It is what it is. We’ve been grousing since last season about the shallow depth of this roster. So when that depleted roster runs into a nearly intact Utah (shitty roster building has some bizarre upsides!) it would have taken soccer genius to overcome the mismatches and whatever else Ken is, he’s not that.
He wasn’t a genius last week. He’s not a mook this week. He seems like a nice replacement-level gaffer. The troops like him. That’s nice. Fits right in with the whoop-whoop GM who’s strong suit seems to be enthusiasm.
If we’re okay with that that’s what we’re going to get more of. If not? We’ll see what happens in the offseason.
Thanks Melina for the write up. I missed the game and now I’m not sure I want to see it. But to be fair it seems like Utah was nearly full strength and Portland missing a lot of normal starters.
I know it is not good form to blame the heat and altitude, but there is that. Despite being at the bottom of the table they have been much better at home beating NC, losing to Orlando by only 1. So I am not going to open my veins because they lost. Disappointed, Yes, Discouraging, sure!
Yes, I believe Sam's out...and if I'm not mistaken, it's against Japan.* Not a team you want anything but your best #6 facing. If it's Sonnett, she's more than capable...except for that inevitable-like-gravity once or twice a game derp, and someone like Mina Tanaka is going to gobble that up like shaved ice during なつやすみ.
I think Japan are missing Aoba Fujino, though: not on the last two games roster after scoring v Spain. I may have missed an injury notification, 'coz she's not someone you even leave on the bench for two in a row, and not being on the 18 means someone on the reserve was activated (which makes two for Japan now). If this had been WWC23, the US would likely be doomed, but on _current_ form, the US have to be the favorites.
* Yes, I'm super-conflicted! Long-time USWNT supporter, but also a huge Nadeshiko fan. I'm an American...but Japan is my home.
If Davidson is back, yes Sonnett at the 6. That Nadeshiko midfield must be stacked for Hina not to make the team. Hopefully she will make the WEC 2027 roster.
Watching todays game with five Aussie Thorns and five USWNT Thorns is a nice reminder of talent that we have seen play in PP. Well Arnold hasn’t played here yet, but still.
Y'all...I am not really excited about Arnold lol. Every game I've seen she looks...not good (or at least not better than what we already have.) She seems to have butterfingers and is slow to react. Can't catch a ball to save her life...
Seems like basic saves there? I've seen a few good saves, sure. Shelby Hogan has good saves too! I've seen more errors than good saves but I'm admittedly not knowledgeable about keepers. She seems a little hesitant.
Meh. I didn’t see the first half but what I saw of Arnold looked like a pretty average international keeper who was getting shelled because her backline was utter crap.
I still don’t get the urgency in the signing - we have much bigger holes elsewhere AND a shitpile of keepers - but my guess is she was available and her fans in management advocated for her. I think she’ll do fine…IF we fix our own backline issues. That and all the other hole-filling are the important parts…
Curious what folks who know GKing better than I do think about our new Aussie GK, specifically in assessing the Zambia game. That game was bonkers…any of those saveable? GK errors? Defensive errors? Both? Shes conceded a lot of goals this tournament but I haven’t watched enough to know why…
I just watched the highlights and as a former keeper, here are my thoughts:
1st goal - Slow reaction time. From that far out and as long as the ball was in the air, she should have been able to tip it over the bar. As soon as the ball was kicked, she should have backed up to her goal line, but she was frozen in place and then when it was going over her head, it was too late.
2nd goal - Didn't cut down the angle. Yes, great placement (as was the first goal), but she wouldn't have had to dive so far if she was out a little more (which I think she should have been). She was positioned correctly in terms of laterally between the posts, just not out far enough. Maybe she was traumatized by the first goal? It was also a weak dive - she got almost no burst from her legs - almost as if she just fell over.
3rd goal - No fault, just unlucky. Could have maybe been a better punch, but that's nitpicking. Correct decision to punch there. Ideally would have punched to left sideline away from danger. If not able to do that, then punch high to give your defense time to defend. But again, that's nitpicking.
4th goal - Zero fault - deflection off a clearance attempt.
