It was a strange match out in Sandy on August 15th. From the starting whistle, you knew this game wasnt going to be your typical MLS match.
First Half:
For starters, the starting XI announcement for RSL wasnt even 3 players in when the whistle was blown to start the match. By the time the announcement was finished, RSL should have been up a goal. Mathis gets the ball, about 15 yards out, nobody within a couple yards of him and... he shanks it high and wide. From there, the half could be summed up in one word "cards". The Houston ejection was harsh to say the least. 2 yellows for similar soft fouls that maybe would warrant a warning and a possible yellow on the second one. Then their was Clint Mathis, again. His very first tackle on the ball being a bit of a late one, but it was in the houston defensive third of the field and really wasnt a super dangerous foul. Just 4 minutes in, and Clint Mathis was sitting on a yellow. If you know anything about Clint, you knew what was likely to happen in the near future (it didnt help that he was in the ref's ear the rest of the game). There were a couple other bright spots in the first half, but alas, RSL couldnt finish a happy meal. The half ended with one of the strangest 30 seconds I have seen in soccer in a long time. Robbie Findley gets the ball on the right side of the goal, gets hacked and goes down. Everyone in the stadium, the commentators, and it even seemed some of the Houston players thought there was a penalty. But no whistle. Findley, being the hard worker he is, didnt give up. Twice more he went down (though I didnt view either of those as penalty worthy fouls) then the ball went to the side of the 18. Clint goes through on a hard tackle, the ball gets deflected, he grabs it, and the AR signals goal kick... Clint loses it. The ball is thrown into the ground, and the center was 15 yards away with his hand halfway in his pocket before Clint even touched the ball. As Clint walks into the tunnell, the ref blows the whistle to end the half. The boos rightfully came down on the officiating crew, and I would hope that they werent just booing for the RSL fouls, but for the fact that the guy in the middle just ruined what potentially could have been an entertaining match.
Half:
You know its not a good game when people talk more about the half-time show then the actual game itself. It was rather entertaining to watch the mascots of this state all play in a little pick up game. I wasnt too happy to see Leo on the same team as the BYU douche cougar, but it didnt matter. However, whoever was in the Swoop outfit should be signed up. He sent a beautiful cross WITH HIS LEFT FOOT to setup his teams goal. While it may have only been a 25 yard pass, it was better than most anybody on this team can do with their kick stands... I mean left feet.
Second 45:
The refs got welcomed onto the pitch the same way they were let off, with a chorus of boos, and rightfully so. I for one was amazed to see neither team make an adjustment at half, especially RSL. You are at home and NEED 3 points badly if you have any intentions of making the post-season. Why this didnt sink through the thick skull of Jason Kreis is beyond me. It became very obvious within the first 10 minutes of the second half that 1) Houston was playing for a draw and any counter they could get up to ching/kamara and 2) Espindola was the key for RSL if they were going to score. The most frustrating part of the first 20 minutes of the second half was the lack of tactical changes Kreis made. If he wasnt going to bring on different players, then surely he needed to make adjustments with the current ones. Kreis didnt seem to do much if anything in this area. Espy was still having to track back and out wide (useless running that could have been fixed if you push up your outside backs) Findley was having to cover his spot and Mathis' spot, and Johnson/Beckerman were still too hesitant to get forward. But, even with all of this, RSL really should have scored. Espy was getting in behind the D down the left side and was whipping in some pretty good balls (good thing we play this style of soccer now that we got rid of that big scottish guy eh). Findley was doing the best he could, and found the cross bar on what was, in my opinion, the best oportunity of the game. Then, in the 65th minute, Kreis goes to his bench. At first, I thought maybe Kreis was actualy going to attack. He had Yura up near the 4th official. I was thinking "is it Russell, Beltran, Olave, Borchers, or Beckerman that comes off? It will be nice to have 2 targets for Espy..." Then, the number 16 came on the little board. UNBELIEVABLE!!! Kreis, the guy that has been working his ass off and has been the only creative player to actually get forward is coming off in the 65th? Wow, just had to out-do yourself on that one didnt you. Espy, rightfully so, let his disagreement be heard/seen with some actions/words as he walked off the pitch. Wonder if he will "get sent a message"? So RSL's attacking options were long to Findley or long to Yura against a team that was bunkered down, yeah that is some quality coaching right there. The rest of the half just got more and more comical. Kreis saves his second sub until the 83rd minute, the game is still tied at 0's and RSL still has had dominating possession. So, you would think, its time to throw numbers right? Not if you manage RSL apparently. Robbie Russell (who should have come off in the 65th minute) gets taken off and Chris Wingert gets put on. Yes, a defender for defender sub in the 83rd minute of a tied game that RSL needed 3 points in desperatley. Wow, just wow. Not to any real suprise, RSL nearly gives up a penatly via the AR flagging for a foul (for some reason he could now see fouls, but couldnt see them in the first half). Kreis waits until the 86th minute, yanks Tony Beltran (one of the brighter spots for RSL this game) and puts in Pablo Compost. This sub made more sense then the other 2 (it would be hard for Kreis to make 3 completely retarded subs even if he tried) but it didnt make sense given the situation. Houston was in a bunker, was getting beat on the wings via speed, and you bring in a guy to post up in the middle? Wow. So, to end the game, RSL had 3 strikers on the field that all wanted to be in the middle of the pitch, how surprising that there was pretty much 0 build down the wings after the Espy sub.
