The Fortunate Roughnecks

It seems like the world has gone insane – human sacrifice, cats and dogs living together, and Tulsa Roughnecks are on top of the USL West – mass hysteria. This is the current USL West table:

It’s pretty clear from the table that something monumental is happening in the West. Tulsa – literally the last place team of 2018 is at the top after 6 games. That is a big change to the pecking order from last season. Phoenix is currently displaced from the top 10 and we sit at 11th with 6 points from 4 games.

This change of fortunes could work to our advantage – we need to move up to a top 8 position to hit playoffs and beating Tulsa might be the ticket to getting momentum to overtake some of the other mid-table teams. We just need to figure out the right combination of factors to unlock a win on the 13th.

The Details

The Foxes return home to Chukchansi Park on April 13th for our second home game. Kick off is at 7:30 P.M. and Tulsa will walk into our house looking for a 4th win this season. We will have to shut them down to take the points.

Tulsa on Top

So why? Why is Tulsa doing so well when last year they did so badly? Its a combination of factors but one of the key factors is named Luca Lobo. Lobo is a defender playing his first season in Tulsa. He has also notched up 7 goals in 5 games from corners and set pieces. Its almost like anytime the ball even touches him it is going to go into the net. Seriously, watch the replays, you’ll see what I’m talking about.

Tulsa has had a change in fortunes and they have scored a lot of goals. That doesn’t mean they are invincible. 10 points from 6 games means they have lost twice. That’s two more times that we have. For us, this game is going to be an exercise in attacking.

Strategy

Going forward there are a few things we need to recognize about the Tulsa team. They are back in this, after a season in the dumps they are coming back with a vengeance. Their top goal scorer is a defender, meaning their attack isn’t as potent as their goal tally would make it seem. We need to work out two issues if we are going to render them benign.

First, we need to take care of Luca Lobo. He is a goal scoring machine right now. Even when they lose, like last week to Los Dos, he still scored two headed efforts from set pieces. We need to make sure he is marked and kept out. Our defense is doing well this season so they just need to be on their toes any time Tulsa has a free kick. This could get exhausting considering how many corners we have given away in the past, but it’s necessary.

Second, we need to be careful in our own box. Tulsa has gotten 4 penalty kicks in the last few games, which is a huge issue for us as we are a very physical team. We won’t have Moses, because of his suspension so we will have to look for other ways to keep them out of our box and off of the ground. We don’t want to give Tulsa players any reason to go to ground because when they do they get the opportunity for goals.

New Blood

Smith has the opportunity to try out some of the new signings. With Jackson and Ellis-Hayden out with injury (who knows) and Moses suspended it seems likely that Smith is going to have to tinker with the team. We might find it beneficial to try out some new midfielders like Escamilla or Kirimoto – which might mean we can keep better possession this time.

Something of a weakness for Tulsa is that they are not a high possession team in the same way that we are a low possession team. If we can turn that around, it might mean keeping the ball in their half which will mean more attacking opportunities. We should boss the midfield and give our wings/striker more options for shots. If we are looking for the win at home, we have to score, because Tulsa has a habit of scoring.

Prediction

I think we have a good shot, but Tulsa has been scoring a lot of goals. I think if we can get Basuljevic and Johnson in front of goal, and we can give Caffa the freedom he needs to work some magic we might just win this.

I think 3-2 to the Foxes is a reasonable scoreline.

#SomosZorros