After a very promising performance on Saturday, RSL looked it's bad self again in Dallas this past Tuesday. The question is why did RSL look so bad shortly after having possibly one of its best games of the year? This was never going to be an easy match for the guys, but things got especially bad for RSL in three key ways:1st: The game was in Dallas.
- RSL is 0-9-1 in Dallas in league play. As in we simply don't know how to win there. Allowing the game to be played in Dallas sucked and was a task that RSL simply couldn't overcome. While blame can't be put squarely on the RSL Front Office, some blame is surely deserved. It was made public knowledge that Kreis and the staff were placing this tournament high on the list of priorities. This was, in their opinion, the easiest route back to Champions League Soccer.The process is, I will acknowledge, completely absurd as to who gets to host these games. Teams submit a blind bid to USSF and thus (one can assume) the higher bid wins out. There is no time to make a response, no time to negotiate, it's a one and done type thing. Thus, RSL had to bid a price and simply hope Dallas didn't place a higher one. Obviously, this tactic didn't work. As my friend who writes the blog asthegameends.blogspot.com pointed out a little while ago, this is one area that could really be improved upon in the tournament. However, I don't see where their incentive to change is as I'm sure they receive a lot more money via this blind bid than any other fashion. USSF is all about the money, we all should know that.
2nd: Poor Lineup Choices from Kreis
While I am very happy we won the match on Saturday, it played a huge factor in us not winning on the following Tuesday. By forcing first team players to play in both matches (save a couple changes) Kreis put out a very tired and lethargic squad. His post match comments called out the guys for having a lack of effort and fight, he might need to acknowledge he is partly to blame. While these are professional athletes, they aren't machines. Forcing them to play two highly contested games of soccer this close together, with all the other elements combined, was a bad decision.Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman, on the other hand, showed just how much he trusted some of his players by rotating out key guys in place of younger and more fresh legs. This was what gave them such an edge in the midfield. If we lose in the midfield, especially against a team like Dallas, our chances of wining are slim to none. Kreis got out-coached in this one, it's as simple as that.
3rd: Team Speed
This deals more with RSL in general than this game in particular. However, this game did show just how much team speed we lack. While it is true we have a few players on the team with some wheels on them (Olave, Paulo Junior, Beltran, etc) the team overall lacks speed. This is especially true of our midfield and current healthy forwards. We simply don't scare teams in the offensive end with a speedy guy. Teams continue to clog up the midfield on us by bringing up their defensive line and adding more guys to the middle of the pitch. Until we find a player who can be consistently healthy and has speed on the offensive end of the ball, this trend will continue. Dallas exposed this weakness on us in both games, we were just lucky to find a goal first in the MLS match on Saturday.In the end, Dallas very much deserved to win this game. It wasn't a case of RSL playing below its standards (though they did a bit) but much more of a Dallas side simply being better on the night. There is no shame in admitting they were the better team.
Man of the Match: Ugo Ihemelu
Many of the FCD players are deserving of this award but I felt it necessary to give it to Ugo. The former cRapid held down the back-line for Dallas very well and was constantly there whenever RSL looked to be building an attack. I've never been a big fan of Ugo's, but on Tuesday he played a very solid match.Wanker of the Match: Dallas Fans
It is somewhat rude to do this, but it must be said. The Dallas fans are rather pathetic. There was an announced attendance of 3,189 to this game. A quarter final match in any tournament deserves better, especially when you consider how much time they had to move tickets and how big of a match this actually was. This was not out of the norm, however, for Dallas home matches. They struggle to get people out there no matter the opponent. It's truly sad to see when they have such a good team to showcase. Hopefully things will change, but I seriously doubt it.Moving On: One Focus - Supporters Shield
Now that we have unceremoniously crashed out of the Open Cup, there are only two more big trophies left to obtain for RSL. First, and the one that should now take their entire focus, is the Supporters Shield. I have talked recently that they need to find their form if they want to win this; what better place to start than these weekend against Vancouver. I'll have a pre-match post on this tomorrow or Saturday morning.FORZA REAL
Cheers,
15 to 32
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