post. The ball falls to Sanneh 6 yards out, right in front of an open net, who volleys it back in immediately. Rimando makes an absolutely SUPERHUMAN save flying in from out of nowhere to get a paw on it and put it over the crossbar. Watch the highlights of this game, this sequence must be seen to be believed. Guzan for GK of the Year my ass. Rimando deserves it, sorry. At this point Colorado finally started to get a bit desperate, especially Bouna Condoul who dribbled the ball to midfield numerous times the rest of the way. After 90, the ref signalled for 4 minutes of stoppage, which was obviously a home-field call to give Colorado a chance. If 4 injuries equals two minutes, a half with basically no stoppages does not equal 4. A minute into stoppage, Andy Williams nearly sealed the deal when Condoul basically handed him the ball about 40 yards from goal. However, Williams' shot went just inches wide, keeping the RSL lead at 1. Condoul nearly did it again a minute later and I'm sure Colorado fans must have been pulling their hair out every time he touched the ball in extra time. Findley made a mistake in the 3rd minute of stoppage as he went for the corner flag. He ran towards the flag but tripped over the ball, putting it out of bounds and giving Colorado a last gasp at the RMC. Seconds before the final whistle the ball clearly went out of bounds next to the RSL goal but the linesman missed it and it led to a "shot" the Erpen sent to Fort Collins. Final score: RSL 1 - Colorado 0!!! HELLO ROCKY MOUNTAIN CUP!
Half grade: B-
Some more defensive lapses and RSL was definitely helped by Colorado's poor finishing and their inexplicable lack of offensive urgency for much of the half (and game). Findley was key to getting a goal and the offense looked somewhat dangerous. Decent, but not especially good half, however, to both teams' credit, conditions were less than ideal.
Pros:
-THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN CUP IS OURS!
-Robbie Findley gets the (much deserved) RSL Golden Boot for 2007.
-Crapids are knocked out of the playoffs, at home, by RSL.
-Kotschau showed an uncanny ability to break up some dangerous attacks.
-Esky looked much more into this game than he has in a while.
-RSL does not finish with the league's worst record.
-The Colorado fans (and coach) gave Pope a well deserved ovation and nice sendoff. Well done Denver!
Cons:
-Eddie Pope is no longer anchoring the RSL back line. God help us all.
-The defense was suspect for much of the match.
-RSL's crosses, by and large, are just awful.
-12th of 13 teams is not a good thing.
Game grade: B+
Based solely on play, I give RSL a C+ in this game. However, I feel a bonus is necessary after RSL came out tough on the road, against a team that HAD to win, and scraped out a rivalry win. They also clinched the team's first Rocky Mountain Cup. While a winning season would be nice, it is great for RSL fans to have something, anything, to hang their hat on. Well done boys, see you next year!
Player grades (subs and times in parentheses):
Nick Rimando-8 Made a few misjudgements, but those late saves were incredible.
Chris Wingert-5 Not his best game. Made some nice recoveries, but was beat a few times.
Matias Mantilla-5 OK game, but he's capable of much better
Eddie Pope-6+4 Not at his best either, but 4 bonus points for lifetime achievement :)
(Chris Lancos 54)-4 Pretty invisible
Ritchie Kotschau-8 Saved RSL's bacon numerous times
Nathan Sturgis-7 Disappeared for stretches but showed flashes and was active.
Carey Talley-7 His pass led to the goal, enough said.
Kyle Beckerman-6 Up and down game, hard to judge
Chris Brown-4 Nice play early, but invisible otherwise and then choked on as easy goal
(Andy Williams 73)-6 Decent play, his breakup led to the attack and goal
Alecko Eskandarian-7 Best game in a while, active and attacking
Fabian Espindola-4 Very active, but forced the action too much. PASS THE BALL!
(Robbie Findley 57)-8 Game & Cup winning goal. Period.
Men of the Match (tie): Robbie Findley and Nick Rimando
Game winner and game saver. Nicely done.
Assclown of the match: Pablo Mastroeni
Remember that crappy movie 'Cop and a Half' (yeah, neither do I)? Pablo is starring in the sequel, 'Chump and a Half', in which he cheap shots and taunts his way through the bad guys while looking for love in the seedy Denver underworld. Rated R for extreme douchebaggery.
MLSnet highlights can be found on this page
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Playoff Predictions
Here's the RR predictions for the upcoming MLS playoffs:
Round 1:
Chivas USA over Kansas City
Houston over Dallas
DC United over Chicago
New England over New York
Round 2 (if the playoffs are formatted as I believe they are):
Houston over Chivas USA
DC United over New England
Final:
DC United over Houston
Last week:
3 right (0 exact), 4 wrong
PS-The review for the big RMC game is still forthcoming, work has thrown a wrench into my plans to have it done by now.
Round 1:
Chivas USA over Kansas City
Houston over Dallas
DC United over Chicago
New England over New York
Round 2 (if the playoffs are formatted as I believe they are):
Houston over Chivas USA
DC United over New England
Final:
DC United over Houston
Last week:
3 right (0 exact), 4 wrong
PS-The review for the big RMC game is still forthcoming, work has thrown a wrench into my plans to have it done by now.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
There is beauty all around us...
Real Salt Lake 1-0 Colorado Cripids
RSL has flushed the Crapids!
Review coming soon...
