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| I'm going to need you to flap those wings like you mean it. |
First, I want to applaud The Bailey for chanting “Cody Cropper” after Vancouver’s goalkeeper went down after a, frankly, terrifying foul. That’s class, no further comment. Now, about that game...
To expand on a phrase I typed throughout 2022, “there are no moral victories.” There comes a time when a team (say, FC Cincinnati) kicks off three seasons on training wheels (this was on a busted-down trike inherited from an eccentric grandparent) and builds a certain amount of expectation. They leave the nest, wings spread, out in the world and...that’s just it: they keep flying or they fall back to the ground.
It’s in that full, little chickadee in the big city sense that I view Cincinnati’s 2-2 home draw against the Vancouver Whitecaps as a bad result. Worse, the goal that pulled the ‘Caps level was a two-fire-alarm fucking disaster; as a (side-piece) fan, I’m angry that Cincy’s last line of defenders didn’t direct more anger at the midfielders and/or Tyler Blackett, all of whom fell so far behind the play and didn’t look all that interest in catching up. That left Toisant Ricketts with at least two wide-the-fuck-open players to pass to inside Cincinnati’s 18 and, in a game where the imperative to “leave it all on the field” was sharp and urgent, they did not. There is no universe in which that is not the worst, defining moment of the game.
On a meat-‘n’-potatoes level, I don’t think Cincinnati deserved to win this game – that’s despite having quality chances to get all three points (they posted a win-worthy number of shots, and with enough on goal.) Debutante Sergio Santos had two good-to-great looks – including one that any eager fan would love to see a new signing put away (e.g., the one shot with his feet) – Obinna Nwobodo had a non-crazy shot from range, Alvaro Barreal forced a good save out of 20-year-old substitute ‘keeper, Ian(?) Boehmer (and that’s on top of attempting an olimpico on every corner), and so on. Cincinnati had chances to put a little padding between them and a Vancouver comeback, They never managed to pull it off leaving Vancouver free to walk through a door they left open, and end of game
It hardly helped that a fair number of Cincy players had off nights. That happens, obviously, but eve accounting for key absences and injuries (to name the bigs, Luciano Acosta, Junior Moreno, and, circumstantially, Alvas Powell....Ronald Matarrita’s been out long enough that losing him amounts to losing an arm – i.e., that’s just something one adjusts to), Cincinnati didn’t have anything to overcome Vancouver didn’t (Cincy’s broadcast team would not let this go, btw), and it shaped the game in...a way. Nwobodo was loose on the ball in a way that led to too many turnovers, Blackett’s passing out of the back ranged from dubious to bad, John Nelson failed to add much in the attack and Raymon Gaddis...every player makes mistakes, and fatal ones come with defending. Had Gaddis done everything else all right, you can still salute the outing...but he did not. Basically, the combined team put out enough collective “bad” for Cincinnati to drop two points last night and can I get a “goddammit” on that?
The pisser is, Cincinnati scored two really nice goals – both of them from high-percentage reads on yawning gaps in Vancouver’s defense, and in the softest of their bits – and, to celebrate a guy I’ve crapped on dozens of times, with Yuya Kubo having one of the best games I’ve seen him play, plus (PLUS) Brenner having two assists, each of which backed-up his price-tag. Barreal took his goal wonderfully, Brandon Vazquez did the same: in just about every way, all Cincy had to do was hold on. And that’s why throwing away two points on taking a defensive shit on your home turf feels like such.............................disappointment. The future is now, guys. No one’s going to walk into it for you.
Just as maddening: I doubt many neutrals would accuse Vancouver of playing a great game. Even if Lucas Cavallini pissed away a chance every bit as good as Santos’ in the first half, and stats be damned, I’d say they doubled Cincinnati’s rate for killing off their own moves. To their credit, they seemed to make a conscious choice to push the game from the 70th minute forward and, based game-states and the equalizer, that choice paid off. Even if Cincinnati got pinned into a gentle version of getting stuck in their own end, the weight of that turned the game. A fair chunk of that had to do with how the ‘Caps organized around choking off passing lanes to Kubo and Nwobodo in the second half – a tactic that pushed what I dubbed Cincinnati’s “line of frustration” to inside their own half – but the bigger crisis followed from the way the ‘Caps stepped up their game just as Cincinnati’s legs gave out.
