Racing 0 Bay 1 Post Match Thoughts
Courtesy Jordan Prather (NWSL)
Racing put in another lackluster performance and now find themselves outside of the playoff spots. I predicted that the match would pivot on an error after watching a labored first half from both sides and Louisville ended up being the one who made it.
There is a rule of thumb that you never make a defensive substitute while defending a corner, but Bev did the next worst thing by putting in Baggett and Goins to defend on a dangerous throw deep in Racing’s territory. Baggett committed the foul for a (stone cold) penalty on virtually her first action of the match. The subs of Goins and Baggett had been planned minutes before, but I think I would have told the 4th official to hold off on the subs until Racing wasn't in such a dangerous position. I'm not saying that this is a major error. I AM saying this is the type of detail you have to get right when your margins of error are so slim. Baggett hasn't played meaningful minutes in a while, so it was pretty clear that she might be rusty.
Racing will always miss Taylor Flint when she doesn't play, but they especially missed her on Saturday. The passing completion rates for both teams were well above 80%, indicative of a lack of pressure from both sides. Flint likely would not have allowed such nonsense as she lives to disrupt things. However, the heat index sucked the life out of the atmosphere, so who knows how this match plays out in other circumstances. By the way, I hate ESPN. It's full of sports shouting,
commercial breaks where college football players stand around for 5 minutes while erectile disfunction ads play ad nauseum, and frequent appearances by noted circus clown Stephen A Smith. Their worst crime may be that they mandate stupid game times to fill their schedule. I hope Racing never appears on ESPN again unless they get a decent time spot.
This team has to start to play better. You can make all of the excuses in the world and there have been plenty of extenuating circumstances, but I have heard 3 and a half years of the “this team didn't quit” platitudes. It's definitely been long enough for me to take no solace in any kind of “effort” related, “nearly there” rhetoric. I will throw out a platitude of my own…I'm not mad, just disappointed. However, I can't say I am surprised at how this season is turning out because every season before it has turned out the same way.
The Fill the Fam match is always a good time to do a pulse check on the general health of the franchise. The average attendance for Racing’s home matches this season is 7300. That is up 21.6 % from last season and also represents a 10.5% increase over the inaugural season which was their highest to date (numbers represent league matches only). Those increases aren't bad, but I suspect that Racing is going to end up around 6900 or 7000 when the season ends. If you would have asked me at the beginning of this season if I thought the roster was 21.6% improved, I would have probably said no. I think I say yes to the question now, but the roster balance is suboptimal. Racing has needed the back end of its roster this season and it has been woefully lacking. Having 4 keepers under contract is a bizarre luxury for even a top-level team. Motlhalo was given the number 10 jersey and has played 7 minutes less than that high-profile number. Clegg isn't close to seeing meaningful NWSL action and Kurosaki has seen no time. I would probably sacrifice Motlhalo, Kurosaki, or a keeper for an extra defender at this point. The transfer window doesn’t open for another month, but I think we could see some movement then.
