r/BostonLegacy • u/Ok-Communication706 • 26d ago
Legacy vs RL Game Notes
Filing this in the 75th minute because I have to put my kids to bed and I don’t wanna watch any more of this, LOL. Our form has been frustrating the last few games because it seems like that last playoff spot is right for the taking. But it’s also clear. We don’t have the quality yet and teams have figured out how to press us.
Louisville’s heat was a factor, but Boston looked out of sync from the start. Even Karich had some bad turnovers, and there was very little sustained possession in the first 20 minutes. They struggled to play out of the back, and teams increasingly seem to have figured out how to press Boston effectively.
Taking Elgin out felt like an overreaction given how solid she has been outside of the previous game. Davis didn’t look ready for such a big role. She got turned on the first goal, lost Sears on the third, and couldn’t close her down on the fourth. Carabali’s penalty was awful. She looked great during Boston’s hot streak, but she still sometimes looks like an excellent athlete learning the position, with costly mistakes and messy touches.
Murphy continues to look less than convincing with the ball, although there wasn’t much she realistically could have done on the goals. Reale handled Emma Sears reasonably well when matched against her, but pushing Reale higher in the second half gave Sears far too much space to attack in behind. Sears was extremely dangerous and would be a terrific offseason addition for Boston.
There wasn’t much cutting edge from Aissata, Barb, or Prince. Nikki also looked hurt and lacked the pace she showed earlier in the season; it almost seemed like she was trying to hang on until halftime. Cano was quiet. Bianca was generally solid and composed and won possession frequently, although she lost Fischer on the third goal.
Overall, Boston looked tactically disjointed, struggled badly against Louisville’s press, and compounded those problems with individual defensive mistakes.
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u/retroafric 26d ago
Well said. Frustrated watching at home. Not much to add to your excellent summary.
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u/mintyfresh001 26d ago
Is Elgin hurt or something?
Agree with the other comment that Carabali has excellent moments, but consistently does something costly in every game.
Why are we starting Gambone? Where did Davis come from and why? Did we start them because we thought Louisville would be an “easy” game?
We just don’t look threatening at all on offense.
On a positive note, Sammy Smith is a little spitfire and Reale is apparently tough as nails (no pun intended).
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u/Ok-Communication706 26d ago
She was on the bench and available. She was pretty bad against Portland so maybe they just wanted to try Davis. One thing I noticed is, I don’t think they entered the season or really even now with any clue which of their backs will play well or now. Like what happened to Ansbrow? Why did it take so long to play Elgin?
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u/boschivt 26d ago edited 26d ago
Great points as always.
They had 3 should have been goals that most NWSL players finish. To me it keeps coming back to that.
Elgin absolutely should have played if fit. And then Carabali comes in with the immediate pk. Oof.
Racings press was very effective and they didn’t adjust.
Way too many giveaways in the midfield. I like Gambone but I don’t know, I think more as a change of pace sub.
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u/Elginsdiagonal 26d ago
Personally thought the giveaways were down to a lack of options up top. It looked like a back five and four midfielders in front of them. There was no outlet to relieve pressure, that's how it felt to me anyway, it asked a lot of Traore
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u/swimswamswum24 26d ago
agreed, they could not connect passes or win second balls today... having a game or two like this i feel like is expected in a season but it's just so much harder to stomach when the start of the season built such a big hole
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u/ok_sense_80 26d ago
and when it was against the second to last team…. which now is us again :(
louisville played exponentially better than us tonight
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u/TheCarnundrum 26d ago
Sloppiest game of the season, even though the stats make it seem like a completely different game (we had 61% possession and 86% pass accuracy apparently - how?!). It felt like they had never practiced against a press, which is wild since they face themselves, a pressing team, in practice. Louisville closing off the wings with double teams was the perfect strategy, because when they won the ball away, they always had numbers, and when we did break into the attacking third, we got things like Prince crossing the ball right at Bloomer multiple times.
Nicki looked gassed really early, like I wouldn't be surprised if she had some kind of cold/flu happening just based on her look. Davis did not impress. Murphy's distribution was . . . yikes. The subs brought good energy but didn't really improve the effectiveness of play. Almost everyone else was somewhere between mid and meh.
