nstarsfan Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 12 hours ago, BreadBoy said: IMO, Quinn really knows the middle of the field best and Lawrence has looked great on the outside. I really like Lawrence making the runs and overlaps, not sure if she can / permission to do that against the US. My thinking is that Lawrence used to have free reign to go forward from the D wing. I don't feel she's still encouraged to do that. This year, she seems to only go so far then pulls up and passes off. She's too dynamic to waste when she has speed and ball control that's needed. I'm not sure they're someone to fill the defensive spot but I think they need to start thinking about how to maximize her impact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nstarsfan Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 9 hours ago, The Ref said: An expected result albeit much closer than anticipated. It was really 1-0 as the 2nd goal for the U.S. was clearly offside, no discussion. Who was the AR on that side? We were too slow and too many giveaways. Did we have any shots on target? Don't understand why we keep using Labbé, a second rate keeper. Today she was still half asleep on the first goal, her face showed it from the start. With Labbe and others, I think they need to get more friendlies on the schedule so they can get other players developed to take over these roles. Defensive depth is lacking and they need a little something extra or different in the midfield and forward to compete with the big dogs. Look at how many friendlies the US plays. It helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adrenaline11 Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 What was clear to me was our lack of pace. In the modern game, if you know your opponent is going to have most of the possession, you have to be able to threaten them with quick passes and pace. How many times did we get in behind and when we did, how many U.S. defenders were able to get back into the box within 3 seconds? It was a mistake IMO to not play someone like Rose up top in order to allow Sinclair to operate more as an attacking playmaker. In fact, it was a mistake to not use Rose at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kent Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 12 hours ago, BreadBoy said: You wouldn't even need VAR to see that she was offside on that last goal. Hard to believe that there is even discussion about VAR for the WC next year and how FIFA want "to grow the game" It may very well be a slight to the women's game that they haven't committed to VAR, and it sucks that Leon is denied the Golden Boot because of a clearly offside goal, but that being said I'm happy if they don't have VAR at the World Cup. In my opinion it does not make the game better, and in fact makes it worse. Besides, if we play the "if" game and say Morgan's goal wouldn't have counted with VAR, I would also argue there is a decent chance Chapman could have gotten a red in this game if there was VAR, and then that changes everything and maybe Morgan gets a goal anyways with the player advantage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 Haven't checked in a while but we're pretty well funded and play a lot of friendlies. Exactly what that is compared to the Americans over the last decade might surprise. But yeah, as we saw in this game we need to play Top 10 teams. We've learned about all we need to know about playing weak ones. I missed the first half to family matters but caught the second. Did we have a good shot on net? Pace would be nice but it's not easy to come by world class speed. All the defenders at the Top 10 level have an extra gear, so it takes something exceptional to stand out like a Walcott or Mbappe. I was actually impressed with how many balls up into the front line were knocked on and to another Canadian. I think Schmidt was on the end of many of them. We seemed pretty good at winning long balls and getting the follow up. Especially historically comparative. We were good at getting to their box but were unable to do anything from there. Poor passes and decision making mostly but in general just a real disconnect in terms of understanding and execution. That stuck me as the key takeaway. Our defense was kind of random at times but that's a result of playing a free flowing team. We essentially held the #1 team in the world to one goal. Although I think that American team would get taught a lesson by France, England, etc. They looked like a team with it's fair share of issues too. It was nice to see KHM in CSA and not Old Navy apparel. And he looked so broodingly Nordic when the camera would focus on him. I have no idea what was going on in his head but he sure looked like he was 3000% engaged. It was a good look. As I was saying earlier, you learn where you need work by playing great teams. And I think we learned a key phase of the game we need to be much better at. I thought we might have gone to Matheson sooner and the late Huitema sub was kind of awkward. At a player level... Buchanan is so talented and a lot of fun to watch. We are so fortunate to have someone with that pace and skill set. I thought Beckie struggled and hoping she rediscovers her game. Her intensity level was pretty low, and nowhere near where it needs to be playing the USA. Seemed like her confidence is off. Whatever her way out of her funk is, turning that intensity level on its head couldn't hurt. The best attackers have laser focus and enormous confidence. Hope she gets help to get back there. Fleming was sure gunned up. Really enjoyed her getting stuck in. When one of your most skilled players is doing that it really sets a tone. I couldn't care if we lose badly if every player on that field has that level of compete and intensity. Used to be that was what Canadian soccer was all about and why the Americans hated playing is. That hockey mentality. Somewhere along the line it got lost for both better and worse. Maybe someone needs to take KHM to somewhere like Flin Flon to get an education in Canadian passion and grit. All in all the result was pretty much down to the wire, and when you play the US and walk away with that it's disappointing but you can never be too disappointed. So a year to build on those strengths and weaknesses to try and get to a place where we can go on a run and beat a couple opponents like that in a row. Easier said then done though when everyone is doing the exact same thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BreadBoy Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 Quinn and Fleming make the top XI: CONCACAF Women's Championship Awards Golden Ball: Julie Ertz (USA) Golden Boot: Alex Morgan (USA) Golden Glove: Yenith Bailey (Panama) Young Player: Jody Brown (Jamaica) Fair Play: USA Best XI: Bailey (PAN), Rebecca Quinn (CAN), Kelley O'Hara (USA), Abby Dahlkemper (USA), Crystal Dunn (USA), Jessie Fleming (CAN), Lindsey Horan (USA), Ertz (USA), Tobin Heath (USA), Megan Rapinoe (USA) and Morgan (USA) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Ref Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 Yenith Bailey played good games in goal, but she was very disconnected in the PKs shootout. I think Jamaica deserved at least one player amongst the Best XI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted October 21, 2018 Share Posted October 21, 2018 Things like best 11's and world POTY are usually more political than accurate. Case in point - USA is 1-0 on Canada in the final with a couple minutes left and Morgan is four feet offside. Pretty much the entire U.S.A. lineup is Best 11 and they went about 84 minutes against Canada 0-0. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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