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Le Sigh
I was planning on doing a review of Monday's game, but it is now Wednesday and the farther we get from the game, the less I want to review it. Perhaps I'll throw up some player ratings or a man of the match sometime in the next day or two, but for now I would rather not fully relive the latest RSL debacle. However, while we are on the topic, I would like to give Assclown of the Match to none other than RSL's own Yura Movsisyan. While I've already made my feelings clear about makeup calls, the fact remains that they are all too prevalent in MLS (and in sports in general). Everyone knows this and so while he was clearly frustrated and probably being egged on, Yura needs to keep his head so that RSL can retain the man advantage. RSL was playing reasonably even with Houston much of the time when it was 11 v. 11, but a man up, RSL should have won this easily. Movs needs to play much smarter (and better, but that's a different post). Thanks for helping blow this one for us!
Also, here are this week's RR predictions. Now you can confidently call your local bookie!
Thursday
NY 1 - LA 2
Saturday
NERds 2 - TOR 0
(Niña, Pinta, Santa Maria, and) Columbus 1 - DCU 3
KC 1 - DAL 2
RSL 2 - Cripids 1 (RMC here we come!)
HOU 2 - Chivas 2
Sunday
LA 1 - CHI 2
(Yes, I made a (terribly corny and unfunny) Christopher Columbus joke. I'm just that good. hahaha)
Last weeks results:
5 correct (0 exact scores), 2 wrong
Also, here are this week's RR predictions. Now you can confidently call your local bookie!
Thursday
NY 1 - LA 2
Saturday
NERds 2 - TOR 0
(Niña, Pinta, Santa Maria, and) Columbus 1 - DCU 3
KC 1 - DAL 2
RSL 2 - Cripids 1 (RMC here we come!)
HOU 2 - Chivas 2
Sunday
LA 1 - CHI 2
(Yes, I made a (terribly corny and unfunny) Christopher Columbus joke. I'm just that good. hahaha)
Last weeks results:
5 correct (0 exact scores), 2 wrong
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
The weekly Royal Predictions!
Here's this week's MLS predictions, courtesy of me. Aren't I nice?
Thurs.
Chivas 1 - Dallas 1
Sat.
KC 0 - NY 2
Chicago 1 - DC 2
Columbus 2 - NERds 1
Toronto 1 - LA 3
Sun.
Cripids 0 - Chivas 2
Mon.
Houston 2 - RSL 1
Last week's predictions:
2 right (2 exact scores), 5 wrong
Thurs.
Chivas 1 - Dallas 1
Sat.
KC 0 - NY 2
Chicago 1 - DC 2
Columbus 2 - NERds 1
Toronto 1 - LA 3
Sun.
Cripids 0 - Chivas 2
Mon.
Houston 2 - RSL 1
Last week's predictions:
2 right (2 exact scores), 5 wrong
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
RSL News
A couple quick tidbits from RSL land:
-From the "It's about damn time" Department, AYL is reporting that RSL 'defender'/revolving door Jack Stewart has been released. He will be missed...oh wait, no he won't. Regardless, I wish him luck in the future.
-In other news, Bob Bradley has released the roster for the 21-man training camp for the upcoming USA Men's National team game in Switzerland. Not so surprising was the inclusion of "goalkeeper of the future" Chris Seitz, but what was a pleasant surprise was the additional call up of RSL super-rookie Robbie Findley. I like this call up a lot, I hope he shows well. With the right combination of hard work, luck, and (gulp) coaching, I think he could be a really good player one day. Congrats to both players on the call, it is well deserved. Go here for the full roster.
-From the "It's about damn time" Department, AYL is reporting that RSL 'defender'/revolving door Jack Stewart has been released. He will be missed...oh wait, no he won't. Regardless, I wish him luck in the future.
-In other news, Bob Bradley has released the roster for the 21-man training camp for the upcoming USA Men's National team game in Switzerland. Not so surprising was the inclusion of "goalkeeper of the future" Chris Seitz, but what was a pleasant surprise was the additional call up of RSL super-rookie Robbie Findley. I like this call up a lot, I hope he shows well. With the right combination of hard work, luck, and (gulp) coaching, I think he could be a really good player one day. Congrats to both players on the call, it is well deserved. Go here for the full roster.
Monday, October 8, 2007
10/6 RSL vs. Chivas USA
RSL may possibly be the unluckiest franchise in professional sports. Now, I know you make your own luck for the most part (and RSL has made plenty of bad luck over the past few years), but they are still very unlucky. This game was a perfect example. Despite being at least the equal of, if not better than, Chivas on the night, RSL came away with a 3-2 home loss. Sigh... On a side note, I'm not sure I'm helping any. Let's look at some of my favorite sports teams: the Chicago Cubs (enough said right there), the Syracuse Orangemen (shafted out of an NCAA berth in bball last year, football team is beyond terrible), the Southern Utah Thunderbirds (the less said about their sports teams, the better), and of course, RSL. So sorry RSL fans, I guess part of this is my fault! hahaha On to the review!
Some pregame thoughts:
-The weather was awful. 39 degrees, and it was raining off and on all day. Bravo to those who went out, you are a hardy breed indeed.
-It looked like Kreis sent out his B (or maybe B+) team for this one. Seitz for Rimando, Kotschau for Pope, Lancos and Forko for Kipre and Wingert, and Chris Brown for...well about anybody, but let's say Movsisyan.
