Manchester United 1:0 Watford
Barclays Premier League | Tuesday, 1 March 2016 | Old Trafford
USWNT 1:0 England
#SheBelievesCup | Thursday, 3 March 2016 | Raymond James Stadium
West Bromwich Albion 1:0 Manchester United
Barclays Premier League | Sunday, 6 March 2016 | The Hawthorns
USWNT 1:0 France
#SheBelievesCup | Sunday, 6 March 2016 | Nissan Stadium
Seattle Sounders 0:1 Sporting Kansas City
Major League Soccer | Sunday, 6 March 2016 | CenturyLink Field
Notes:
I am sensing a pattern developing in regards to the scoring prowess of the clubs and teams I support.
In regards to Manchester United, the week started off satisfactorily with a 1:0 win against Watford, who could have easily won the match if Odion Ighalo had successfully put away any of the scoring chances he created against a makeshift backline composed of a senior team debutante, an undersized Dutch center back whose best position is probably a central defensive midfielder, a recovering Argentinian just one game removed from missing about a month of action, and...I am guessing another young defender that was selected to demonstrate Louis van Gaal's proclivity to select and "develop" young talent. I could easily chalk up the feelings of elation and euphoria over this underwhelming victory against a bottom-half side courtesy of a brilliant free kick from Juan Mata to the fact that (1) a similarly built side had just defeated an Arsenal side that was challenging for the league title and (2) Manchester United had just won its fourth consecutive match heading into a weekend match against another bottle-half side.
Of course, the match against West Bromwich Albion went awry early as, of all people, Juan Mata picked up a second yellow card within the first 26 minutes of the match thus leaving the side having to defend itself for 65+ minutes with only ten men. Unsurprisingly, Manchester United was frantic in the first few minutes immediately following the Mata send off, but they eventually settled back into the game and even created a couple of opportunities prior to the break. The second half found Manchester United on their backheels for a good portion of the half as they struggled with trying to find the right balance between attacking and defending. In my opinion, Carrick did not look up for the match as he appeared out of step with the bevy of unfamiliar faces that now occupy the Manchester United side and he should have been substituted for Morgan Schneiderlein. Schneiderlein did make an appearance in the match, but it was at the expense of Ander Herrera and Memphis Depay come on for Marcus Rashford during the latter stages of the match. Of course, the decision to go with Carrick over Schneiderlein was not the biggest issue for Manchester United; it was Daley Blind.
I am sorry, but I cannot understand the continued reliance on him to play at a position that he is clearly not suited to play. It was Blind's failed marking on an Albion forward that allowed said forward to freely receive a cross into the goalkeeper's box and slot away the match winner. Then again, would any of Manchester United's available center backs fare better in the situation?
I am sensing a pattern developing in regards to the scoring prowess of the clubs and teams I support.
In regards to Manchester United, the week started off satisfactorily with a 1:0 win against Watford, who could have easily won the match if Odion Ighalo had successfully put away any of the scoring chances he created against a makeshift backline composed of a senior team debutante, an undersized Dutch center back whose best position is probably a central defensive midfielder, a recovering Argentinian just one game removed from missing about a month of action, and...I am guessing another young defender that was selected to demonstrate Louis van Gaal's proclivity to select and "develop" young talent. I could easily chalk up the feelings of elation and euphoria over this underwhelming victory against a bottom-half side courtesy of a brilliant free kick from Juan Mata to the fact that (1) a similarly built side had just defeated an Arsenal side that was challenging for the league title and (2) Manchester United had just won its fourth consecutive match heading into a weekend match against another bottle-half side.
Of course, the match against West Bromwich Albion went awry early as, of all people, Juan Mata picked up a second yellow card within the first 26 minutes of the match thus leaving the side having to defend itself for 65+ minutes with only ten men. Unsurprisingly, Manchester United was frantic in the first few minutes immediately following the Mata send off, but they eventually settled back into the game and even created a couple of opportunities prior to the break. The second half found Manchester United on their backheels for a good portion of the half as they struggled with trying to find the right balance between attacking and defending. In my opinion, Carrick did not look up for the match as he appeared out of step with the bevy of unfamiliar faces that now occupy the Manchester United side and he should have been substituted for Morgan Schneiderlein. Schneiderlein did make an appearance in the match, but it was at the expense of Ander Herrera and Memphis Depay come on for Marcus Rashford during the latter stages of the match. Of course, the decision to go with Carrick over Schneiderlein was not the biggest issue for Manchester United; it was Daley Blind.
I am sorry, but I cannot understand the continued reliance on him to play at a position that he is clearly not suited to play. It was Blind's failed marking on an Albion forward that allowed said forward to freely receive a cross into the goalkeeper's box and slot away the match winner. Then again, would any of Manchester United's available center backs fare better in the situation?
---------- || J+30 || ----------
Major League Soccer is back! And the opening matchday was filled with exciting results with the exception of the Sporting Kansas City (SKC) match against Seattle Sounders; this matched ended a 0:1 result for SKC despite SKC playing the entire second half with a man advantage. Also, SKC's came courtesy of a debuting center back's long range shot that skidded on Seattle's artificial surface under the outstretched arm of a diving Sounders goalkeeper. In my opinion, SKC's back line looked solid despite Ike Opara's absence due to injury and Peter Vermes's decision to select Amadou Dia over Seth Sinovic at the left fullback position. On the other hand, the midfield was definitely missing the creative playmaking abilities of Benny Feilhaber who did not travel with the side to Seattle because of an injury and the forwards failed to create a threatening presence to put the Sounders on their back line. I believe that the midfield will sort itself out once Benny and Brad Davis (and Justin Mapp) return from injury, but it is the SKC attack that worries me most about the current side. I am a supporter of Dom Dwyer, but there are moments in a match where he simply disappears for long stretches. If Dom is our lone attacking threat, then we should be worried because while I fully believe he is capable of putting in another 15+ goal season; who will provide the cover when he needs a break?
Of course, this is only the first match of the season and I am pleased with the victory--SKC's MLS-leading thirteenth opening day win--despite their inability to put in more goals against a 10-man side. There is still plenty of room for improvement.
---------- || J+30 || ----------
Unfortunately, I did not have the opportunity to catch either of the U.S. women's national team (USWNT) matches because (1) I was unavailable for their opening match of the #SheBelieves Cup on Thursday and (2) Sunday's match was only available via ESPN 3 and if given the choice of watching a match via online stream or satellite; I will choose satellite because my ISP is horrid and I would not be able to enjoy a consistent, high-quality stream.
All I noticed is that the USWNT left it late in both matches before claiming the wins. But, I will chalk it up to the fact that the side is most likely featuring a few more "fringe" players in order to provide these players a chance to stake their claim for a spot on the Olympic team roster.
Anyways, that is it for the first edition of Pitch Notes. Like SKC, there is still plenty of room for improvement, but there is still plenty of time to improve. Until next time: DFTBA.
