quick post match thoughts

Posted by yamsmos on March 29, 2009 · Under News · View Comments 

i only have a few moments this morning to put down my thoughts on what was again another fantastic night… so this calls for bullet points me thinks… in no particular order

  • the atmosphere was JUST as good as the opening night.
  • alonso is a beast in the middle. he was winning everything all night long. man of the match for me
  • le toux’s work rate is very good, but he still seems to give up the ball a little bit to easily. i hope he can improve on this
  • zakuani looks to be the real deal, but with all that skill he obviously possesses, you can see some moments of immaturity when on the ball. this will come with time no doubt.
  • freddie ljungbergs entrance was fantastic. he had a good, not great 30 minutes. he won the ball a few times and looked very comfortable in doing so. when he signed, a lot of people (myself included) thought that he would have to provide much of the creativity, but with montero, nyassi (even though he didn’t play), riley and zakuani all capable of nice runs and touches, ljungberg must be licking his chops at all the options and the fact that teams won’t just have to worry about him, this should open up the runs and his ability to make the pass/run even more.
  • we were lucky not to concede a goal in the second half. i thought RSL were the better team for most of that half.
  • we gave up too many corners
  • we looked shaky on defencing a lot of those corners
  • zakuanis run to get in the pass for the opening goal was very good indeed
  • montero’s goal was sick. the keeper was totally caught off guard and a better keeper would have stopped that for sure, but let’s not take that away from a great strike.
  • final whistle saw freddie give my friend, who was wearing a sweden jersey,  some props with a finger point  and nod.
  • that cobi jones wannabee look alike needs an freakin hair cut

 

so great result all in all, but there were some defensive lapses that will need to be addressed, but even with that, getting the shut out and a few goals is all that matters right now.

 

your thoughts on the game?

  • jz

    Alonso is a beast in the middle.  He is doing a great job of breaking up the attack before it ever gets going.

    Zakuani needs to be able to go to his left or defenses are going to start to key on him cutting it inside.  Babel for Liverpool has this same problem when they play him on the left.  Did like some of the bite he brought to the attack though.

    Not just a better goalkeep would have stopped Montero’s goal–I think it just had to be a taller keep.  Rimando is tiny for a GK.

    Six points from two games.  Five goals against zero conceded.  I’m wondering how long before I wake up.  

  • abt

    I have 3 comments re last night’s game:

    1) If someone fouls Montero badly, then the next time that guy touches the ball he should be flattened

    2) Jacqua’s goal was good, but he gave the ball away too many times – so let’s start Lunjberg (SP. on both names) instead – please

    3) Why is Keller blasting the ball out every time?  Most of the time it just gives the ball away – how bout a short rolling pass out to the midfield or whomever – just as every good international team does (Brazil, Italy, Holland, you name it) ?

    A.T.

  • http://seattle.theoffside.com laurie

    Couldn’t agree more about Alonso.  When (not if) he serves his first suspension for card accumulation, everybody is going to see how valuable he really is. 

  • Tyler

    lol you are right Laurie I was going to say, we will find out how great Alonso is when he is out with his cards. Oh well, comes with the territory I guess, he plays hard, I love it.

  • JoelH

    Alonso’s play stood out to me as aggressive and effective–didn’t notice if he made many mistakes or overplays. I like what Keller does with the ball–the long throws are exciting and staying away from short throws with a defense that could make a mistake at any time makes sense to me.
    I was uncomfortable during the 2nd half until the second goal–I thought that the number of players in open positions on the run, starting with Ljungberg in the center kept the goalie focused on the through ball and susceptible to the long shot. It wasn’t until I saw the replay on TV that I could see all the movement on that strike–that would have been tough for any goalie. I didn’t set my DVR correctly so I couldn’t see the game on TV — can it be found online?

  • http://www.worldsoccerdaily.com kent

    you can bittorrent the game as an *.asf file,

    in terms of the ball montero hit, the GK when one way, the ball went the other, he knuckleball kicked the ball

    keller has a reputation of blasting the ball the long way, he did a couple of throws but for the most part he just punts it up the field.

  • Brent

    Nick Rimando is a great goal keeper. That was just a well hit shot 9 out of 10 keepers in the league would’ve been beaten by that shot. Also Kyle Beckerman is a bad ass hands down. One of the toughest mid fielders in the league.

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