So, no, not real happy with this one. Worse, it made the games ahead - @ CLB, v NSH, @ MIA, v PHI, v ATL, @ RBNY, v CLB – feel taller. I see Cincinnati in 6th place, don’t get me wrong, but there are literally three teams below who can leap-frog them as early as this Sunday. And, in the case of Columbus Crew SC, that’s a zero-sum phenomenon. So, Cincy, kindly keep “hell” as imaginary as possible.
That’s it for the general/disappointed stuff. To flag talking points that didn’t already slip into the above...
1) Can Noonan Rotate the Squad?
So long as I’m willing to chalk up last night’s defensive collapse to players running out of gas – and, for the record, I think a fair number of Cincy’s players crapped out down the stretch – I can’t very well look past the idea that, maybe, Noonan should rotate the squad. I heard a rumor (during the broadcast) that Powell should return for Sunday. Getting Acosta back would be good, obviously, but I’m not sure that’s sorted out yet. About that...
2) Brenner Was Not Built for Leading the Line
I remember watching Brenner drop back into midfield all through last season – and he seemed to prefer wide left to receive the ball – and thinking he could, y’know, actually PLAY all right. By that I mean, he made a greater portion of good decisions and had the technique to pull off most of it. His assists last night – both of them great, precise, and unexpected passes that made Vancouver’s defense fall on its collective ass – supported the wisdom of letting him roam a little. Based on what I’ve seen, Brenner is better behind/between the lines, and I’m thrilled Pat Noonan not only sees that, but seems to have some sense of how to weaponize it.
2a) That Said...
I wouldn’t have called that PK either. Brenner dove (as did Nick Hagglund later in the game). Not flagrantly enough that I’d book him for it, but the contact looked minimal enough that I don’t see a point in filing a grievance.
3) Get Well Soon, Sergio
There’s no better way to say it than this: I was disturbed to see Santos limp off the field toward the end of the game. Given the notes in 2), I can see how Brenner dropping back could work some form of wonder with Santos in the mix. But, yeah, his debut wasn’t great, and whatever injury he picked up is worrying. And it’s not like Vazquez is chopped liver.
All in all, again, I’m not happy. If there’s a sub-text in all of the above, it’s the belief that FC Cincinnati has the best team it has ever had in the MLS era. For every player I griped about, there was at least ¾ of a player performing in the opposite direction. Given that, I will hold onto the “but for” of Vancouver’s equalizer until further notice, and/or some fucking wins.
Till the next one....
To expand on a phrase I typed throughout 2022, “there are no moral victories.” There comes a time when a team (say, FC Cincinnati) kicks off three seasons on training wheels (this was on a busted-down trike inherited from an eccentric grandparent) and builds a certain amount of expectation. They leave the nest, wings spread, out in the world and...that’s just it: they keep flying or they fall back to the ground.
It’s in that full, little chickadee in the big city sense that I view Cincinnati’s 2-2 home draw against the Vancouver Whitecaps as a bad result. Worse, the goal that pulled the ‘Caps level was a two-fire-alarm fucking disaster; as a (side-piece) fan, I’m angry that Cincy’s last line of defenders didn’t direct more anger at the midfielders and/or Tyler Blackett, all of whom fell so far behind the play and didn’t look all that interest in catching up. That left Toisant Ricketts with at least two wide-the-fuck-open players to pass to inside Cincinnati’s 18 and, in a game where the imperative to “leave it all on the field” was sharp and urgent, they did not. There is no universe in which that is not the worst, defining moment of the game.
On a meat-‘n’-potatoes level, I don’t think Cincinnati deserved to win this game – that’s despite having quality chances to get all three points (they posted a win-worthy number of shots, and with enough on goal.) Debutante Sergio Santos had two good-to-great looks – including one that any eager fan would love to see a new signing put away (e.g., the one shot with his feet) – Obinna Nwobodo had a non-crazy shot from range, Alvaro Barreal forced a good save out of 20-year-old substitute ‘keeper, Ian(?) Boehmer (and that’s on top of attempting an olimpico on every corner), and so on. Cincinnati had chances to put a little padding between them and a Vancouver comeback, They never managed to pull it off leaving Vancouver free to walk through a door they left open, and end of game
It hardly helped that a fair number of Cincy players had off nights. That happens, obviously, but eve accounting for key absences and injuries (to name the bigs, Luciano Acosta, Junior Moreno, and, circumstantially, Alvas Powell....Ronald Matarrita’s been out long enough that losing him amounts to losing an arm – i.e., that’s just something one adjusts to), Cincinnati didn’t have anything to overcome Vancouver didn’t (Cincy’s broadcast team would not let this go, btw), and it shaped the game in...a way. Nwobodo was loose on the ball in a way that led to too many turnovers, Blackett’s passing out of the back ranged from dubious to bad, John Nelson failed to add much in the attack and Raymon Gaddis...every player makes mistakes, and fatal ones come with defending. Had Gaddis done everything else all right, you can still salute the outing...but he did not. Basically, the combined team put out enough collective “bad” for Cincinnati to drop two points last night and can I get a “goddammit” on that?
