Courage 5 Racing 1 Post Match Thoughts
IT’S A PHOTO BY ANNE EVANS!! (Designer of my site logo)
The first word that comes to mind is regression. It could be argued and has been argued that despite their record that this Racing team was a marked improvement over last year. I still believe that opinion could be true, but in the last two matches I think you could make a case that it is not.
The first and most glaring problem is that Racing concedes too many goals. I don’t feel like this is breaking news. The clubs tell its fans to “Run With Us” and then seem to tell its opponents to “Score On Us”. I can’t see how this changes without a change in personnel. I will give Beth Giesel of the Lavender Legion credit for this, but if Racing could find 6-foot defenders who used to run track, that might begin to help. I don’t think many of those athletes exist outside of the WNBA, so Racing will have to figure out a different way to improve on defense. Rhetorical question time: how many successful pressing clubs are you aware of that concede two goals/match?
This club and team need an identity. I am afraid/hopeful that this 2022 Racing team will be remembered as the worst team in club history from a points perspective. Coach Björkegren recently stated that the rest of the work this year will be in hopes of getting better next year. Racing then proceeded to go out and put on a performance of pre-season quality, so “message received” I guess. The main issue is that I can’t really identify what this team is supposed to be. The club has a stated philosophy of pressing, but that only works as a cohesive unit. This team is far from cohesive on the pitch. I could see progress in losing with a distinct style of defending, but so far, I haven’t. The announcers on last night’s Twitch broadcast also identified Racing’s lack of identity as a problem. It’s clear to everyone, so I assume that it is clear to the front office as well. I have no earthly idea how to solve this issue other than starting over. I don’t think you have to fire the coach or get rid of more players, but you at least have to make the concession that the original plan isn’t working. Is the club brave enough to concede defeat on Plan A and more on to Plan B?
This team is becoming not fun to watch, which could potentially be the most dangerous trend. I didn’t see any real fight to try to get back into the match last night. That is 100% on the players. I don’t think all of the players were but in their best positions, but players have to take full blame for inaccurate passing (70%) and getting out-passed by 257 freaking passes! DeMelo was probably the least involved that she has been in some time. Overall, only Nadim did anything remotely positive, but after scoring I don’t think Racing had any hope that its goal was anything more than a consolation prize.
I am hoping that Racing’s more casual fans didn’t find the match on Twitch last night. As a die-hard, I wish I didn’t watch it. I would have turned it off if I didn’t feel some kind of self-imposed obligation. The effort vs. Orlando on Friday has to be better or Racing risk turning die-hards into casual fans and not the preferred other way around.
