Racing 0 Gotham 2 Post Match Thoughts
Courtesy Connor Cunningham
Racing got a reality check in front of an ESPN audience on Saturday afternoon. I don’t think Racing played particularly poorly. I think Gotham are that much better than Louisville at this point in time. I think “mid-table” is about the proper assessment of Racing at the moment, and I think we should appreciate that it is a pretty good improvement for a first-year coach/system.
On the other hand, I don’t necessarily agree with Bev assessment that the little things are what separates Racing and the top teams in the league. Gotham came out and played about as good of a half as you can while staying in second gear. They never seemed rushed or bothered by Racing’s defensive setup or offensive attacks (bar a few early counters). I think it is crystal clear that Gotham values the football above all else. Very few of their passes went awry and frankly very few of them were very difficult to complete. Their spacing was quite excellent and pleasing to the eyes. When Racing did get on the ball, Gotham fought very hard to immediately get it back. For a large portion of the first half, Gotham had a near 75% to 25% possession advantage. Coach Yanez clearly has a plan, but I would rethink any plan that concedes that much of the possession. If you only take away one thing from this post, let it be this: Gotham is what a “good” team is supposed to look like. They made the match look so, so easy and frankly for them, it was. They play admirable, eye-catching football and you will never hear me complain when a team like that wins. The beautiful game is at its best when it is beautifully constructed and controlled. It was 3 points won and earned by the superior team.
Now, I don’t necessarily think that Racing set up incorrectly in this match. Gotham was always going to have more of the ball. Personally, I only ever felt like Racing had a chance to break through on the counter or through a mistake. Racing didn’t apply enough pressure at any point on the pitch in the first half. I don’t know whether to chalk that up to design, preparation, or effort, but Racing looked content to concede possession even after falling behind. In the second half, Racing had a slight chance to get back in the match as I thought Gotham came out flat. However, Milliet lost Stevens at the back post in the 53rd minute and Gotham hadn’t really even done anything in the second half that I would consider even mildly threatening. Good teams kind of get goals like this from time to time.
Racing gets to move on quickly, but I can’t stress enough that no trip to the west coast should be deemed “easy” no matter what your opponents’ records say. It will be a chance for them to respond and neither Angel City nor Seattle is near Gotham’s class. I believe Racing can take the match to both of those teams and get some points, but it won’t change my assessment of them at this point. Racing is not quite ready to control the match against the best of the best, but that isn’t really too concerning at this point in their development. I think they are about where they should be at this point, and I think if the coaches and players are honest with themselves this should be a pretty easy loss to shake off and move on from.
