Frustration On and Off the Feild

Before I get into the details of the match and the player ratings, I want to vent a little bit about this game. It was fun, I was excited about our first home match, but it didn’t take more than 40 minutes of the game to really set me off in frustration. A bad ref can really change the entire tone of a game. The first 40 minutes were not bad, we had some open play and some back and forth, but at about 40 minutes there was an increasing feeling of dread from a number of questionable calls from the ref.

I don’t know anything about Greg Dopka, but at least in person in the stadium, it felt like he had it out for our team. To the point that by the second half we seemed to really not go in for challenges and played really impotent and timid soccer. It seemed, at least in the stadium that there were many calls made on Fresno in the first 70 minutes that were uncalled for Reno (even bad fouls like elbows to the face). Now, that may not have been the “reality” of what happened, but that’s what it seemed like at the time of the match. I am rewatching it on ESPN+ to get a more objective look, but in the stadium it was frustrating.

On to the match.

First Half – Fresno 1 – Reno 1

The first half got off to a firey start. There was plenty of back and forth and some great plays from both teams. The inkling of unanswered or uncarded fouls came as early as the 9th minute when Will Seymour mowed down Jackson with a shove. Clearly, a yellow card infraction (the shove came after the ball was out), but the ref simply cautioned the player.

The play continued to go back and forth with notable shots by Caffa in the 18th and Appodaca in the 29th. Caffas header, in particular, was beautiful, strong, but the keeper managed to keep it out. In the 31st, a cross from Ellis-Hayden hit a defender and was deflected into the net for an own goal – Fresno was up by 1. At this point, I think we were still hopeful that the game might go our way but that feeling started to fall apart in the 36th minute. Del Campo had a foul called on him despite a fair challenge to try and get an aerial ball, and then Jackson took issue with the ref. After that, it seemed like there was little we could do to not upset the ref.

In the 40th Chaney got a call on a seemingly normal attempt. In the 41st Ellis-Hayden got a call for a seemingly normal challenge. There was little that we did that Dopka didn’t call in those last few minutes of the second half. In the 42nd Mendiola from the left shot a ground ball across the front to score a goal. It was too easy for him and honestly never should have happened. The score was 1-1.

There was a freekick dutifully handled in the 45th with a nice interception. No stoppage time and even Coach Smith had a word with the ref.

Notes:

There are those who criticize Christian Chaney for being a hothead. I think he does need to get his head down and do the work, worry less about the ref, but at the same time I think once that altercation happened with Jackson in the 36th Dopka had it out for us, anything he could call he did and I am sure that infected the dressing room during half time.

Something didn’t gel for us this game. People had fewer chances, fewer passes, lower accuracy, it just seems like we were not as good this game as we were last game.

This half really set up what would happen in the second half. The frustration at the end of the half was palpable from the players to the coach to the crowd. It was not a great environment during the dying minutes of the first 45 and there was more than one moment when the crowd was booing a tackle, decision, or play.

Second Half – Fresno 1 – Reno 1

The second half got off to a horrible start for the Foxes. In the first 20 seconds of the half Christian Chaney went up for a 50/50 aerial challenge and was given a yellow for a soft foul. Dopka pointed all over the field and made a point that he had simply fouled too much (something he didn’t even keep track of for Reno).

In the 49th Cooper gets brought down, and it appears that the ref was mad that he was still on the ground before he got up. The foul was clear and apparent but went unnoticed really by the ref. This half was pretty much an all Reno show. In the 50th Mendiola had a nice shot that Cochran got under control. In the 51st Moses was shown a card for a bad challenge on someone’s foot. It was his second yellow in 2 games.

After the second yellow, it seemed like we were less likely to go into challenges, and a much less likely to win a ball from the opponent. In the 53rd Reno won back to back corner, and Chaney had a decent clearance in front of goal. Chaney got a series of fouls called on him in the late 50s and early 60s. Every challenge was a foul and play stopped and started.

In the 63rd Jemal Johnson came off and we saw Emir Alihodzic make his debut. There was a flurry of shots by Reno many of them saved well by Cochran. Zach Carroll was finally given a yellow card for his behavior when it became too obvious for even Dopka to ignore in the 72nd minute. He literally hugged Jackson for a good 5 seconds. In the 73rd Lawal came on for Chaney.

