A day on and it's still a bit hard to take that loss against Chicago Fire, but it's essential to remember that there were some great things that came from that match. I'd like to touch on a few of those briefly, but first, a spot of news for y'all. (I'm sorry. I will never say y'all again. Maybe.)
Nick Rimando and Kyle Beckerman have both been called up to the U.S. National Team 22-man squad for the Oct. 8 and Oct. 11 international matches. This is a bit disturbing because we have a match on Oct. 6 (thanks, Vancouver) and it's not entirely clear if both will miss the match. Obviously Kyle Beckerman will through suspension (dammit, Kyle!), but I'm not sure whether when Nick will travel to meet up with the squad. Ideally, we'd love to have him in the side for the Vancouver match, if just because we only have one other fit keeper, what with Kyle Reynish still suffering.
We'll certainly be missing Will Johnson, and it's likely we'll be missing Alvaro Saborio, Jean Alexandre and Arturo Alvarez, as their national sides all have matches on Oct. 7. Our squad will again look a little threadbare, but to be honest, get other players in and see how they react. It can't be any worse than our match was on Wednesday.
Right, so I said I'd touch on some positives, so I suppose it's time I did that.
- Javier Morales seems to have come through unscathed. He was tackled a few times, but every time, he got back up and got on with it. There was a little trepidation in his movement, but that may just as well have been down to a general rustiness and not a lack of mental composure. It'll be worth looking after, but I have full confidence in our staff to do that.
- The man who ran onto the pitch has been banned from the club, which is nothing but positive in my book. I won't touch too much on this point, as you can read about it in our new RSL in 100 Words or Less feature today.
- The side knows that they screwed up. Particularly, Kyle knows he screwed up. It's hard to ask for much more than that right now. Is it regrettable that they did? Sure. But if they can show a little self-awareness and improve, especially before the playoffs kick into high gear, we'll be better off as a side for it.
- Certainly that Jason Kreis has made clear his expectations or the side can only be good as well. I don't know what he's like particularly in the locker room (though I have my guesses) but I'm sure he let the side know that they let him down, the team down, and the fans down. And there were plenty of us there to be let down (thankfully!)
- Finally, the reaction to Javi coming on was brilliant. Once he started to walk toward the bench, a rumble of excitement kicked in, and when he stood by the fourth official, the crowd erupted. 3-0 down and not looking likely to come back, but the fans made their voices heard in rapturous applause and chants of "JA-VI! JA-VI!": That, my friends, is what it's all about.
Til tomorrow. Up the RSL!
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