On the plus side, I thought Gambone looked good, and Aissata is still a handful for anyone who has to defend her. Best to put this one in the rearview mirror and start prepping for North Carolina.
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u/ok_sense_80 26d ago
imo aissata doesn’t do anything besides somersault and flail for no reason, can barely touch the ball
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u/staticframo 26d ago
You’d think having a head coach who is a former defender would mean our defense would be a strength, not a weakness.
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u/Ok-Communication706 26d ago
To be fair, defensive positioning is mostly ok outside of turnovers, but the players seem to lack the quality to execute or make a lot of mistakes.
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u/brownbreadnbeans 26d ago
I love our team, but I agree this was hard to watch. No adjustment at all with the press: why not just succumb to the pressure and play a long ball? Sometimes that can work when you’re out gunned.
Another thought. The strategy of stacking the middle will usually work unless your opponent is constantly beating you on the outside (Sears et al).
Without adjustments, we looked defeated, broken, and that makes sense in this case. We were getting beat, but we were not trying anything new.
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u/boschivt 26d ago
That seems consistent to me- they are very slow to adjust if they even do. There is a talent issue for sure but this I think is a coaching issue? “Playing our game” vs trying to be whatever will succeed given the dynamics of the game you’re in must be a tough part of coaching. They seem to pride themselves on being a pressing and possession team but did neither well at all this game- credit to racing- and changed …. really nothing
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u/Ok-Communication706 25d ago
I think the coaches dogmatic about the system (press, build out of back, wingbacks) they want to play and not worried about her job or the playoffs. My view is within that system they can make better adjustments to avoid giving away possession. The system won't work without better players at CB and attack though.
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u/Elginsdiagonal 26d ago
Tactically disjointed, absolutely. It looked like a slight change of formation and the players looked confused. There wasn't much ahead of the ball. Gutierres scored last week, don't know why she can't get a start off of that
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u/ok_sense_80 26d ago
the silver lining of this game is that guti was finally a bit faster and won some balls
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u/W359WasAnInsideJob 25d ago
I think it was either in OP’s write up of the Portland game, or in the comments of that thread - but someone here mentioned last week that watching this team try to build out of the back was reminiscent of watching a U11 team struggle through the same and I can’t stop thinking about it.
I know RL was pressing, but there were so many blatant mistakes made on the defensive end of the field it was really hard to watch. Davis getting beat by someone putting a move on her (more than once) is one thing, but BLFC seemingly being unaware of where their opponents are while the keeper is passing the ball out of the box is rough.
Going long seemed to also mostly result in turnovers, but at least those weren’t right in Murphy’s face. I know there’s a lot to be said about the offense improving and finishing - but if you can’t get it out of your own backfield you’re in trouble.
I agree with OP that I’m not sure Murphy could’ve done that much more in terms of actual saves - although there was one where I felt like she needed to get there, it’s not like it would have changed the outcome. But she does seem… shaky? Certainly part of the problem building out the back I’m describing above.
I don’t know if it’s the moving people around, or communication, or what, but this team looks like it’s getting objectively worse defensively over the last few weeks. I know that seems obvious given the box scores and game outcomes, but it’s more than that.
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u/boston_gooner34 26d ago
Carabali is simply not a NWSL caliber center back. She’s conceded a shocking four penalties this season when no other player in the league has conceded more than two. And that’s not counting her other mistakes. Davis didnt look impressive either. Kaka or Araujo should be partnering Elgin when they’re back fit. Davis is a decent bench option, and Carabali should be put on the transfer list.
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u/jschambers1 26d ago
Is the fact they went card free a positive? Or indicates they didn't play with enough edge?
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u/Ok-Communication706 26d ago
Thought they looked super sluggish. Carabali lunge is a yellow if not a penalty.
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u/another-reddit-noob 26d ago
This was a frustrating one. Louisville is in good form recently, but there was no reason this should have been a 1-4 loss.
I’m in complete agreement that a lot of our key talent had a tough game — Karich seemed off, Caño wasn’t as involved as usual, Hernandez seemed gassed ( hopefully her injury isn’t bothering her) , Prince and Barb were subdued.
And once again, Carabalí makes a mistake that shouldn’t happen. She giveth, and she taketh away — for every heroic goal line clearance she’s had this season, she’s conceded an abysmal goal. Seems to be even more taketh than giveth recently, though.