Wraping up the game:
In the end, RSL got the result they deserved. They didnt do anything stupid to lose the game, but really didnt do much to win the game. Sure you can argue they found the post and/or crossbar, but a good team would have pushed a whole lot better in the final part of that game and would have had a whole lot more opportunites (and a better manager making subs woud help). RSL just made it that much harder (impossible I would argue) to make the playoffs.
Player Evals:
Rimando: B
I cant give a better grade than that to a guy who could have picked flowers the whole match.
Beltran: B+
This guy is quickly becoming one of the best outside backs in the league. Fantastic speed, good control, not afraid to try his luck moving forward. Beltran is the kind of guy, if its possible, to sign for a long contract.
Olave: B
Like Rimando, he didnt have much to do. A very soft yellow gives him a rest in New England but he had a great game in my book. Very composed, very simple, very strong. Thats the Olave we love
Borchers: B
He and Olave did everything asked of them for RSL to win this game. The other guys just couldnt get it done
Russell: C+
Any Houston attack (very little) seemed to come down his wing or start on his side. Had a very sloppy game and wasnt ready to be in the starting XI again. Not bad, but not playing close to his level we know.
Wingert: C
Came on, got beat, looked awful, cant put in a cross... wow
Johnson: B
Worked his tail off in the middle, but he can only do so much. I would love to see Johnson pushed forward a little more and given a little more slack on the other side of the ball (that would require Javi to drop back more) cuz I think he could be the outside threat we need. If he developed a shot from 20-35 out, it would do wonders for the rest of the team.
Beckerman: B-
Did his job quietly. Had a couple sparks (burned Holden in the first half) but really just quitely did what was asked of him. Wish he could find that finishing touch he had at the gold cup...
Javi: B-
Javi wasnt fantastic, but wasnt bad. A little sloppy at times, but it didnt help that Houston threw 2 or 3 players at him in the middle consistently.
Espy: A- (MOTM)
While the Houston fans may think he is an "ass-clown" (see bigsoccer) I think Espy had a fantasic night. He worked Hainault in under 36 minutes and got him ejected (why the guy didnt learn from the first foul is confusing) He was the attack for RSL... I was VERY pissed that he came off as early as he did.
Findley: C+
He has to finish one of those chances if he is going to be the guy. The crossbar is the keepers best friend and RSL's worst enemy it seems. Not the best match from Findley, it didnt help that he had no space to work with after the red.
Mathis: C-
Worst match for Clint this season. Dumb moves, lost his cool, played a big part in RSL dropping points tonight. Will he get benched an extra game? He should
Yura: B-
Didnt see the ball enough to really get into the game. He did have a couple flashes, but this wasnt going to be a match he could put his mark on. No space = bad games for he and Findley
Campos: ?
This guy played? Oh yeah, he was the big guy that did nothing cuz he had 2 other RSL players within 10 yards of him. Good tactics there
RSL: B-/C+
Lack of heart, lack of intensity, lack of juevos, lack of fire (well the right kind of fire I guess), etc etc etc. How much of this do we have to suffer through Uncle Dave?
Looking Forward:
RSL makes a trip to New England this next Saturday. I have a bad feeling that New England will get a little revenge for that 6-0 beating RSL laid on them earlier this year. No Olave and no mathis, its going to be ugly.
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