5th goal - No fault. Headers in the box like that are tough, and it was good placement with some pace. She was positioned correctly.
So, not terrible, not great. She did parry a shot that I thought she could have caught, but I think it was deflected, so she probably did the best she could have there (it didn't result in a goal). Those are my thoughts on her performance and just my opinion. I would definitely say she did better than the box score would indicate. Little errors become amplified when you're the goalie, especially when they lead to goals.
No problem - I'm often days late in looking at / responding to threads. Sometimes I feel like I'm talking to the wind haha (apologies to King Crimson).
There's no realistic scenario where they don't win the group, so there's not really any reason at all to risk injury especially given how condensed the schedule is.
(And, fwiw, even if there WAS a realistic scenario, finishing second probably would yield an easier draw. The winner will likely play either Spain or Japan whereas the runner-up will probably play Canada or Colombia)
Yeah, run out Lynn, Nighswonger, Sonnett, Krueger ect…would be nice to run out Shaw also if she’s healthy. Even Croix. It would be nice to give Sam a rest, but I’m guessing we see Sonnett in for Tierna and so then there’s not a lot of backup. Kind of a bad knock-on effect of the Davidson injury.
It seems Emma is also rotating Soph and Mal game to game…which is probably smart to save some legs a little. First game Mal was more on the wing and probably logged more mileage, whereas the second game it was Soph more on the wing with Mal in the middle. Small changes but smart imo. Wonder if we see Lynn on the left with Soph back in the center v. Aus. Rodman maybe gets some help too if they throw Dunn up there…but she had a hell of a time against Germany and will probably need some rest also.
Catley slightly better defensively, I would say - Carpenter’s defensive play has really fallen off since the ACL - but it’s not a great centre back pairing and they’re emptying out the midfield to compensate for having lost Kerr.
Only one that could have been even partially blamed on her was when she punched out off a FK and it ended up at Banda's feet...though it was a fine punch and probably more bad luck than anything else. Wouldn't call any of the others save-able, but also wouldn't say she's made any particularly outstanding saves (which isn't really her biggest strength anyhow).
Really can't overstate how godawful the Aussie defense has been so far.
Does a second-yellow red add a game onto the suspension? Cause if so, WHAT THE FUCK is Hayes doing? Also, they HAVE A GAME on Saturday? Just no reason at all to kill Rodman's legs like this!
I love that she's gotten this team to click so easily, but she's on the verge of undoing her excellent tactical work with some awful decisions.
Also.....this is 80% on Hayes for putting a player whose primary job is to make tackles in the position, but Sam's gotta chill. She hasn't handled this very well, which is pretty out of character.
It is what it is. We’ve been grousing since last season about the shallow depth of this roster. So when that depleted roster runs into a nearly intact Utah (shitty roster building has some bizarre upsides!) it would have taken soccer genius to overcome the mismatches and whatever else Ken is, he’s not that.
He wasn’t a genius last week. He’s not a mook this week. He seems like a nice replacement-level gaffer. The troops like him. That’s nice. Fits right in with the whoop-whoop GM who’s strong suit seems to be enthusiasm.
If we’re okay with that that’s what we’re going to get more of. If not? We’ll see what happens in the offseason.
Even if we're not okay with it we may get more anyway.
And we might get it - as the saying goes - good and hard…
Thanks Melina for the write up. I missed the game and now I’m not sure I want to see it. But to be fair it seems like Utah was nearly full strength and Portland missing a lot of normal starters.
I know it is not good form to blame the heat and altitude, but there is that. Despite being at the bottom of the table they have been much better at home beating NC, losing to Orlando by only 1. So I am not going to open my veins because they lost. Disappointed, Yes, Discouraging, sure!
Go Thorns!
Soph's shots are reading tired.
We are due for one Sonnett derp a game, I'm sorry it's the rules lol.
How many times have I slapped my forehead in her honor?
I will admit I felt warmly sentimental watching Raso foul Sonnet. Like a Thorns practice session in days gone by.
