First and foremost on the agenda has to be RSL’s matchup tonight at Houston. Real have yet to put together a win at the beach, and will be hard pressed to do so this evening. Having pulled out the win at RES, RSL should find a motivated Houston squad this time around. Having won their last 2 games, RSL has clearly gained some confidence in their ability to score and have gained some chemistry with the Argentine newcomers. But let’s get serious for a moment. If you forget about the results for a moment, RSL has put together a good game followed by a lackluster performance which was saved by the courageous play of Nick Rimando and the porous defense of LA. Houston is very strong at home, and haven’t given up three points at Robertson since their May 19th loss to the Revs.
Houston are facing a bevy of injuries at the moment and will likely play this evening without Dalglish, Waibel and Ching. RSL on the other hand, will continue to play without Sturgis and Harris will be gone for a Kitts and Nevis u-23 qualifier. On a positive note about Kreis’ performance as coach, despite playing on Field turf for most of their home schedule, RSL have been one of the most durable teams from an injury standpoint. For a team who have traditionally fought injuries all season long under Ellinger, RSL has seen the same core lineup surprisingly often this year. Eddie Pope’s notoriously bad back has been solid all year.
Harris is an unfortunate loss for this game considering the physical style of play Houston will bring. For all of those people who detest the rugged, and even reckless play of Atiba Harris, his tireless workrate in the midfield and physically intimidating style of play have the inevitable effect of disrupting opposing teams attack and midfield rhythm. I still believe it is a ridiculous waste not to play him as an outside midfielder in a 4-4-2. His pace to get up and down the wing remain an untapped resource on this squad.
Esky will be back after his suspension, hopefully he will be looking to build on his last performance in the starting 11, where he actually began to have some promising touches on the ball. Too often this season, Esky’s weakness has been in his inability to effectively turn players and create chances facing goal. Between that and his occasionally ill-timed forays pressing against 3-4 defenders single-handedly, Esky has looked out of sorts for most of the season. The “probable line-up” card shows Esky playing the drop center with Brown*sigh* and Espindola up top. Not that the line-up card has a particularly good record for accuracy, but I seriously doubt that you will see RSL play their oddly shaped 4-3-3 like this, even if that happens to be their starting lineup. I expect to see something much closer to this…
—————Fabian ———— Esky
—————————Morales
——————————-Beckerman————- Brown
————————-Talley
———Kotschau ———–Pope—————Kipre
————————Mantilla
—————————Rimando
If Kreis would recover from his brain aneurysm he will start Wingert or even Jimenez or Lancos in favor of Brown, who is well on his way to earning the nickname Sigfried for his ability to make himself disappear on the pitch.
Also happening this weekend in MLS…
Toronto journeys to Dallas, where they will struggle to score having lost both Cunningham and Dichio to injury. Chicago plays in Columbus, which may prove to be an interesting clash of titans, with Schellotto squaring off against Cuatehemoc in the midfield. Colorado looks to add fuel to the Fire Yallop fire today, playing in LA…though they have to do it without Mastroeni, who will be playing for the USMNT against Brazil on Sunday. Colorado will surely struggle defensively without Pablo, and it will be an interesting opportunity to see if Ballouchy has grown since moving to Colorado, as he’ll likely be largely uncontested in a makeshift LA midfield.
Speaking of Pablo and the US game, This surely has to be the highlight of the weekend. Mexico’s schedule conflicts set up the opportunity, and Brazil is bringing big guns to the friendly. What a great opportunity to see some potentially great football. Brazil bringing a full quiver prompted Bradley to call up his big guns…Talent-wise, obviously the US is undermatched in this game, but clearly not without talent. There are likely to be some great individual duels, and watching Pablo attempt to contain Ronaldinho is bound to be entertaining. For anybody in the SLC looking fore a place to watch this one, The Republican Bar at 917 S. State street has assured me they will be opening early for this one. Grab some lunch and drag it down to the pub for an afternoon of football when all of the sports bars are likely to be filled with pointy-ball fans.
-Heretic
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