Racing 0 Dash 4 Post Match Thoughts
Courtesy EM Dash Photography
Racing put in one of their worst performances in recent memory in the match Sunday afternoon vs. the Houston Dash. In case you were wondering, I am an idiot and should never be taken that seriously in any of my predictions or analysis. I predicted a victory in this match for Racing, and frankly once they went behind, they never looked like they were seriously in the match. To be fair I made my prediction prior to finding out that both Bonner and Riehl were listed as questionable on the injury report. In the end, Racing were doomed when the team sheet came out. It's hard to win in this league even with your two starting CBs completely healthy. Nothing against Hendrix and Martin, but they just haven't played together competitively in months, and it showed. Martin had a pretty bad touch that led to Houston's 2nd goal, but nobody bathed themselves in glory with their defensive efforts. Fox couldn't hang with Nichelle Prince at all in the first half. The 3rd goal was a comedy of errors and looked like a goal you might see in a youth match.
On the attacking side, Racing wasn't much better. Matthews looked dangerous early, but couldn't put a shot on target. In fact, nobody did. The passing accuracy was (not to go full British but…) bloody awful. The second half passing accuracy was a frankly embarrassing 59%. Racing had 46% possession, but precious little of it was in Houston's half.
This next sentence is going to sound self-contridictary, but it's what I think it sums up Racing's major problem. Racing plays too slowly from the back which causes poor decisions by rushing their passes. Playing out from the back can be a really effective way to control a match if you can do it effectively. Racing plays too slowly from restarts and allows the defense to push up on them before they make their next pass. When you play slowly from the back you invite pressure. When you play quickly but intentionally from the back you can slice through a defense effectively. In this match especially Racing seemed to dawdle until forced to make a pass, and then rushed into a tougher pass or a bad decision. If there is one thing that not being a gifted athlete will teach you, it's that you have to play the ball quickly. Sometimes younger athletes forget the cardinal rule of any sport: nobody is faster than the ball. When the ball moves quickly, you don't have to. More important than your attacking philosophy, the speed at which your team moves the ball will dictate your success. Go back and watch Racing's goals. They almost all result from quick team moves or the quick decision to press. Or maybe I'm an idiot, which as I stated earlier is entirely possible.
Regardless, surely now we can file away any talk of playoffs and begin to focus on next season. Based on what I saw today, I think I would be very cautious about how many changes to make in a single match, especially in defense. Salmon needs to build back her confidence, and if Racing wants her to lead the line next year she needs to start the remaining matches. Betos deserves a break, and seemed to take today's loss especially hard. I heard Fox did as well. The match on Friday will be an important test to see how Racing respond from this disappointing performance.
