Racing 0 Current 2 Post Match Thoughts
Courtesy USA Today Sports Images
The effort for Racing last night oscillated between indifferent and non-existent, so the result is hardly surprising. Kansas City never seemed too bothered by any of Racing’s counter punches and ultimately cruised to an easy victory.
There was a huge Taylor Flint-sized hole in the midfield last night, but I am not sure how much difference it would have made. Racing’s back line without Flint in front of it looks labored and slow. Temwa Chawinga scored so early and easily that I felt like she powered down into 2nd gear after the first few minutes in order to save her energy for a tougher opponent. Truth be told, I think she could have scored 2 or 3 more if she was in the mood to do so. Wright was no match for her pace, so when it was Chawinga vs. Wright instead of Chawinga vs. Milliet I thought a goal was inevitable. Thankfully Chawinga didn’t score but the one.
The defense needs some upgrades in the offseason. Wright is not quick enough for the league’s speedier attackers, and Erceg has lost enough of her fastball that she needs a quicker partner. Petersen was off of her game last night, so I won’t judge her too harshly, but it was definitely her worst performance in a Racing kit that I have witnessed. The back line as a whole misplaced too many passes in their own half, especially early, to build any real momentum after the early Current goal.
One of the reasons that I do player ratings is that I believe that stats-based models that sites like Fotmob uses miss quite a few nuances and reward mediocrity. However, last night I think Fotmob kind of encapsulated the effort. The entire team hovered in the “average range” between 5.9 and 6.9. In essence, no player last night did much to distinguish themselves. Milliet ran after a few lost causes, but they were just that, lost causes. Sears’ physical gifts means that sometimes she looks like she isn’t exerting maximum effort when she is. However, last night she quit on some balls and lost focus multiple times. Racing is in trouble when she is expected to play 90 minutes of defense because I don’t think she is fully engaged on that side of the ball yet. DeMelo looked so out of place in what I think a lot of us assume to be her best position, that I bet quite a few of us are rethinking her impact through the middle. Personally, I don’t think Wright should be playing 90 minutes against the league’s top opponents.
The glass half full view is that due to the other league results Racing did not really lose any ground. If the team can get something positive in Washinton, they still have a shot. The glass half empty view, which I tend to frequently hold with this team is that regardless of if Racing squeaks into the playoffs, they don’t have much shot of winning a match against a top opponent.
