For the second week in a row, Burn striker Ariel Graziani was
shut out. This time Jason Kreis stepped forward to blast a header through the goalkeeper
to give the home side a needed 3 points. As long as the tandem takes turns and makes good,
the Burn should show well for themselves for a spell. I do worry about the poor
connections made this week, though.
Too many Burn passes were just plain bad. To the wrong side,
too far ahead, or simply passed where no player had decided to go. This is a half-full,
half-empty question. A well-struck ball with no one on the end if it does give you hope
that next time, someone will see the space and be there next time. On the down side, it
didn’t look that way. Many Burn passes from top of the box and midfield were to no
one, and worse yet, to no where. Wet conditions prevailed, but I demand better.
I caught the Man U v. Real Madrid UEFA Champions League Game
this week. An interesting game to watch after two weeks of heavy MLS doses. Put your guard
down, I am not going to say Burn v. Chicago was in the same class. Neither am I going to
dis MLS. In close observation, I know what a chess match is like on fast forward. These
players pass, move and stop the ball with incredible accuracy. Would they be so accurate
with an MLS-esque style defensive effort? For better or worse, MLS players toss themselves
around more. Euro players seem (I said seem) more likely to stand and defend, to force a
square pass, more than cut in to intercept or slide tackle. Each player is determined to
stay in play, on his feet, and in front of his opponent. This is like exposing no chess
piece without protection. Losing your feet gives the other team a quick man advantage, and
teams cannot afford this. This relates to MLS games because it looks like this
conservative posture forces greater pass-combination play than MLS demands. MLS players
slide, miss sometimes, but the cost is less in MLS. Maybe you say that MLS finishing is
too poor to make defenders pay. Real should have won, but gacked a finish most MLS players
would have made. Food for thought next time you watch either game.
