Racing v Current Pre Match Thoughts
Courtesy USA Today Sports Images
The playoffs haven’t started yet, but Racing has to be in “play-in” mode in the next 4 matches to have a realistic shot at making the post-season for the first time. The club is also pulling out every trick in the bag to try to get more fans in the stadium, but that may also be too little to late.
I posted on Twitter (never X) that I was not going to watch or comment on the Utah loss, and I stood by that this week. I listened to BTRD to get a sense of the match, and I think that listen combined with a quick look at the stat sheet gave me enough context to avoid a dreadful watching experience. It appeared to be another in long line of momentum-killing matches. Racing just cannot seem to win 3 matches in a row.
Bev Yanez took The Courier Journal to plead with fans to attends these next couple of matches. The irony was not lost on me that the club decided that the local newspaper was the right avenue for this. I feel fairly confident that The Courier Journal won’t be here in 50 years (and I probably won’t either so nobody should be able to call me on it if I am wrong), but Racing’s lifetime in Louisville appears to be in so much jeopardy that I would count 5 years as a blessing. I would not fault Soccer Holdings if the team wasn’t here in 5 months. Other (mostly significantly larger) cities have figured out how to make their teams sustainable, if not quite profitable. Profitability should not be a major concern for owners of sports franchises, but the teams have to be somewhat sustainable (and sustainable within the rules…I am looking at you Angel City). It would be a local tragedy if Racing didn’t make it in Louisville, but it wouldn’t be a league tragedy. I would argue that it wouldn’t even be a league failure. I am sure the league would much rather have a team in Miami pull 6,000 fans over one in Louisville. Louisville was very, very fortunate to get a team in the first place. I would hate to see Racing leave, but at this point I blame the populace. The last I heard, the USWNT had not sold out Lynn Family Stadium for its match. I think that likely says all that needs to be said about this city. The appetite isn’t there. I enjoy Racing win or lose. However, I am part of a minute minority. If you are reading this, you are part of a miniscule one.
While the club is still hear and has something to play for, I guess I should move on to the soccer. Racing has a decent history against Kansas City, so I give them a fighting chance on Saturday. I will not have too much harsh criticism for the match in Utah, but based on what I heard on BTRD it seemed like Racing had very little control of the match. One should never strictly equate control with possession. Racing was in control of large sections of the match against North Carolina whether they had the ball or not. They were fine with North Carolina possessing the ball on certain spots of the pitch. That is control as well. In the first match against Kansas City, there were several times where the Current seems to have the match put away and were dominating. However, Racing pulled out a point in the end by staying close and Kansas City shutting off a bit. Kansas City is firmly a top 4 side this season, but they are not a team that you count yourself out against if you go behind (where they are about league average). On the other hand, they are never put away if they go behind first (they lead the league at 1.83 pts/match when the other team scores first). Basically, the team scores goals and plenty of them. If Racing are to win, the safe bet is on winning a shootout.