Coffey is an absolute Iron Woman. Soph looked exhausted. Does Coffey have to sit out the next game? If not Why has she not been subbed in three games?
Yes, I believe Sam's out...and if I'm not mistaken, it's against Japan.* Not a team you want anything but your best #6 facing. If it's Sonnett, she's more than capable...except for that inevitable-like-gravity once or twice a game derp, and someone like Mina Tanaka is going to gobble that up like shaved ice during なつやすみ.
I think Japan are missing Aoba Fujino, though: not on the last two games roster after scoring v Spain. I may have missed an injury notification, 'coz she's not someone you even leave on the bench for two in a row, and not being on the 18 means someone on the reserve was activated (which makes two for Japan now). If this had been WWC23, the US would likely be doomed, but on _current_ form, the US have to be the favorites.
* Yes, I'm super-conflicted! Long-time USWNT supporter, but also a huge Nadeshiko fan. I'm an American...but Japan is my home.
If Davidson is back, yes Sonnett at the 6. That Nadeshiko midfield must be stacked for Hina not to make the team. Hopefully she will make the WEC 2027 roster.
Watching todays game with five Aussie Thorns and five USWNT Thorns is a nice reminder of talent that we have seen play in PP. Well Arnold hasn’t played here yet, but still.
I'm just glad it didn't cost us anything. Lol that was some thorns level defending for a moment.
Well I'll take it. Now...more subs plz.
Y'all...I am not really excited about Arnold lol. Every game I've seen she looks...not good (or at least not better than what we already have.) She seems to have butterfingers and is slow to react. Can't catch a ball to save her life...
She's made three pretty good saves already today? Even the one shaky one (the tip on the Dunn hit) was fine.
Seems like basic saves there? I've seen a few good saves, sure. Shelby Hogan has good saves too! I've seen more errors than good saves but I'm admittedly not knowledgeable about keepers. She seems a little hesitant.
The saves on Horan and Smith were were both legit good imo.
And again.....this Aussie defense is worse than dreadful.
Yes, that's def true lol
(To be clear, I'm not saying she's a particularly awesome keeper, but I don't think she's done anything wrong)
Meh. I didn’t see the first half but what I saw of Arnold looked like a pretty average international keeper who was getting shelled because her backline was utter crap.
I still don’t get the urgency in the signing - we have much bigger holes elsewhere AND a shitpile of keepers - but my guess is she was available and her fans in management advocated for her. I think she’ll do fine…IF we fix our own backline issues. That and all the other hole-filling are the important parts…
Curious what folks who know GKing better than I do think about our new Aussie GK, specifically in assessing the Zambia game. That game was bonkers…any of those saveable? GK errors? Defensive errors? Both? Shes conceded a lot of goals this tournament but I haven’t watched enough to know why…
I just watched the highlights and as a former keeper, here are my thoughts:
1st goal - Slow reaction time. From that far out and as long as the ball was in the air, she should have been able to tip it over the bar. As soon as the ball was kicked, she should have backed up to her goal line, but she was frozen in place and then when it was going over her head, it was too late.
2nd goal - Didn't cut down the angle. Yes, great placement (as was the first goal), but she wouldn't have had to dive so far if she was out a little more (which I think she should have been). She was positioned correctly in terms of laterally between the posts, just not out far enough. Maybe she was traumatized by the first goal? It was also a weak dive - she got almost no burst from her legs - almost as if she just fell over.
3rd goal - No fault, just unlucky. Could have maybe been a better punch, but that's nitpicking. Correct decision to punch there. Ideally would have punched to left sideline away from danger. If not able to do that, then punch high to give your defense time to defend. But again, that's nitpicking.
4th goal - Zero fault - deflection off a clearance attempt.
5th goal - No fault. Headers in the box like that are tough, and it was good placement with some pace. She was positioned correctly.
So, not terrible, not great. She did parry a shot that I thought she could have caught, but I think it was deflected, so she probably did the best she could have there (it didn't result in a goal). Those are my thoughts on her performance and just my opinion. I would definitely say she did better than the box score would indicate. Little errors become amplified when you're the goalie, especially when they lead to goals.