Meh. That's the first half in a nutshell. The game was pretty even with neither team having much in the way of great chances. The weather didn't help matters much as both teams struggled with their first touches, although RSL's forwards were having an extra difficult time for some reason. In the first 15 minutes alone, the forwards misplayed at least 3 balls that could have been legitimate scoring chances, including one by C. Brown in the 10th minute that would have almost surely been a goal if he had settled it. In the 14th minute, Chivas caught a huge break when Alex Zotinca, already with a yellow, was not shown the door after a very late challenge on Espindola that sent him into the boards. Maybe not card worthy in all circumstances, but for a guy who already has a yellow and had made some rash decisions by that point of the game, it was definitely a debatable red. The game was pretty even and quite sloppy and then in the 22nd minute was a classic RSL moment. A slight defensive lapse led to a Chivas goal. Like I said before, RSL is unlucky. While other teams get away with defensive mistakes on a fairly regular basis, RSL ALWAYS seems to pay for them for whatever reason. However, this was not an undeserved goal, Merlin made some nice moves to keep Forko a couple steps off of him, allowing him room to get a cross off. The main mistake came when Cunliff ran right past Mantilla, who just was standing there, and was wide open to put the ball in the back of the net. 1-0 Chivas on some bad defense, by Forko, who needs to pressure the ball harder, and especially Mantilla, who needs to cover his man!!! Very simple really. The rest of the half passed, sloppily and mostly uneventfully, with the only real bright spot being Findley's sudden domination of the air. He seemed to win every header that came his way. If he can develop an aerial game, whoo, look out! Halftime 1-0 Chivas.
Half grade: C-
A boring, sloppy first half. RSL was a match for Chivas throughout the half and were on the wrong side of the scoreline on this one. What should've been 0-0 was 1-0 on one defensive lapse.
The second half started a lot like the first, although both teams had seemed to adjust to the conditions a bit and the ball control was better. Early in the half, RSL had a nice attack building when Brown decided he was Ronaldinho and got very cute with the ball and Chivas easily dispossessed him (that's a lot of s's!). He made up for it in the 52nd, finishing off a flicked on header from Espindola (that's from the RSL site, I swear it was Lancos with the header) off a gorgeous pin point long ball out of the back (site credits Lancos, maybe I just have the order confused?). Brown got through 2 defenders and pushed it past Guzan for the goal. Nice. 1-1. Then the floodgates opened. Cunliffe quickly answered in the 54th as no one bothered to cover him. He recieved the through ball and put it front post past Chris Seitz, who, although he was left out to dry a bit, needs to do a much better job covering the front post and cutting off that angle. That'll come with experience. 2-1 Chivas. Remember the luck theme I am using in today's review? The 58th minute saw another example of RSL's luck. Paulo Nagamura hit a once-in-a-lifetime strike from 35 yards out that went over Seitz and tucked into the top corner of the goal. I guarantee he will never score another goal like that again. A beauty of a shot, definitely worth going to MLSnet to see the highlight. 3-1 Chivas. RSL quickly clawed one back in the 63rd when Andy Williams played a nifty ball across to an onrushing Findley who buried it past Guzan for the goal. Findley has ice water in the veins I tell you, when he has a good rush on it like that he rarely misses, unlike many who put balls like that over the top or wide. Why he hasn't been playing much recently is beyond me. GET THIS GUY ON THE FIELD! 3-2 Chivas. RSL almost gave it right back in the 66th when Kotschau was absolutely embarrassed by John Cunliffe who put the ball between K's legs and went towards goal. He put a dangerous ball into the box that would've almost certainly led to a goal if Lancos had not been there to pick it out and remove the danger. Well played by Chris. Movsisyan came on in the 61st and in the 76th, continued his streak of not being able to even buy a call from the refs as he was completely thrown to the ground and wasn't even able to get a whistle. I'm feeling bad for the guy, he can't even get a fair shake. In the 77th Brown came off for the offensive prowess of...Atiba Harris??? Definitely a head scratcher of a sub, I think I'd have gone for Kyle Brown first. Or perhaps a Harris for Williams sub or something. Rather odd. Chivas then went into bunker mode, trying to hold off RSL. It worked until in the 89th, Movsisyan finally was able to get free and hit an absolute rifle shot on goal. Unfortunately, it hit the crossbar, and in true RSL-luck fashion fell onto the goalie Guzan, who smothered it. The four minutes of stoppage went by uneventfully, and despite being as good, if not better, than Chivas in this match, RSL ended up losing 3-2. However, in RSL's defense, I think with the "A" team (bum-ba-bum-bum...I pity the fool who can't hum the A-Team theme) RSL wins this game. I at least think Nick would've stopped that second goal, but oh well. On a similar note, Chivas is going to have to do MUCH better than that if they want to win the MLS Cup. I certainly wasn't overly impressed and the Houstons and DCs of the world are much much better than RSL's B Team.
Half grade: C
Bad conditions made for a sloppy game, but at least this half was entertaining. Lots of goals, but giving up two in a half (even if you score two), makes it hard to give higher than a C.
Pros:
-Findley started and played a very nice game.
-A couple nice "team goals"
-Movsisyan was active in his short time on.
-Seitz got some playing time. Good to see him out there.
-The Chivas announcers were MUCH better this time around.
Cons:
-3 goals. On a night where it was hard to control the ball. Yikes.
-That "Legion Idaho" section. It appeared to be in RCB territory if I saw it right. Opposing teams' supporters sections should not overpower our own!!!
-Too many blown first touches by the forwards, killing some good opportunities.
-That RSL lost a very winnable game.
-The Chivas announcers insisting on yelling the name "PANCHITO MENDOZA!" It's like a less endearing version of Hot Rod Hundley's old "OSTERTAG!" call.
Game grade: C-
Would have been higher with a win (obviously), but for now RSL needs to learn to win these kind of games. A sloppy game in bad conditions, but at least it was an entertaining second half!
Player grades:
Chris Seitz-5 Didn't have a lot to do. Probably could've done better on goal #2.
Chris Lancos-8 Best game in an RSL kit. Looked composed, added to attack. Nice game.
Ritchie Kotschau-4 Got beat a few times, should be embarrassed of the Cunliffe play
Matias Mantilla-4 Him leaving his man led to a goal, loses a point for it.
