Guess the word that's about to come out of Kreis's mouth (Getty Images)
I have to say, I have not been as busted up leaving Rio Tinto stadium in a long time. Last night was one of those nights when you're just unlucky. You get a couple of spectacular saves against you, a couple of calls don't go your way, and the night is done. Any RSL fan could point to a number of things and think had just one of those gone RSL's way, things would have been very different.
Well, in the final analysis, it doesn't matter. Sometimes in this business, you have to make your own luck, and that's been RSL's issue for a good portion of the season. I'm not going to talk about referees. Every fan in MLS knows the officiating is atrocious. Coach Kreis told the guys at halftime last night to stop worrying about the referee, and it's a message the fans need to take to heart as well.
When I look back at the match though, it's really hard to find things that I could say RSL really didn't do well. There must be some credit given to FC Dallas. I was pretty much wrong about everything in my preview, except that it was going to be a physical, hard nosed game. The Hoops came out and played hard. They weren't intimidated by our building in the slightest. When Jackson came on at halftime, I knew Dallas was going for it. He, along with Fabian Castillo and David Ferreira, gave RSL fits in that second half. Good on' em.
As far as the midfield goes, I think RSL did pretty well for most of the match. They won a lot of the individual battles against a clearly gassed FC Dallas side. To my mind Yordany Alvarez was pretty solid, but we needed the injection of energy and leadership from our Captain when Kyle came on. Javier Morales was very sharp, which is great news considering the injury scare last weekend in Vancouver. Ned Grabavoy was his usual workman-like self. I also thought Luis Gil had a decent game, but seemed to be invisible at points. I know he can be so much more of a threat. The stats tell a good story in the midfield as well. The Claret and Cobalt completed 84% of 498 total passes. They also had about 67% of the possession while creating 19, yes 19 open play crosses. Though of course not all the crossed come from the midfield.
So that brings me to the first issue. Finishing. End product. The only player scoring consistently right now is Alvaro Saborio. That has to change. I'm tired of fans bashing the big Costa Rican. His job is to score goals, and he does. Sabo volunteered to come in last night after playing 90 minutes in Costa Rica's match earlier this week, and major props to him for that. He came in and not only scored a goal, but was by far RSL's most dangerous player. The other guys need to start finishing though. Paulo Jr was kind of a frustrating experience last night. He definitely looked quicker on the ball, but really could have picked his head up a couple of times and created some better chances. The chemistry with Fabi was not there at all. Now, I really thought we'd see Justin Braun start last night. He did come in as a sub, and I thought he looked ok. The plain fact is that he needs more minutes in our system before he can really take off. He did play hard though.
Now for the defense. I thought the Central defense was fine. Kwame Watson-Siriboe was outstanding again, and in my mind he's been a real plus since coming over. He also nearly scored on a set piece, and you know that's coming. With Schuler coming back from injury, I think RSL may have their center back pair of the future. RSL got torched on the outside though, which is maddening to me because you KNOW that's where FC Dallas is gonna try to hit you. Brian Dunseth said as much in the pre-game notes. RSL knew they were going to try to hit outside on the counter, and they couldn't stop it. I'm rarely critical of Tony Beltran, but he got beat bad a few times and even got his lunch money taken, especially in the second half. It seems to me like we've given up more than a few goals coming in off the wings this season, and I'm just not sure how to fix it.
The final thing I'll say is about match management. Normally I would applaud our team for going for the win at home. However, last night, a draw would have sufficed. Better management against a tired FC Dallas squad last night could have brought about that result. I know some people say a draw is no good at home. Well, it's a hell of a lot better than a loss, and it would have been a point gained on San Jose with their loss last night. Now we face the must win CONCACAF match on the back of one of our most heart breaking losses.
That's about it, really. RSL was clearly the better side last night, but what counts is what it says on the scoreboard at the end of the match. In the end, I would peg our guys to start scoring again sooner rather than later, but the continued issues in defense, especially on the flanks, troubles me.
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