I forgot to respond because the message board can move swiftly lol, but this was super helpful, thank you!
No problem - I'm often days late in looking at / responding to threads. Sometimes I feel like I'm talking to the wind haha (apologies to King Crimson).
Bad defending never helps a keeper look good.
On the bright side, she only conceded 1 goal in the 2nd half while the Matildas were digging themselves out of a hole.
I am done making predictions for a while, but I'd have to think Hayes has our frontline really test Arnold and her backs.
I'd hope Hayes rotates HEAVILY against Australia given this will be the third game in a week. I'd start pretty much the entire bench.
I hope she does too, but not before we put the match out of reach.
There's no realistic scenario where they don't win the group, so there's not really any reason at all to risk injury especially given how condensed the schedule is.
(And, fwiw, even if there WAS a realistic scenario, finishing second probably would yield an easier draw. The winner will likely play either Spain or Japan whereas the runner-up will probably play Canada or Colombia)
Yeah, run out Lynn, Nighswonger, Sonnett, Krueger ect…would be nice to run out Shaw also if she’s healthy. Even Croix. It would be nice to give Sam a rest, but I’m guessing we see Sonnett in for Tierna and so then there’s not a lot of backup. Kind of a bad knock-on effect of the Davidson injury.
It seems Emma is also rotating Soph and Mal game to game…which is probably smart to save some legs a little. First game Mal was more on the wing and probably logged more mileage, whereas the second game it was Soph more on the wing with Mal in the middle. Small changes but smart imo. Wonder if we see Lynn on the left with Soph back in the center v. Aus. Rodman maybe gets some help too if they throw Dunn up there…but she had a hell of a time against Germany and will probably need some rest also.
I think the Aussies have great FBs (Carpenter and Catley) and very suspect CBs.
Emma coached her team well on Berger.. she is great but spills and hence Swanson picks up Berger’s spill of Smith’s shot.
I suspect she knows Macca’s weakness as well.
I think the Aussies without Kerr will have problems scoring on the US. Zambia lost it more than the Aussies won it.
Both Carpenter and Catley are good players, but both are extremely attacking-minded. There was a TON of space in behind all for Zambia all match.
Catley slightly better defensively, I would say - Carpenter’s defensive play has really fallen off since the ACL - but it’s not a great centre back pairing and they’re emptying out the midfield to compensate for having lost Kerr.
Only one that could have been even partially blamed on her was when she punched out off a FK and it ended up at Banda's feet...though it was a fine punch and probably more bad luck than anything else. Wouldn't call any of the others save-able, but also wouldn't say she's made any particularly outstanding saves (which isn't really her biggest strength anyhow).
Really can't overstate how godawful the Aussie defense has been so far.
Halftime of the Houston-Tigres match, talking about the weekend's results:
"A Portland team that has been a Jekyll and Hyde all season long."
It's been nice to see how many of the Liga MX Feminil sides have been competitive in Week 2.
Hey y'all guess who just gave up a 2nd minute goal to Tijuana?
¡Vamos Perras Malas!
Almost gave up another.
Soph how tf
2015 Timbers vs. KC esque
Better now than in a final, whether w/ the Thorns or the NT.
Albert's always been able to strike a ball, I'll say that for her
I'm very confused by these subs and this game overall.
Where did that come from?
Does a second-yellow red add a game onto the suspension? Cause if so, WHAT THE FUCK is Hayes doing? Also, they HAVE A GAME on Saturday? Just no reason at all to kill Rodman's legs like this!
I love that she's gotten this team to click so easily, but she's on the verge of undoing her excellent tactical work with some awful decisions.
I was wondering the same...either way, Sam got very lucky to not have that studs up ankle crunch given a card!
Also.....this is 80% on Hayes for putting a player whose primary job is to make tackles in the position, but Sam's gotta chill. She hasn't handled this very well, which is pretty out of character.
Yeah agreed. And if I was Aus, I'd be targeting challenges with her. Her reaction time can be a tad slow still at this level...
And now...2 yellows in the center of the field. Woof.
Omg pull Sam out, that was bad....