Willis Forko-4 Seemed to struggle in this one, still rusty I think, and cold didn't help.
sub(Chris Wingert 68)-6 Left side settled once he came in.
Kyle Beckerman-6 Feisty but got lost at times.
Carey Talley-5 Seemed more interested in mixing it up than actually playing at times.
Andy Williams-5 Some nice passes, great assist, but was absent from too much of the match.
Robbie Findley-8 Won so many headers (I didn't know he could do that), and he scored!
Chris Brown-6 Bonus point for the nice goal, otherwise thoroughly mediocre.
sub(Atiba Harris 77)-5 Never made a mark on the game in his limited time.
Fabian Espindola-7 Good game, I like him more and more. Nice runs, nice passes.
sub(Yura Movsisyan 61)-7 Looked good, shot that hit the bar was unlucky not to go in.
Man of the Match: tie! Robbie Findley and Chris Lancos. Very good game by both!
Assclown of the match: Zotinca was close, but Panchito Mendoza earned it in the 69th when after taking Williams down pretty hard he proceeded to walk over and "shove" him in the back of the head (while he was still on the ground). Andy got up and kind of went after him and then Mendoza decided to slap Andy in the face as well (a very womanly move by the way). For that completely unnecessary bout of assclownery, Francisco "Panchito" Mendoza is the Assclown of the Match!
ps-Sorry if any of this was incoherent, it was typed while I was half asleep and talking to an old friend on messenger. My bad :)
Some pregame thoughts:
-The weather was awful. 39 degrees, and it was raining off and on all day. Bravo to those who went out, you are a hardy breed indeed.
-It looked like Kreis sent out his B (or maybe B+) team for this one. Seitz for Rimando, Kotschau for Pope, Lancos and Forko for Kipre and Wingert, and Chris Brown for...well about anybody, but let's say Movsisyan.
Meh. That's the first half in a nutshell. The game was pretty even with neither team having much in the way of great chances. The weather didn't help matters much as both teams struggled with their first touches, although RSL's forwards were having an extra difficult time for some reason. In the first 15 minutes alone, the forwards misplayed at least 3 balls that could have been legitimate scoring chances, including one by C. Brown in the 10th minute that would have almost surely been a goal if he had settled it. In the 14th minute, Chivas caught a huge break when Alex Zotinca, already with a yellow, was not shown the door after a very late challenge on Espindola that sent him into the boards. Maybe not card worthy in all circumstances, but for a guy who already has a yellow and had made some rash decisions by that point of the game, it was definitely a debatable red. The game was pretty even and quite sloppy and then in the 22nd minute was a classic RSL moment. A slight defensive lapse led to a Chivas goal. Like I said before, RSL is unlucky. While other teams get away with defensive mistakes on a fairly regular basis, RSL ALWAYS seems to pay for them for whatever reason. However, this was not an undeserved goal, Merlin made some nice moves to keep Forko a couple steps off of him, allowing him room to get a cross off. The main mistake came when Cunliff ran right past Mantilla, who just was standing there, and was wide open to put the ball in the back of the net. 1-0 Chivas on some bad defense, by Forko, who needs to pressure the ball harder, and especially Mantilla, who needs to cover his man!!! Very simple really. The rest of the half passed, sloppily and mostly uneventfully, with the only real bright spot being Findley's sudden domination of the air. He seemed to win every header that came his way. If he can develop an aerial game, whoo, look out! Halftime 1-0 Chivas.
Half grade: C-
A boring, sloppy first half. RSL was a match for Chivas throughout the half and were on the wrong side of the scoreline on this one. What should've been 0-0 was 1-0 on one defensive lapse.
The second half started a lot like the first, although both teams had seemed to adjust to the conditions a bit and the ball control was better. Early in the half, RSL had a nice attack building when Brown decided he was Ronaldinho and got very cute with the ball and Chivas easily dispossessed him (that's a lot of s's!). He made up for it in the 52nd, finishing off a flicked on header from Espindola (that's from the RSL site, I swear it was Lancos with the header) off a gorgeous pin point long ball out of the back (site credits Lancos, maybe I just have the order confused?). Brown got through 2 defenders and pushed it past Guzan for the goal. Nice. 1-1. Then the floodgates opened. Cunliffe quickly answered in the 54th as no one bothered to cover him. He recieved the through ball and put it front post past Chris Seitz, who, although he was left out to dry a bit, needs to do a much better job covering the front post and cutting off that angle. That'll come with experience. 2-1 Chivas. Remember the luck theme I am using in today's review? The 58th minute saw another example of RSL's luck. Paulo Nagamura hit a once-in-a-lifetime strike from 35 yards out that went over Seitz and tucked into the top corner of the goal. I guarantee he will never score another goal like that again. A beauty of a shot, definitely worth going to MLSnet to see the highlight. 3-1 Chivas. RSL quickly clawed one back in the 63rd when Andy Williams played a nifty ball across to an onrushing Findley who buried it past Guzan for the goal. Findley has ice water in the veins I tell you, when he has a good rush on it like that he rarely misses, unlike many who put balls like that over the top or wide. Why he hasn't been playing much recently is beyond me. GET THIS GUY ON THE FIELD! 3-2 Chivas. RSL almost gave it right back in the 66th when Kotschau was absolutely embarrassed by John Cunliffe who put the ball between K's legs and went towards goal. He put a dangerous ball into the box that would've almost certainly led to a goal if Lancos had not been there to pick it out and remove the danger. Well played by Chris. Movsisyan came on in the 61st and in the 76th, continued his streak of not being able to even buy a call from the refs as he was completely thrown to the ground and wasn't even able to get a whistle. I'm feeling bad for the guy, he can't even get a fair shake. In the 77th Brown came off for the offensive prowess of...Atiba Harris??? Definitely a head scratcher of a sub, I think I'd have gone for Kyle Brown first. Or perhaps a Harris for Williams sub or something. Rather odd. Chivas then went into bunker mode, trying to hold off RSL. It worked until in the 89th, Movsisyan finally was able to get free and hit an absolute rifle shot on goal. Unfortunately, it hit the crossbar, and in true RSL-luck fashion fell onto the goalie Guzan, who smothered it. The four minutes of stoppage went by uneventfully, and despite being as good, if not better, than Chivas in this match, RSL ended up losing 3-2. However, in RSL's defense, I think with the "A" team (bum-ba-bum-bum...I pity the fool who can't hum the A-Team theme) RSL wins this game. I at least think Nick would've stopped that second goal, but oh well. On a similar note, Chivas is going to have to do MUCH better than that if they want to win the MLS Cup. I certainly wasn't overly impressed and the Houstons and DCs of the world are much much better than RSL's B Team.
