• Voices From Soccer's North •
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I am not certain what pictures Johan Venegas has of Heath to continuously get runouts over Ibarra. At least Ibarra runs and puts in effort. We were tied late and rather than pushing for a late winner, all I saw from Johan was walking and jogging. I do not mind dropping points if there is effort from the guys, but Johan was not bringing it last night.
Came here to ask the same thing. Johan has been sub-par for a long time in my opinion. Sadly, I think Molino has joined him. How many awful passes/decisions did he make Saturday? 10? 15?
Finlay and Nicholson were bright spots. Danladi was largely a non-factor outside of a layoff pass or two. Molino never really stamped his presence on the game. Warner and Ibson were decent defensively, but were the weakest links in this game. Philly dominated the midfield for large stretches while we tore up the wings. Kudos to Calvo and Finlay for pushing through for the goal. That is the type of passion and commitment we need!
The defense was decent once they woke up. That goal we gave up to Philly was ridiculous and falls on the whole defensive line. They all watched that pass and not one moved to intercept it. After that though, they didn’t give up many good opportunities after that and Philly’s finishing was poor. The team commitment to defense was pretty solid after the opening minutes.
We missed Cronin. Warner is a disruptor, not a containment type of guy and he often overruns the play after the initial touch. I can’t fault his motor. Ibson has few moments, most of them on defense. However; he was taking the ball from his own guys like Molino when they already were on the break. Unless that is some wacky game plan, it seems like communication on the pitch remains an issue, partcularly in transition.
Leiton had a small cameo, but he looked like a guy trying to figure out his role. He was looking to and talking to Calvo most of the time he was out there. It looks like he had some speed and maybe some foot skills, but he needs some more time in training. I’m guessing he got the sub and will continue to get sub time as an audition for next season. I think Ibarra will be traded. I also think he would have been the better choice last night.
We are missing Ramirez. While Danladi has pace, Ramirez is stronger and more clever on the ball. I really want to see them both out there. Put one up top and float the other underneath. MN transitioned from a 4-2-3-1 to a 3-5-2 several times last night and the transitions were smoother.
VAR is what it is. If we had been at Philly and the roles reversed, we would have been grateful. VAR isn’t what cost us a win last night, the last 45 min of the game where we couldn’t finish is what cost us the win. I don’t like taking 1 pt from home games, but the product on the pitch improved with the summer window and I’m hopeful we’ll see more before the season’s end.
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