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Originally posted by Unregistered View PostNWCL scores:
Capital 0 - Eugene 0
OPFC 7 - Westside 0
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Originally posted by Unregistered View PostNoticed some familiar faces (from odp) on the field of the westside/opfc game while I was watching my son play capital fc- jj made it seem he was rostered with TA to the boys but can play for westside as well? I guess it did not matter they still got blown out?
He had a couple good runs when he was able to get the ball deep in Westside’s half and could drive at the defenders, and looked okay on the ball, but was largely shut down by OPFC’s defense. So yeah, it didn’t matter.
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Originally posted by Unregistered View PostHold up, Copa Dad gonna gives us a breakdown?
Very short recap. Game was interesting for the first half and half of the second. OFPC up 2-0 at halftime, WT looked like they would get one back early in the second then conceded on the counter. In last 20 minutes, all hell broke loose.
First of all... I am quite impressed with OPFC's new coach. He has turned the team from one that was dangerous but predictable, and relied way too much on the longball on offense and pace on defense, to one that was playing a lot of possession-based soccer and picking us apart. The roster looked much the same as last year, but the results were completely different. OPFC was a well-oiled machine. (Though those yellow socks...)
And we weren't.
Sometimes, when you get beat badly, it's simply due to one team having better players. The Portland Timbers are not going to beat Liverpool no matter what tactics Gio Savarese dreams up. Other times, one team simply fails to show up, it happens at all levels of sports. But other times--it's apparent that coaching and preparation play a big role. I suspect that today was... partially the second, but a lot of the third. A year ago, the two teams, with mostly the same rosters, had vastly different results, so I'm not willing to concede the first. We don't have ML anymore, but he wouldn't have made that big of a difference in this one, so that's not an excuse. Nor is not having AH for much of the game (he took a knock down in Phoenix and had his minutes limited this weekend).
Last week, praise was given to Steven and Cony for their work they did with the Oregon ODP teams, both of which had a fine tournament in Phoenix. Letting the kids play, rather than drilling them, was probably a smart move given the limited training time available, as the two teams were able to bond and form a cohesive unit. But in club soccer, where you have more time available to train, tactical preparation is not a luxury, it's a necessity. Perhaps there was a bit of an ODP hangover, as the staff has been focusing on that over the past two months, and this is a matter of simply clearing some rust. But I'm concerned there's a bit more going on, and SE and the team have some work to do.
One good sign of how well a team is prepared, is how well they do on set pieces, particularly on offense when they control the action and the other team is forced to react. It seemed that every OPFC cornerkick or free kick (within 40 yards of the Westside goal) produced a well-weighted cross into the box, that arrived at head height at the same time as a phalanx of OPFC players. I don't remember any of these, maybe one, that sailed harmlessly over the box, or outside of it, or otherwise missed badly. Being able to do this reliably is crucial at higher levels of soccer. Westside's set pieces were... an adventure, seldom producing danger. Last year, a lot of WT goals were scored off of set pieces--but most of those were ML beating the keeper off of free kicks, not converting crosses. Nobody on this current team is reliable at blasting in bangers, so being able to play it into the box efficiently and score that way is an important skill.
Similar issues were observed when WT wingers (any of them) were able to get down the field on the sides. Often times, there was only one or two player in the box to meet the cross, with team shape not being maintained. It seemed that there was too much concern about defending the counter, and not enough urgency at going forward.
Westside, as a club, has long had a tendency to de-emphasize tactics on its first teams, and focus on ball skills and things like that, encouraging players to improvise. At younger ages, this makes sense--a lot of technique is best mastered when players are young, and if the club considers it part of its mission to train and identify talent for the Timbers Academy (something it does fairly well), this is not a bad way to go about this. But at U15, the kids (most of them) are now in high school, and the TA bus has long left the station. None of these kids (on either side) are likely to become pros at this point, though some might be able to play college soccer. But at this age, teams should focus on more advanced tactical play and not rely so much on individual creativity and ball skill.
Westside had a strong summer season (albeit with a few TA players guest playing), and a strong fall season (though perhaps against competition that was less than stellar; as many of the top clubs didn't bother). But NWNL has so far been a disaster, other than a beatdown of WA Rush. Winter league starts soon (for some reason, we have no January games), and something isn't working.