Half grade: C
Bad conditions made for a sloppy game, but at least this half was entertaining. Lots of goals, but giving up two in a half (even if you score two), makes it hard to give higher than a C.
Pros:
-Findley started and played a very nice game.
-A couple nice "team goals"
-Movsisyan was active in his short time on.
-Seitz got some playing time. Good to see him out there.
-The Chivas announcers were MUCH better this time around.
Cons:
-3 goals. On a night where it was hard to control the ball. Yikes.
-That "Legion Idaho" section. It appeared to be in RCB territory if I saw it right. Opposing teams' supporters sections should not overpower our own!!!
-Too many blown first touches by the forwards, killing some good opportunities.
-That RSL lost a very winnable game.
-The Chivas announcers insisting on yelling the name "PANCHITO MENDOZA!" It's like a less endearing version of Hot Rod Hundley's old "OSTERTAG!" call.
Game grade: C-
Would have been higher with a win (obviously), but for now RSL needs to learn to win these kind of games. A sloppy game in bad conditions, but at least it was an entertaining second half!
Player grades:
Chris Seitz-5 Didn't have a lot to do. Probably could've done better on goal #2.
Chris Lancos-8 Best game in an RSL kit. Looked composed, added to attack. Nice game.
Ritchie Kotschau-4 Got beat a few times, should be embarrassed of the Cunliffe play
Matias Mantilla-4 Him leaving his man led to a goal, loses a point for it.
Willis Forko-4 Seemed to struggle in this one, still rusty I think, and cold didn't help.
sub(Chris Wingert 68)-6 Left side settled once he came in.
Kyle Beckerman-6 Feisty but got lost at times.
Carey Talley-5 Seemed more interested in mixing it up than actually playing at times.
Andy Williams-5 Some nice passes, great assist, but was absent from too much of the match.
Robbie Findley-8 Won so many headers (I didn't know he could do that), and he scored!
Chris Brown-6 Bonus point for the nice goal, otherwise thoroughly mediocre.
sub(Atiba Harris 77)-5 Never made a mark on the game in his limited time.
Fabian Espindola-7 Good game, I like him more and more. Nice runs, nice passes.
sub(Yura Movsisyan 61)-7 Looked good, shot that hit the bar was unlucky not to go in.
Man of the Match: tie! Robbie Findley and Chris Lancos. Very good game by both!
Assclown of the match: Zotinca was close, but Panchito Mendoza earned it in the 69th when after taking Williams down pretty hard he proceeded to walk over and "shove" him in the back of the head (while he was still on the ground). Andy got up and kind of went after him and then Mendoza decided to slap Andy in the face as well (a very womanly move by the way). For that completely unnecessary bout of assclownery, Francisco "Panchito" Mendoza is the Assclown of the Match!
ps-Sorry if any of this was incoherent, it was typed while I was half asleep and talking to an old friend on messenger. My bad :)
Thursday, October 4, 2007
This week's royal predictions
Hear ye! Hear ye! Behold the glory of the royal predictions for the week:
10/4
NY 3 - TOR 2
10/5
DC 2 - KC 0
10/6
DAL 3 - CLB 1
NER 1 - CHI 2
CHV 2 - RSL 2
10/7
LA 0 - HOU 2
TOR 1 - COL 1
Now thou shalt bask in the glow of the royal predictions! Enjoy!
Last week: 4 right (1 exact score), 3 wrong
10/4
NY 3 - TOR 2
10/5
DC 2 - KC 0
10/6
DAL 3 - CLB 1
NER 1 - CHI 2
CHV 2 - RSL 2
10/7
LA 0 - HOU 2
TOR 1 - COL 1
Now thou shalt bask in the glow of the royal predictions! Enjoy!
Last week: 4 right (1 exact score), 3 wrong
Monday, October 1, 2007
9/29 RSL @ New York
A tie. A measly tie. Yes, RSL was outplayed for much of the match, but they also led for much of it, and NY's second goal came on an iffy at best PK call. This is one of those ties that feels like a loss. On with the review...
As the lineups were announced pre-game, two things stuck out at me: 1) Chris Brown, Yura Movsisyan, and Alecko Eskandarian were all in the lineup ahead of Robbie Findley. Did Robbie kill JK's dog or something? He's only our leading goalscorer, I can see why he's sitting...sigh... 2) Forko was not only playing but starting!!! (insert obligatory "Whatchu talkin' bout Willis?" joke here) I thought perhaps he had died. Nice to see him back on the pitch. One other realization hit me before the game even started: those white Red Bull jerseys have to be the tackiest things I have ever seen. Those are just atrocious uniforms. The color scheme is ugly and they just look bad. Something I'd expect a U-10 team to be wearing. Blech.
