Daily news roundups

News roundup: Union and Steel lose, weekend MLS and NWSL action, world transfer news

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Philadelphia Union

Another woeful road performance. The Union lost 4-0 to the Montreal Impact Saturday night.

Here’s Montreal’s view of the match.

And national coverage of the match.

The Bethlehem Steel also lost Saturday night, 3-0 to St. Louis.

Somehow, the Union are still in first place in the east at the All-Star break.

MLS

Do the Red Bulls and Union have the same problem?

Excited for the All-Star Skills Challenge? 

The rest of MLS weekend action recapped here.

Even Zlatan couldn’t save the Galaxy from the Portland Timbers.

Is Steve Clark the real Michael Myers? 

World

American Sergino Dest started for Ajax in the Dutch Super Cup.

Gareth Bale was on his way to China. Now he’s not.

U.S Soccer, also fans of soccer in baseball stadiums.

The US will now be represented at women’s beach soccer tournaments.

If you’re Manchester United, do you want Romelu Lukako or Pablo Dybala?

NWSL

Can the NWSL keep its post World Cup interest high?

The North Carolina Courage defeated the Utah Royals 2-1 Saturday night.

In another 4-0 matchup, the Chicago Red Stars defeated the Seattle Reign.

Local 

Reading United advanced to the USL League 2 finals with a 3-2 win over Tormenta 2 FC in extra time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

12 Comments

  1. It is as if no one in the East actually wants to be in first place.

  2. John O'Donnell Jr says:

    The dog days of parity have hit everyone but LAFC the past month. Revolution just six points out with a game in hand holding off Toronto by one point for the last playoff spot. Does anyone see 45 points getting that last spot this year?
    .
    With only two teams in the league with a winning road record, taking first place means more than ever this year.

  3. I didn’t get to watch Saturday night’s match. (I’m lucky in that the two I’ve missed recently were both 0-4 losses, I guess). I’m curious what people who watched, and in the expected game analysis, will have to say about the defense. Looking at stats, Union had a majority of the ball and a number of opportunities but remain ridiculously vulnerable to counter attacks. That might be an issue Monteiro can solve, but I’m wondering why Jim keeps running the same center back dup out there every match when they’re clearly not doing their job. I did see some highlights that included Ray Gaddis botching a header and sending the ball backwards right into the path of a Montral counter attack. Jim needs to get that back line sorted really fast or this team isn’t going to finish in the top 4.

    • While the Union did dominate possession, they had very little of it in the final third – at least to my eye. They had no ideas on how to get the ball into the box most of the time. So to me, the fact that the dominated possession was utterly meaningless, and bolstered by sideways and backward passes. Montreal was quite content to let them have those passes, but offered very little going forward into the final third. And put on a master class on how to sit and counter.
      .
      The defense? A lot of good things have been said here and in the game summary page. Gaddis was bad. Really bad, in my opinion. To the point where I’d rather see Warren Creavalle play right back, honestly. Since there’s no chance of that happening, I’m all in favor of putting RJ Allen out there for a game. Frankly, he can’t do worse.
      .
      To my eye, Trusty is too timid. He seems to me to be afraid to body up a man – especially higher up the pitch. (Which, frankly, is where he should be looking to body somebody hard – who gives a rat’s ass about a foul at midfield?) I don’t recall Trusty having this issue last year, but that could just be my old age again. If he didn’t, then something (or someone) has gotten into his head. Either way, I think sitting for a game or two might do him some good – whether that means watching with the other subs, watching from the stands, or playing a game or two with Steel to try and regain confidence, I think he needs to come out.
      .
      Gaddis and Trusty get most of the scorn, and rightfully so in my opinion. On the left side, Matt Real wasn’t bad, to my recollection; he just wasn’t Kai Wagner. That could be a case of just not having chemistry with those around him and generally not being in rhythm with this stage of the season. I’m not a good enough evaluater to say. Elliott had his issues as well. Part of them, I think, come from the fact he (and Bedoya) was in danger of a yellow card accumulation suspension. (It’s why I think Trusty needed to be the guy to level somebody at midfield, rather than letting Elliott or Bedoya do it.) I do wonder if some of Elliott’s mistakes are also because he’s between Gaddis and Trusty. If Elliott has lost confidence in one (or both) of them, that leaves him with a whole lot of ground to cover and decisions to make quickly.
      .
      I’d like to see Gaddis out, for good. (Thanks, Ray, for everything; but it’s time to move on from you.) Having him in the subs on game day is fine – he can provide cover at both fullback spots, but otherwise shouldn’t see the field except in an emergency. I’d like to see Trusty get a few games off, as I said above. I’d be OK with either Colin or McKenzie stepping in for him. Wagner is back this week in DC, which takes care of the left. Run with that new back line for 2-3 games and see if they gel into a cohesive unit. One game to evaluate that isn’t fair – and we need to accept that doing this could mean “throwing away” the DC game in exchange for an improved defense down the stretch. After 2-3 matches, re-evaluate the back line and tweak it if needed – whether it’s taking Elliott out, trying somebody else in Trusty’s or Gaddis’s spot, whatever.
      .
      And lastly… I really wish Andre Blake could make an excuse to pull out of the all-star game. It won’t do him any good, and could potentially make matters worse. He looks shaky recently, and I don’t really know why. Fatigue after the Gold Cup? Minor nagging injury? Tired in general (shouldn’t be, but…)? Whatever it is, travelling to the stupid-ass all-star game mid-week is a waste of energy for him. I’d rather he focus that energy elsewhere.

      • John Ling says:

        Tannenwald takes Gaddis to task pretty well, in my opinion, in this piece, which includes gifs of the three goals that are at least partially on Gaddis: https://www.inquirer.com/soccer/ray-gaddis-marco-fabian-union-impact-lassi-lappalainen-20190729.html
        .
        (That said, I disagree with Tannenwald about his evaluation of Fabian.)

      • Thanks for that lengthy reply, John. I rewatched the highlights and see mistakes all over the place… Standouts include Elliot going to ground and missing a tackle leaving an attacker a clear run on goal. I also see defenders unable to keep up with Montreal’s pace. Always tough to tell when you’re looking at the field from the side how much distance is between players, but it looks like a lot of Union guys struggled to reach attacking players on those counters.

  4. In Tanner We Trust says:

    I think we should be mindful that Wagner missed both 4-0 losses. A healthy Monteiro and Wagner’s return does much for the defence. But I think specifically, Medunjanin. Their presence allows Haris to venture more, which severely limits the opponent in creating turnovers that lead to attack.

  5. Old Soccer Coach says:

    Reading was down 2-0 at halftime, got a goal each from two substitutes to tie, and got a PK at the end of the second OT to win 3-2.
    .
    That’s the definition of team character comeback.
    .
    Organization better add Coach McCann to the higher levels technical staff full time before somebody else grabs him.

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