Photo: Nicolae Stoian
Carlos Ruiz said in the lead up to Wednesday night’s draw with LA that he was tired of hearing questions about the sputtering Union offense. Wednesday night, he said, the offense would make a statement that it had improved.
What do the numbers say?
Match statistics
The number of shots taken against LA increased compared to the number taken against Portland, from 8 last Friday to 12 on Wednesday. However, the Union didn’t have a shot on goal until the 73rd minute. The number of shots on goal increased from 2 against Portland to 3 against LA. There was a corresponding increase in the number of shots off target from 4 to 6. The number of corner kicks increased by 1 to 3 against LA.
Once again, the Union enjoyed the larger share of possession, although the margin decreased from 53.4% against Portland to 51.1% against LA. The number of passes was identical at 422, but passing accuracy dropped from 74% to 70%. While the number of duels won decreased by 1 to 44, the percentage of duels won increased from 51% t0 61%.
|
Category |
Union |
LA |
|
Attempts on Goal |
12 |
14 |
|
Shots on target |
3 |
3 |
|
Shots off Target |
6 |
9 |
|
Blocked Shots |
3 |
2 |
|
Corner Kicks |
3 |
6 |
|
Fouls |
12 |
10 |
|
Open Play Crosses |
15 |
15 |
|
Offsides |
4 |
2 |
|
Yellow Cards |
4 |
3 |
|
Red Cards |
0 |
0 |
|
Duels Won |
44 |
28 |
|
Duels Won % |
61% |
38% |
|
Total Passes |
422 |
400 |
|
Passing Accuracy % |
70% |
72% |
|
Possession |
51.1% |
48.9% |
Team offensive stat totals
If Ruiz meant that the offensive starters would make a statement, he was wrong.
Neither Ruiz or Sebastien Le Toux managed a shot on goal in the entire game. In fact, Le Toux didn’t record a shot (he only managed one, which was on goal, against Portland) and Ruiz’ 2 shots was a decline from his 4 last week.
If a statement was made, the second half substitutions made it. Danny Mwanga recorded more shots (3) and shots on goal (1) in 45 minutes than starters Le Toux and Ruiz combined. Jack McInerney’s ten minutes of play equaled the number of shots by Le Toux and Ruiz at 2 and his 1 shot on goal surpassed their efforts. Roger Torres, on the pitch for 23 minutes, delivered one shot, which was also on goal.
|
Player |
Goals |
Assists |
Shots |
Shots on Goal |
Offsides |
|
Danny Califf |
0 (1) |
0 (0) |
0 (3) |
0 (1) |
0 (0) |
|
Keon Daniel |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (2) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
|
Sebastien Le Toux |
0 (1) |
0 (1) |
0 (13) |
0 (5) |
1 (7) |
|
Justin Mapp |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
1 (3) |
0 (2) |
0 (0) |
|
Jack McInerney |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
2 (4) |
1 (2) |
0 (1) |
|
Stefani Miglioranzi |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
NA (2) |
NA (0) |
NA (0) |
|
Danny Mwanga |
1 (1) |
0 (1) |
3 (5) |
1 (1) |
0 (2) |
|
Kyle Nakazawa |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
1 (4) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
|
Amobi Okugo |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
NA (6) |
NA (3) |
NA (0) |
|
Carlos Ruiz |
0 (2) |
0 (1) |
2 (14) |
0 (5) |
3 (7) |
|
Roger Torres |
0 (1) |
0 (0) |
1 (4) |
1 (3) |
0 (0) |
|
Carlos Valdes |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
1 (3) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
|
Sheanon Williams |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
1 (2) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
|
Total |
1 (6) |
0 (3) |
12 (65) |
3 (23) |
(17) |
Overall team statistics
Heading into Saturday’s match away to Dallas, the Union remain at the bottom of the league in every offensive statistical category.
|
Category |
Union |
League Ranking |
League Leader |
Conference Leader |
|
Goals |
6 |
18th |
LA (13) |
Houston (13) |
|
Assists |
2 |
18th |
Vancouver (16) |
Houston (15) |
|
Shots |
65 |
18th |
Houston (135) |
Houston (135) |
|
Shots on Goal |
23 |
18th |
NY (44) |
NY (44) |
|
Fouls Committed |
113 |
7th |
Seattle (152) |
Toronto (146) |
|
Fouls Suffered |
98 |
13th |
LA (141) |
Columbus (137) |
|
Offsides |
17 |
14th |
RSL (35) |
Columbus (25) |
|
Corner Kicks |
16 |
18th |
Houston (53) |
Houston (53) |
|
Penalty Kick Goals |
1 |
9 teams have one |
Columbus (4) |
Columbus (4) |
|
Penalty Kick Attempts |
1 |
8 teams have one |
Columbus (4) |
Columbus (4) |
Overall, not much improvement but when they started to attack in the second half things looked promising. You could see that the ingredients for a potent offense are there. It was amazing how the crowd at PPL came to alive during that time. The excitement level for this draw was higher than the previous wins because of the style of play.
Any word on Mondragon’s status for Saturday?
He’s listed as probable.