As the game started, RSL came out swinging...and missing. They looked AWFUL early and the defense was nonexistent. Lucky for the boys in Red, NY's finishing was poor. I'm convinced Kovalenko couldn't hit the broad side of a barn from 6 inches. He had 2 terrible misses in the first 14 minutes alone. In addition, no one for RSL was getting forward. It was looking to be a long night. Then in the 22nd min., completely out of the blue, RSL pushed some people forward into the box. Wingert hit an absolutely perfect cross to Chris Brown who headed it into the turf and into the goal. What Waterreus was doing on this play I have no idea. He seemed surprised that RSL was actually shooting. Bam! 1-0 RSL, totally against the run of play. The next 10-15 minutes were totally different. RSL played wth some poise and passion and controlled the run of play. Movsisyan was gifted a goal in the 37th, but decided to return it, missing the ball completely on an open net. Was it a tough bounce? Yes. Does a professional striker need to at least get a foot on it? Again, yes. Still 1-0. After this the game went back to the Uglykits for the rest of the half, especially with some questionable decision making (notably Talley) for RSL leading to attacks. Some nice Rimando saves kept RSL afloat. Half score: 1-0 RSL
Half grade: C
RSL played well in spurts, but in truth were flattered by the scoreline. Talley had some iffy moments and Forko looked understandably rusty. Overall, a quick, fast-paced, entertaining first half.
The second half started much as the first, with some poor defending (and especially clearances) leading to Uglykit chances. However, this time, NY finished. Doe took a nice flick from Angel and went one-on-one with "Gimme a card, now!" Mantilla and proceeded to slice and dice him. Or as they say on the playground, he broke Mantilla's ankles. Doe juked Mantilla out of the play and precisely put it far corner past Rimando. Pretty goal. 1-1, 49th minute. The goal energized the Uglykits and their fans and they took control of this game. It didn't help that no one for RSL was getting forward, a consistent problem throughout the year. In relation, the old RSL trick of getting 3/4 of the way up the field and then sputtering out came back. This is partially a byproduct of no one getting forward. Also, the midfielders were playing scared. No holding possession, no trying to advance with the ball. As soon as they touched it, it was a long ball over the top to no one (especially Williams). It was getting ugly. In my notes, I even wrote: "55[th minute] RSL looks bad-need some fresh blood". Finally, in the 60th, Kreis made a change bringing on Espindola for Chris Brown. In the words of Jimmy King, "Praise Him, and all His mercies." I would have liked to see Findley here, but Espindola has played pretty decent and I was glad to see Brown come off (he was non-existent other than the goal). It helped slightly, but RSL was still getting beat handily. The defense was pretty bad, forcing Rimando into some nice saves. Williams was terrible and a liability. Talley continued his bad form in the 72nd by getting beat by Kovalenko on a play that led to a big Uglykit attack that ended with a possible PK not being called on Forko (remember this, it comes back soon). Dumb play by Forko, like I said, he looked rusty. Right after the play we had another RSL sub, Atiba for Williams. Again, cue Jimmy King (for those who don't know, that's a reference to the movie "Ready to Rumble," which is much better and much funnier than it has any right to be). Williams had a bad game, pure and simple. This, combined with the Reyna injury and sub in the 58th minute, finally seemed to be enough to spark RSL. They immediately went up field, got people forward (see what happens?) and scored. Esky put a beauty of a ball through to Espi(ndola), who ran free from the left side into the box, drew the defense, and then passed to a wide open Beckerman dead center in front of the goal (maybe 4 yards out at most) who calmly one-timed it past Waterreus for an easy, yet beautiful team goal. 2-1 RSL, 75th min. New York immediately came back to try and even it up. Mathis got a ball similar to Movsisyan's early in the game and did get a foot on it, luckily, RSL had the play better defended and although Nick came out and dove and missed the ball, Mantilla was there to save it off the line. Chaos ensued with Rimando again coming off his line and Mantilla AGAIN saving a ball off the goal line. RSL was lucky to escape unharmed. Then, IT happened. RSL was called for a phantom PK (I'm still not sure who it was or where the penalty supposedly happened), presumably as a "make up" call for the first. Honestly, refs who call "make up" calls need to not be refs any more (this applies for all sports). If it was a PK on the first play, fine, then CALL IT. You didn't, so it wasn't so don't penalize us later on because you didn't blow the whistle. You didn't blow it, that call is final. Move on. Make up calls are ridiculous. Anyway, Angel hit an absolutely picture perfect PK. Tie game, 2-2. Soon after, JK finally decided it was time to bring in Findley (and only about 81 minutes too late!) for Movsisyan. Movs played hard, but was hamstrung by the refs picking on him all night. Just because he's big doesn't mean he fouls people just by walking by them, but you'd never know it watching this one. RSL played with some spark the rest of the way out and at least played even, if not a bit better than the Uglykits. An ugly foul by Angel on Esky in the 83rd drew a yellow, although at first (and even second) look, it definitely could have been a red. Angel had no chance to get the ball and flew in completely reckless. But Esky's yell on the takedown seemed to be worse than the damage sustained and he was able to finish. In the 85th minute, RSL had a chance to take the lead again as Beckerman ran into the box from the right side (a near mirror image of the Espi run), but this time no one came forward in support-unfortunately, he didn't have himself at the spot to pass to-and the play fizzled out. An easy chance goes unfulfilled by some lazy play by RSL up top. In the 86th, Espindola made a nice run, getting a one-on-one with Waterreus which he promptly choked on and kicked directly into the sliding keeper. Another easy chance goes begging. The 88th saw Atiba Harris get a free header on a corner only to see him put it about 5 feet wide. Those are the kinds of things RSL needs to fix to turn this team around next year. If you have a free header in front of net, at least get it on frame, boys! RSL played decent the rest of the half (including a nice steal by Becks at midfield that led to one last RSL push), but didn't have enough to pull out what could (and probably should) have been a win. Final score: 2-2
Half grade: C
This half had two parts, the first part where RSL was AWFUL and the second part where they looked good and should have won. I guess that's why it was a tie.