Some back and forth in the following minutes, but from about 75 on it seemed like all of our shots were tame or easily dealt with, while Reno looked increasingly dangerous. Caffa was subbed off for Bustamante in the 87th. In the 88th we had back to back shots, but there was a lot of miscommunication it seemed and people should have passed for better shots and positions. The dying minutes saw two dangerous moves by Reno and it seemed like many fans were praying for the end to hold on to the draw.

Notes:

The last 20 minutes were extremely anxious. There was a clear feeling that we might get scored against as Reno shot again and again against us.

5 of Reno’s 8 fouls came in the second half and 3 of them came in the last 20 minutes. It seemed like after the Foxes began to back off that Reno’s fouls actually started to get called.

I think the atmosphere at the Chuk during the second half was more subdued. There was more booing from the crowd for the ref, but none of the furor that occurred during the first half was really present by the end of the game.

Player Ratings

Cochran – 7 MOTM

While Cochran did let in a goal it was not well defended by the back 4. He made 7 saves in the game and is solely responsible for us not losing to Reno.

Ellis-Hayden – 5

Ellis-Hayden had a rough match. He lost as many duels as he won, and he created just 1 chance on offense. The deflection as our only goal does raise his score. He only a few tackles in a very defensive game – and his poor game was largely reflective of the team’s poor performance overall.

Cooper – 5

Cooper’s passing accuracy was pretty bad, but he did win most of his duel and made 5 interceptions. He also managed 1 good cross and 1 chance created. His shot was not well taken, but that can always change depending on the play of the game.

Del Campo – 7

Del Campo had a decent game. His passing accuracy is the only thing that was not great. He won many duels including 9 aerial to 0 lost. He also made 10 clearances. He was our main workhorse in the back and he helped keep it 1-1.

Daly – 5

Daly had a tough game. His passing accuracy was better than his partners but he lost almost as many duels as he won both on the ground and in the air. He made a tackle and had a few interceptions but nothing to stand out.

Moses – 4

Moses, this game more than the others, showed what can happen when our team isn’t playing well. His passing accuracy was ok at 74% but he didn’t win many duels and didn’t make nearly as many tackles as he has made in past games. He also recorded 3 fouls and another yellow card. He needs to improve his play in our next game so that he can be the enforcer we need.

Caffa – 5

Caffa had an okay game. His passing accuracy was high but he only made about half the passes he normally does – managing just 35 this game. He created just a single chance and made a successful cross.

Jackson – 5

Jackson had a low passing accuracy and won/lost 6 duels. He did have a successful cross but didn’t create any chances. He did draw 3 fouls which lead the team.

Johnson – 4

Johnson had only 14 passes the entire time he played. He did play forward, but he wasn’t as involved as he probably should have been. That might not be down to him alone, but he recorded no shots and just a single clearance.

Basuljevic – 6

Basuljevic had more shots and chances created than any other player. He had a lot of off-target shots (3 to 1) but he still tried to make something happen. His passing accuracy was alright at 81%, lower than normal but still not bad.

Chaney – 3

While Chaney did record more passes (16) than his partner, he lost too many duels (12 to 3) and only recorded 2 shots. He also racked up 6 fouls (some of them were very soft but still recorded) and got a yellow. It was a rough start for the striker and he will need to look into his issues if he wants to stay starting.

Lawal – 6

For only being on about 20 minutes Lawal had a good game. He had 100 passing accuracy in the opponents half and still managed 6 passes in that short time. He recorded a shot on target and won every duel he entered.

Alihodzic – 4

Not a great showing from Alihodzic, he is fresh on the team but he had a low passing accuracy at 63%. He had just 1 unsuccessful cross, and he did record a foul.

Bustamante – 5

He didn’t really play enough to warrant a rating. He made two passes, 1 good and 1 not.

Final Thoughts

This game was the height of frustration for me. So much so that I am going to be writing a blog about the importance of reliable refs in the USL. I think our team played poorly, and we didn’t use the blessing of not having to face Brown to our advantage. That being said, I think a bad or biased ref can definitely sway a game and to some extent, that is what happened here. A game I thought we might win in the 30th turned into a game I felt we were lucky not to lose in the 80th. Onward to the next game.

We travel to Phoenix on April 6th. Next weekend is a bye for us.

#SomosZorros

Highlights

https://youtu.be/ssIkZr0_JXA