Racing Gotham Preview/Thembi Kgatlana Signing
Unofficial Racing Mascots, but officially cute doggos Louie and Sparky after practice on Wednesday
Racing announced the signing of Thembi Kgatlana from Athletico Madrid on a two-year deal. The South African winger fills a specific need in attack as a outside player deployed in her preferred postition, as opposed to the converted wingers Racing had been using like Ekic and Salmon. It will likely be the end of July before she is available to make her Racing debut. She will be expected to move right into Racing's Starting XI. Coach Björkegren was non-committal on whether to expect any more business in this transfer window, but I have a feeling that only a game-changing addition would be considered at this point.
Racing will be playing at Lynn Family Stadium for the first time since June 11th. Their last two matches, have been played on frankly embarrassing pitches. Segra Field is a terrible turf pitch which is built for everyday use. My own personal experience on turf is that its integrity decreases pretty significantly after the first dozen of so uses unless it is properly maintained. I'm pretty sure the players hate it. The pitch at Daytona held up from a structural standpoint, but wasn't ideal for many reasons. I think it's fair to say that Toni Pressley had been struggling for Orlando, but a shorter and narrower pitch allowed her to have her best player rating since May according to Fotmob. Racing likes a big pitch and a narrower and shorter one that was also “squishy” wasn’t ideal for them. It probably didn't impact the result, but it impacted the players’ experience. Aren't there enough football and soccer stadiums in America now that we can find a way to not spend $1,000,000 on a temporary pitch.? I hated this idea from the start and hope that the lack of overwhelming ticket sales will mean that we don't see it again. If there is a next time, expect Racing to suggest that Orlando find another opponent. Long story short: play soccer in soccer specific stadiums if at all possible.
As for the match on Friday, Gotham come into town riding a 3 match losing streak where they haven't scored. It's the classic resistible force vs. movable object match up. I predict goals galore, but that's typically means you can bet the house on a 0-0 draw. Gotham might feel like the woodwork owes them from the last match against Racing, so expect them to try their luck from distance again in hopes that the ball breaks their way this time. I expect no changes from the last match in Racing’s starting lineup.
