I’ll address some points about Saturday’s match, but don’t expect a long one today. It all still stings a bit, doesn’t it? It wasn’t so much the defeat — defeats happen, they happen on the road, and that part is not entirely surprising, for better or worse. No, the entirely hard part is still the manner of the defeat. Twice we had a lead, twice we let it go through a lax performance across the board.
Playing for a draw?
When everything went a bit upside down and we were sitting on a 2-2 draw, we attempted to bunker down and take a result. From the moment we conceded that second, we sat back and let Houston pass around us. It was absolutely disastrous, as our system is hardly a bunker down system — and that, combined with a modified system to fit Arturo Alvarez and Collen Warner, was our downfall.
As we rely heavily on maintaining possession effectively in the opposition half as our primary defensive shield, our inability to effectively maintain possession high up on the pitch did us in. When our defenders are forced back into their box, and our midfield doesn’t drop to cover the attackers the defenders would be covering higher up the pitch, we’re liable to concede goals from long shots. It’s hardly just a property of the Kreis system — it’s a property of any high-possession, high-line system, and I would really hope the players understood that at this point. Perhaps they do, and perhaps fatigue sets in late during road matches. At this point, it’s difficult to say conclusively.
Playoff Hopes
If we continue at this rate, our playoff chances will be severely diminished, and not just because we’ll be dropping into a wildcard spot. Our points obtained in this run of five games — a measly three — taken to the extreme of assuming our form remains exactly the same throughout the season, would see us land on 44 points, level with this very rough estimate of Portland Timbers. Certainly our form will improve — it must — but if we’re not careful, we’ll find any glory this season out of reach.
However, if we continue at the rate we have throughout the season, we’d land on 56 points and fifth in the MLS, which, right now, seems nothing to sneeze at. Do we have a continued chance to win the Supporters’ Shield? Mathematically, yes. But we have plenty to play for, and revised expectations, however unfortunate, are necessary.
Right, so, a short one today as promised. Hopefully things will level out in the next few days, the boys will get back to training, and we’ll hear some positive rumblings coming out of the RSL camp. Come on you Claret and Cobalt!
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