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Originally posted by Unregistered View PostWell, that was.... embarrassing. For all concerned.
Very short recap. Game was interesting for the first half and half of the second. OFPC up 2-0 at halftime, WT looked like they would get one back early in the second then conceded on the counter. In last 20 minutes, all hell broke loose.
First of all... I am quite impressed with OPFC's new coach. He has turned the team from one that was dangerous but predictable, and relied way too much on the longball on offense and pace on defense, to one that was playing a lot of possession-based soccer and picking us apart. The roster looked much the same as last year, but the results were completely different. OPFC was a well-oiled machine. (Though those yellow socks...)
And we weren't.
Sometimes, when you get beat badly, it's simply due to one team having better players. The Portland Timbers are not going to beat Liverpool no matter what tactics Gio Savarese dreams up. Other times, one team simply fails to show up, it happens at all levels of sports. But other times--it's apparent that coaching and preparation play a big role. I suspect that today was... partially the second, but a lot of the third. A year ago, the two teams, with mostly the same rosters, had vastly different results, so I'm not willing to concede the first. We don't have ML anymore, but he wouldn't have made that big of a difference in this one, so that's not an excuse. Nor is not having AH for much of the game (he took a knock down in Phoenix and had his minutes limited this weekend).
Last week, praise was given to Steven and Cony for their work they did with the Oregon ODP teams, both of which had a fine tournament in Phoenix. Letting the kids play, rather than drilling them, was probably a smart move given the limited training time available, as the two teams were able to bond and form a cohesive unit. But in club soccer, where you have more time available to train, tactical preparation is not a luxury, it's a necessity. Perhaps there was a bit of an ODP hangover, as the staff has been focusing on that over the past two months, and this is a matter of simply clearing some rust. But I'm concerned there's a bit more going on, and SE and the team have some work to do.
One good sign of how well a team is prepared, is how well they do on set pieces, particularly on offense when they control the action and the other team is forced to react. It seemed that every OPFC cornerkick or free kick (within 40 yards of the Westside goal) produced a well-weighted cross into the box, that arrived at head height at the same time as a phalanx of OPFC players. I don't remember any of these, maybe one, that sailed harmlessly over the box, or outside of it, or otherwise missed badly. Being able to do this reliably is crucial at higher levels of soccer. Westside's set pieces were... an adventure, seldom producing danger. Last year, a lot of WT goals were scored off of set pieces--but most of those were ML beating the keeper off of free kicks, not converting crosses. Nobody on this current team is reliable at blasting in bangers, so being able to play it into the box efficiently and score that way is an important skill.
Similar issues were observed when WT wingers (any of them) were able to get down the field on the sides. Often times, there was only one or two player in the box to meet the cross, with team shape not being maintained. It seemed that there was too much concern about defending the counter, and not enough urgency at going forward.
Westside, as a club, has long had a tendency to de-emphasize tactics on its first teams, and focus on ball skills and things like that, encouraging players to improvise. At younger ages, this makes sense--a lot of technique is best mastered when players are young, and if the club considers it part of its mission to train and identify talent for the Timbers Academy (something it does fairly well), this is not a bad way to go about this. But at U15, the kids (most of them) are now in high school, and the TA bus has long left the station. None of these kids (on either side) are likely to become pros at this point, though some might be able to play college soccer. But at this age, teams should focus on more advanced tactical play and not rely so much on individual creativity and ball skill.
Westside had a strong summer season (albeit with a few TA players guest playing), and a strong fall season (though perhaps against competition that was less than stellar; as many of the top clubs didn't bother). But NWNL has so far been a disaster, other than a beatdown of WA Rush. Winter league starts soon (for some reason, we have no January games), and something isn't working.
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Originally posted by Unregistered View PostA bit disappointed in the recap Copa dad. To blame odp (almost your entire roster was there) and the coaching is disengous at best. You, of all people, I thought would stay away from making excuses. Game was never close not even in the first half and it was not that westside did not show up, they were just flat out beat by a better team that played better quality soccer.....and guess what, no kid on the 05 TA roster will play pro either so stop giving that group undue credit......
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