Dash 0 Racing 0 Post Match Thoughts
Racing put in a tremendous team defensive effort in the second half to salvage a point against Houston. Unfortunately it was a rather useless point in the grand scheme of things for Racing, and also unfortunately it probably didn't do too much damage to Houston's playoff hopes either. Based on Houston's performance in the second half against Racing, they don't look like much of a threat to do any real damage in the playoffs.
To put some perspective on how terrible Houston was in the second half, the Dash had only a 53% to 47% possession advantage in the second half WITH ONE MORE PLAYER. Even if the Dash got off 7 shots in the second half, almost none of them required anything other than a basic goalkeeping effort from Lund. At first I thought that Houston might just be trying to lure Racing out of its defensive third a bit, but as the half wore on it became clear that besides transition goals and penalties, the Dash doesn't really know how to manufacture much offense. Neither team looked close to scoring after halftime. If I was a Dash fan, I would be tremendously disappointed with the lack of execution in the second half.
Racing didn't have much to offer offensively either. On the other hand, the collective defending was excellent. If only they could channel this collective effort when they actually have a lead and eleven players on the pitch, maybe they would be in better position in the table. The back 3 didn't really work against Houston. Racing couldn't get out of its own half to start the match, and the extra defender definitely left fewer players available to attack and press. You can press with a back 3, but I personally believe you need 3 attackers willing to press at all times and sometimes that math doesn't work out in a 3 CB system. We definitely saw little to no pressing from Racing in this match. I’m fine with the pragmatism of a back 3 against Houston, I just wonder where this pragmatism was in the first half of the season. In fairness, perhaps it was only after Murray's arrival that it was even feasible.
Lauren Milliet made her 50th appearance for Racing in all NWSL competitions last night. She is obviously the first player to do this being the only player to appear in every Racing match to date. I've been told to expect some fanfare related to this from the club.