Pros:
-Nice to see Willis back on the pitch.
-The hustle oftentimes displayed by Movsisyan.
-Both goals were nice, and there were other attacks where RSL looked like a pro squad.
-RSL didn't collapse after the PK
-Beckerman for Ballouchy. I will love this trade forever.
Cons:
-That PK was putrid.
-Movsisyan being unable to really play because of fouls being called every time he got near the ball.
-Williams and Talley for much of the match.
-The outside and midfield defending left much to be desired.
-RSL now mathematically eliminated from playoffs. Although a pro in that we don't have to hear about RSL's "playoff hopes" any more. I love RSL but let's be realistic, RSL's playoff hopes were dead right around the time they hadn't won a game until late June!
-Something about Max Bretos just annoyed me throughout the game.
Game grade: C
A C plus a C equals a C! ha ha! RSL showed flashes of brilliance but needs to play better over 90 minutes.
Player grades:
Nick Rimando-6 Solid game, but not the superhuman effort we almost expect now
Eddie Pope-6 Solid but quiet
Willis Forko-5 Looked OK, but was definitely rusty after being out so long
Matias Mantilla-6 Marked down for the goal, but the two saves redeemed him
Chris Wingert-6 Got beat a few times, but his cross made the first goal
Carey Talley-4 Played OK, but WAY too many mistakes/mental errors
Andy Williams-3 Did he play? Really?
sub(Atiba Harris 74)-5 Active but missed that gift header
Kyle Beckerman-8 Disappeared early 2nd half, but came back with a vengeance
Yura Movsisyan-6 Hustled, but bad touch and tough refs held him back
sub(Robbie Findley 81)-6 Made a nice run or two, not much time to do anything though
Chris Brown-6 Bonus point for the goal, otherwise non-existent
sub(Fabian Espindola 61)-7 MOTM if he finishes the 1-on-1
Alecko Eskandarian-7 Up and down game, but played some defense and made some nice passes
Man of the Match: Kyle Beckerman
Assclown of the match: I didn't want to do it and was looking for (and possibly had) someone else but with the make up call, referee Alex Prus, you earned it buddy!
As the lineups were announced pre-game, two things stuck out at me: 1) Chris Brown, Yura Movsisyan, and Alecko Eskandarian were all in the lineup ahead of Robbie Findley. Did Robbie kill JK's dog or something? He's only our leading goalscorer, I can see why he's sitting...sigh... 2) Forko was not only playing but starting!!! (insert obligatory "Whatchu talkin' bout Willis?" joke here) I thought perhaps he had died. Nice to see him back on the pitch. One other realization hit me before the game even started: those white Red Bull jerseys have to be the tackiest things I have ever seen. Those are just atrocious uniforms. The color scheme is ugly and they just look bad. Something I'd expect a U-10 team to be wearing. Blech.
As the game started, RSL came out swinging...and missing. They looked AWFUL early and the defense was nonexistent. Lucky for the boys in Red, NY's finishing was poor. I'm convinced Kovalenko couldn't hit the broad side of a barn from 6 inches. He had 2 terrible misses in the first 14 minutes alone. In addition, no one for RSL was getting forward. It was looking to be a long night. Then in the 22nd min., completely out of the blue, RSL pushed some people forward into the box. Wingert hit an absolutely perfect cross to Chris Brown who headed it into the turf and into the goal. What Waterreus was doing on this play I have no idea. He seemed surprised that RSL was actually shooting. Bam! 1-0 RSL, totally against the run of play. The next 10-15 minutes were totally different. RSL played wth some poise and passion and controlled the run of play. Movsisyan was gifted a goal in the 37th, but decided to return it, missing the ball completely on an open net. Was it a tough bounce? Yes. Does a professional striker need to at least get a foot on it? Again, yes. Still 1-0. After this the game went back to the Uglykits for the rest of the half, especially with some questionable decision making (notably Talley) for RSL leading to attacks. Some nice Rimando saves kept RSL afloat. Half score: 1-0 RSL
Half grade: C
RSL played well in spurts, but in truth were flattered by the scoreline. Talley had some iffy moments and Forko looked understandably rusty. Overall, a quick, fast-paced, entertaining first half.
