CS Herediano Nudges Past Seattle Sounders 1-0

Thanks. I’m calmer now.

…but not sure it will be now.

I initially liked the starting forwards set. Jaqua, Noonan and Levesque are all set-up guys and I figured if they didn’t have an obvious scoring threat on the field, then all three of them would need to be a little more selfish offensively. I thought with Montero, they’d all be funneling to him and it’d be too easy to defend. I was very wrong. There was no punch, no threats. Too many passes and too many turnovers. Ozzie and Freddy – wow. Such a difference with them on the field. They earn their money. Clean first touches, moving forward.

The goalie pulling a hammy at the end almost brought the demise of my TV set. 5 minutes or rolling around, and then hop up and kick the ball 50 yards. WTF. Sanyang – not brilliant today, but I can see potential. Levesque – I’m rooting for him, but he hasn’t been much better than a neutral the last few games. Noonan – I’m not a Noonan hater like others, he has a role on the team. Jaqua – sigh. Tough to watch as you’d like to go out playing well. Sigh. OBW, Ochoa, Fucito, Montero, DP to-be-signed. No room for him next year. Leo – where was the juggling/dashing Leo we saw in Herediano? It was there in the first 10 minutes, and then?

Too bad, because a win tonight would have really opened up our schedule and allowed starters to focus on Open Cup. Now, travel teams and line-ups will get really interesting – we need a result next week at Communicaciones.

Sorry, but I beg to differ. Any lineup with a front line made up of the clumsy, immobile Jaqua and Noonan is horrid under any circumstance. I understand that injuries and suspensions took away several key offensive players, but that’s no reason not to use those weapons still available to you. Instead, we were given a lineup for the first two-thirds of the game whose sole offensive threat was…Lamar Neagle. That’s a losing proposition, no matter who is the opponent.

Can there be any doubt that, had we started the game with the personnel with which we finished it, we would have come away with at least a point and likely all three? As it was, this team essentially had to play defense for all ninety minutes, but only got thirty in which to play offense. Utterly frustrating, especially when this game was, let’s face it, our best shot at sewing up advancement. It’s not impossible from here on in, but it sure became a lot more difficult.

I know that injury and cards had a lot to do with it but jesus that was awful to watch!

im glad i didnt watch it though!!

sounds like a frustrating game

I can’t be alone in thinking that Sigi actually thought that Jaqua, Noonan and Levesque could help Neagle offensively.

He has played Noonan in way too many of the last 10 MLS games…it should be zero….to say otherwise.
He has shown many times that he doesn’t believe that we need speed out there on the turf.
He chose Jaqua over LeToux AND Nyassi. Beyond belief, but true.

We threw a line-up in that just didn’t have ball control. No one could pass effectively, and when they did the player receiving the ball wouldn’t control it, and instead give it right away. As soon as Alonso and Montero came on, that changed. EVERYONE started controlling the ball better (although there were still some give-aways). Montero would take a miss hit pass that’s not to his feet, control it, then distribute it again.

I have to agree that Ochoa was a very bright spot. I don’t understand how a player can be only 30 minutes match fit, when he played in Mexico? He had to be practicing and running right? Or was he just sitting around down there doing absolutely nothing and showing up to matches? In my opinion, Ochoa had awesome control, body strength and skills. I’d love to see him up top with Montero with the normal 4-4-2 and starting 11. I think that with Rosales, Montero, Ochoa, and Fernandez, we could see some awesome passing scenes to set up some nice goals.

I can’t blame Sigi for putting out a sub-par offense, he put out what he had and could given the scenario he was in. Montero and Alonso were coming off a Saturday game and playing again in 3 days takes a toll, so you want to try to save them for the next weekends games. The line-up otherwise wasn’t that bad either, just needed to calm down and control the ball better.

Also, to note: Neagle needs to stop challenging and stay on his feet. He doesn’t have a good challenge, and rather should just play a Zakuani type roll where he stays forward and uses his speed. He needs someone else to control the ball and distribute to him.

Why no mention of Scott’s poor performance? He’s usually pretty good in the air and a passable defender, but oh my god does he make some awful decisions with the ball. Keller was livid with him multiple times last night. He gave the ball right to the other team several times (his M.O. at this point) and made one or two dangerous passes across the middle of the back. All Keller could do was throw up his arms in question.