Tale of Two Teams

RSL found a way to lose, yet again, down in LA this weekend. Despite having a first half advantage and playing a whole lot better than they have in their past two and a half matches, RSL came out of LA with 0 points. When looking back on this game, something really jumped out at me: who these teams are. RSL started this season wanting to be the best MLS team of all time, winning multiple trophies, and proving its depth. In reality, we're an above average team that can't figure out how to grind out results lately.

Who RSL actually is: Sloppy, slumping team
 -Watching this game, these last few games, hell this whole season has been an emotional roller-coaster. RSL started, as they did in this game, as a team with high hopes. They look to have the talent and skill to accomplish them as well. I mean, Javier Morales and Fabian Espindola, when on, are next to impossible to stop in this league. Those two can simply tear teams apart. Olave and Borchers in the back? Forget about getting any goals there. On paper, this team is as solid as they come. Strong in every position and depth on the bench to back it. Too bad paper isn't where the game is played...

In reality, RSL has shown (and this game really epitomized it) a complete lack of mental strength in tough situations and a lack of discipline overall. The first LA goal was a text book 2011 RSL mess up. Olave has Barrett shielded off, Rimando has a line to the ball, it should be easy pickings. But, for whatever reason, not only does RSL fail to execute, but they allow Barrett to sneak around, chip a ball from feet away, and score what has to go down as one of the ugliest conceded goals of the year. Not to be outdone, only minutes later our defense showed again its lack of discipline late. Poor defending on Beckham's original set piece allowed Dunivant the opportunity to get the ball on the far post. Some terrible luck and poor marking/positioning made it so Borchers scored an own goal via assist from Chris Wingert.

Stuff like this hasn't been happening all year, but RSL has really struggled this season to put it all together. The offense, the defense, set piece defending, midfield movement, etc. Something is always failing and usually destroys this team in the 90 minutes. RSL, in actuality, is a team that lacks composure and mental endurance. Kreis is still figuring the job out - its going to take quite awhile - and his team is proof of where he needs to improve. It's a collective deficiency in this team. Everyone is partly to blame for why we have zero trophies, are not in the Supporters Shield race, and will be praying to god we somehow can make a run in November. The hopes for this team were rightly high, the execution has been below par.


Who RSL wants to be: LA Galaxy

 -  What made this game much more painful was watching LA execute what RSL set out to do this season. The Gals have proven themselves to be a really really good team - especially at home. They don't drop points when they are in a position to get them, and they make a team fight like hell to even get one point off of them. Their team, even with a substantial amount of money invested in few players, has shown itself to have great depth. They are very much in CCL still and look to probably be able to advance to the knockout phases. They've all but locked up the Supporters Shield and look to be the team to beat going into MLS Cup.
When the season started, this was the team everyone thought RSL was going to be. Hard to beat at home. Hard to even get a point off of. Solid defense that doesn't make bad mistakes. Enough discipline to not get suspensions and ejections. Depth to deal with international duty and injuries. Etc. etc. LA has shown itself to be what we wanted to be. Their win in this game essentially sealed the deal for the Supporters Shield. So, RSL, you got to see first hand what it takes to close out on something you set your sights on.

Man of the Match: David Beckham

- I really don't like the guy and his whinny antics, but he was largely responsible for the two goals LA scored on RSL. His set pieces and ability to place a ball in a dangerous position were too much for our defense to handle in the second half. Again, I hate the guys play, but have to give credit where it is due.

Wanker of the Match: Jason Kreis

 - I struggled with which RSL player/coach to put here. Rimando deserves a lot of blame for his complete lack of effort on the first LA goal. Borchers scored a game winning OG, that's never good. Wingert had the game winning assist - pretty rare. Chris Brown is in charge of the defense as a whole, which doesn't look too great right now. etc etc. In the end, though, it falls on the manager - it's part of having the job. Kreis team has gone from super club to faltering foe at the exact wrong time. While he struggles to figure out this team, he needs to really take a long hard look in the mirror. RSL has given up 10 goals in its last 4 games. For a coach who harps on defense as a team, something isn't going right. Oh, and his subbing patterns in the last few games? horrific.

Moment of the Match: Taking off Espy

 - With a yellow card already to his name and his history of getting chippy in tight situations, it somewhat made sense for Kreis to take off Espindola. What didn't add up, however, was that Espindola was already suspended for the next match with that yellow - something Kreis better have known - and was pretty much our only form of attack in the final third. Once Espy went off, we had nothing up top. Paulo Junior continued his run of losing form after injury. In fact, I think Paulo spent more time in our middle and defense third chasing balls he lost rather than being the outlet he is supposed to be. It sucks to say this, but Espy is this teams attack. Without him out there, we're not dangerous at all against a team that has even a somewhat decent defense.

Looking Forward: Vancouver Makeup with Scrubs
 - This Thursday RSL will travel up to Vancouver for the makeup game from earlier this year. It couldn't come at a worse time for RSL. Multiple players will be missing this one for international duty, suspensions, and injuries. In fact, I'm not 100% positive RSL will be able to have 18 players to put on the game day roster. Missing will be: Alexandre (Haiti), A Alvarez (El Salvador), Beckerman (USA), Beltran (injury), Espindola (suspension), Gonzalez (injury), Johnson (Canada), Reynish (injury), Saborio (Costa Rica) and maybe a few others that I'm missing. The starting XI and bench is going to be really interesting for this one. I highly doubt Kreis even travels Olave and Morales given it will be on turf. This could be really ugly - at least Vancouver will probably get their first win in beautiful BC Place.

FORZA REAL

Cheers,

15 to 32