The second half started much as the first, with some poor defending (and especially clearances) leading to Uglykit chances. However, this time, NY finished. Doe took a nice flick from Angel and went one-on-one with "Gimme a card, now!" Mantilla and proceeded to slice and dice him. Or as they say on the playground, he broke Mantilla's ankles. Doe juked Mantilla out of the play and precisely put it far corner past Rimando. Pretty goal. 1-1, 49th minute. The goal energized the Uglykits and their fans and they took control of this game. It didn't help that no one for RSL was getting forward, a consistent problem throughout the year. In relation, the old RSL trick of getting 3/4 of the way up the field and then sputtering out came back. This is partially a byproduct of no one getting forward. Also, the midfielders were playing scared. No holding possession, no trying to advance with the ball. As soon as they touched it, it was a long ball over the top to no one (especially Williams). It was getting ugly. In my notes, I even wrote: "55[th minute] RSL looks bad-need some fresh blood". Finally, in the 60th, Kreis made a change bringing on Espindola for Chris Brown. In the words of Jimmy King, "Praise Him, and all His mercies." I would have liked to see Findley here, but Espindola has played pretty decent and I was glad to see Brown come off (he was non-existent other than the goal). It helped slightly, but RSL was still getting beat handily. The defense was pretty bad, forcing Rimando into some nice saves. Williams was terrible and a liability. Talley continued his bad form in the 72nd by getting beat by Kovalenko on a play that led to a big Uglykit attack that ended with a possible PK not being called on Forko (remember this, it comes back soon). Dumb play by Forko, like I said, he looked rusty. Right after the play we had another RSL sub, Atiba for Williams. Again, cue Jimmy King (for those who don't know, that's a reference to the movie "Ready to Rumble," which is much better and much funnier than it has any right to be). Williams had a bad game, pure and simple. This, combined with the Reyna injury and sub in the 58th minute, finally seemed to be enough to spark RSL. They immediately went up field, got people forward (see what happens?) and scored. Esky put a beauty of a ball through to Espi(ndola), who ran free from the left side into the box, drew the defense, and then passed to a wide open Beckerman dead center in front of the goal (maybe 4 yards out at most) who calmly one-timed it past Waterreus for an easy, yet beautiful team goal. 2-1 RSL, 75th min. New York immediately came back to try and even it up. Mathis got a ball similar to Movsisyan's early in the game and did get a foot on it, luckily, RSL had the play better defended and although Nick came out and dove and missed the ball, Mantilla was there to save it off the line. Chaos ensued with Rimando again coming off his line and Mantilla AGAIN saving a ball off the goal line. RSL was lucky to escape unharmed. Then, IT happened. RSL was called for a phantom PK (I'm still not sure who it was or where the penalty supposedly happened), presumably as a "make up" call for the first. Honestly, refs who call "make up" calls need to not be refs any more (this applies for all sports). If it was a PK on the first play, fine, then CALL IT. You didn't, so it wasn't so don't penalize us later on because you didn't blow the whistle. You didn't blow it, that call is final. Move on. Make up calls are ridiculous. Anyway, Angel hit an absolutely picture perfect PK. Tie game, 2-2. Soon after, JK finally decided it was time to bring in Findley (and only about 81 minutes too late!) for Movsisyan. Movs played hard, but was hamstrung by the refs picking on him all night. Just because he's big doesn't mean he fouls people just by walking by them, but you'd never know it watching this one. RSL played with some spark the rest of the way out and at least played even, if not a bit better than the Uglykits. An ugly foul by Angel on Esky in the 83rd drew a yellow, although at first (and even second) look, it definitely could have been a red. Angel had no chance to get the ball and flew in completely reckless. But Esky's yell on the takedown seemed to be worse than the damage sustained and he was able to finish. In the 85th minute, RSL had a chance to take the lead again as Beckerman ran into the box from the right side (a near mirror image of the Espi run), but this time no one came forward in support-unfortunately, he didn't have himself at the spot to pass to-and the play fizzled out. An easy chance goes unfulfilled by some lazy play by RSL up top. In the 86th, Espindola made a nice run, getting a one-on-one with Waterreus which he promptly choked on and kicked directly into the sliding keeper. Another easy chance goes begging. The 88th saw Atiba Harris get a free header on a corner only to see him put it about 5 feet wide. Those are the kinds of things RSL needs to fix to turn this team around next year. If you have a free header in front of net, at least get it on frame, boys! RSL played decent the rest of the half (including a nice steal by Becks at midfield that led to one last RSL push), but didn't have enough to pull out what could (and probably should) have been a win. Final score: 2-2
Half grade: C
This half had two parts, the first part where RSL was AWFUL and the second part where they looked good and should have won. I guess that's why it was a tie.
Pros:
-Nice to see Willis back on the pitch.
-The hustle oftentimes displayed by Movsisyan.
-Both goals were nice, and there were other attacks where RSL looked like a pro squad.
-RSL didn't collapse after the PK
-Beckerman for Ballouchy. I will love this trade forever.
Cons:
-That PK was putrid.
-Movsisyan being unable to really play because of fouls being called every time he got near the ball.
-Williams and Talley for much of the match.
-The outside and midfield defending left much to be desired.
-RSL now mathematically eliminated from playoffs. Although a pro in that we don't have to hear about RSL's "playoff hopes" any more. I love RSL but let's be realistic, RSL's playoff hopes were dead right around the time they hadn't won a game until late June!
-Something about Max Bretos just annoyed me throughout the game.
Game grade: C
A C plus a C equals a C! ha ha! RSL showed flashes of brilliance but needs to play better over 90 minutes.
Player grades:
Nick Rimando-6 Solid game, but not the superhuman effort we almost expect now
Eddie Pope-6 Solid but quiet
Willis Forko-5 Looked OK, but was definitely rusty after being out so long
Matias Mantilla-6 Marked down for the goal, but the two saves redeemed him
Chris Wingert-6 Got beat a few times, but his cross made the first goal
Carey Talley-4 Played OK, but WAY too many mistakes/mental errors
Andy Williams-3 Did he play? Really?
sub(Atiba Harris 74)-5 Active but missed that gift header
Kyle Beckerman-8 Disappeared early 2nd half, but came back with a vengeance
Yura Movsisyan-6 Hustled, but bad touch and tough refs held him back
sub(Robbie Findley 81)-6 Made a nice run or two, not much time to do anything though
Chris Brown-6 Bonus point for the goal, otherwise non-existent
sub(Fabian Espindola 61)-7 MOTM if he finishes the 1-on-1
Alecko Eskandarian-7 Up and down game, but played some defense and made some nice passes
Man of the Match: Kyle Beckerman
Assclown of the match: I didn't want to do it and was looking for (and possibly had) someone else but with the make up call, referee Alex Prus, you earned it buddy!
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