The pisser is, Cincinnati scored two really nice goals – both of them from high-percentage reads on yawning gaps in Vancouver’s defense, and in the softest of their bits – and, to celebrate a guy I’ve crapped on dozens of times, with Yuya Kubo having one of the best games I’ve seen him play, plus (PLUS) Brenner having two assists, each of which backed-up his price-tag. Barreal took his goal wonderfully, Brandon Vazquez did the same: in just about every way, all Cincy had to do was hold on. And that’s why throwing away two points on taking a defensive shit on your home turf feels like such.............................disappointment. The future is now, guys. No one’s going to walk into it for you.
Just as maddening: I doubt many neutrals would accuse Vancouver of playing a great game. Even if Lucas Cavallini pissed away a chance every bit as good as Santos’ in the first half, and stats be damned, I’d say they doubled Cincinnati’s rate for killing off their own moves. To their credit, they seemed to make a conscious choice to push the game from the 70th minute forward and, based game-states and the equalizer, that choice paid off. Even if Cincinnati got pinned into a gentle version of getting stuck in their own end, the weight of that turned the game. A fair chunk of that had to do with how the ‘Caps organized around choking off passing lanes to Kubo and Nwobodo in the second half – a tactic that pushed what I dubbed Cincinnati’s “line of frustration” to inside their own half – but the bigger crisis followed from the way the ‘Caps stepped up their game just as Cincinnati’s legs gave out.
So, no, not real happy with this one. Worse, it made the games ahead - @ CLB, v NSH, @ MIA, v PHI, v ATL, @ RBNY, v CLB – feel taller. I see Cincinnati in 6th place, don’t get me wrong, but there are literally three teams below who can leap-frog them as early as this Sunday. And, in the case of Columbus Crew SC, that’s a zero-sum phenomenon. So, Cincy, kindly keep “hell” as imaginary as possible.
That’s it for the general/disappointed stuff. To flag talking points that didn’t already slip into the above...
1) Can Noonan Rotate the Squad?
So long as I’m willing to chalk up last night’s defensive collapse to players running out of gas – and, for the record, I think a fair number of Cincy’s players crapped out down the stretch – I can’t very well look past the idea that, maybe, Noonan should rotate the squad. I heard a rumor (during the broadcast) that Powell should return for Sunday. Getting Acosta back would be good, obviously, but I’m not sure that’s sorted out yet. About that...
2) Brenner Was Not Built for Leading the Line
I remember watching Brenner drop back into midfield all through last season – and he seemed to prefer wide left to receive the ball – and thinking he could, y’know, actually PLAY all right. By that I mean, he made a greater portion of good decisions and had the technique to pull off most of it. His assists last night – both of them great, precise, and unexpected passes that made Vancouver’s defense fall on its collective ass – supported the wisdom of letting him roam a little. Based on what I’ve seen, Brenner is better behind/between the lines, and I’m thrilled Pat Noonan not only sees that, but seems to have some sense of how to weaponize it.
2a) That Said...
I wouldn’t have called that PK either. Brenner dove (as did Nick Hagglund later in the game). Not flagrantly enough that I’d book him for it, but the contact looked minimal enough that I don’t see a point in filing a grievance.
3) Get Well Soon, Sergio
There’s no better way to say it than this: I was disturbed to see Santos limp off the field toward the end of the game. Given the notes in 2), I can see how Brenner dropping back could work some form of wonder with Santos in the mix. But, yeah, his debut wasn’t great, and whatever injury he picked up is worrying. And it’s not like Vazquez is chopped liver.
All in all, again, I’m not happy. If there’s a sub-text in all of the above, it’s the belief that FC Cincinnati has the best team it has ever had in the MLS era. For every player I griped about, there was at least ¾ of a player performing in the opposite direction. Given that, I will hold onto the “but for” of Vancouver’s equalizer until further notice, and/or some fucking wins.
Till the next one....
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