“You can’t start like that.”
That is how Casey Stoney began her postgame press conference following a start to the match that saw Kansas City Current score twice in the first 22 minutes of play.
“We started flat. We started slow. We started lethargic. And we can’t start like that. You can’t give a player like Debinha that much time on the edge of the box.”
I asked Stoney what she saw from the defense in the first half that allowed those two early goals.
“We were just passive. We were passive. We were too spread out. Distances were too big, it meant that they could play through us, our sixes didn’t step, you know. We just didn’t get any type of pressure on the ball and for the second goal, like, we’re walking. At this level, that’s not acceptable. At this football club, we cannot, you know, play at those levels and expect not to concede goals when they’ve got the players like they’ve got on their team.”
Let’s take a look at those goals they allowed.
— Everything San Diego (@ESDVideos) September 17, 2023
Debinha, the Current’s leading goal scorer, came in from the halfway line completely uncovered and sent a rocket into the net that goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan, one of the best in the league, had no chance at stopping.
— Everything San Diego (@ESDVideos) September 17, 2023
It would’ve been harder for a pass to find a San Diego defender than it was to get through with the large gaps that Kansas City took advantage of for this second goal that caused a huddle between every player on the field before the Wave kicked off again for the third time in this game.
“It’s not our standard to start that way,” Sierra Enge said following the match.
The team battled with a strong second half that began with an Enge goal, her second of the season, and numerous other chances that easily could’ve gone in to tie throughout the second half.
And I do mean battled.
They had chance.
— Everything San Diego (@ESDVideos) September 17, 2023
After chance.
— Everything San Diego (@ESDVideos) September 17, 2023
After chance.
— Everything San Diego (@ESDVideos) September 17, 2023
After chance.
— Everything San Diego (@ESDVideos) September 17, 2023
But ultimately, the game was decided in the opening 22 minutes.
“I think at halftime we just all came together, and as Sierra said, we were a little bit disappointed with how we came out in the first half and I think we were just like, ‘Look, this league is not easy and you can’t take games off’ and that showed in the first half, and I think we want to control our destiny at the end of the day and I feel like that’s why you saw the fight in the second half is because we realized that we cannot take games off in this league and we need to come out for the full 90 minutes in every game, and unfortunately it was too late at the end,” Danielle Colaprico said.
If there were any bright spots to take away from this match, it’s the second half and how the team managed to create chances that just couldn’t get past the goalkeeper.
“We’ve got to be more clinical, absolutely, in certain moments” Stoney replied to my question asking about whether she saw the number of chances as a good sign despite the result. “We’ve got to continue to work in the final third, you know, I’ve got to look at what work we’ve got to do, the types of chances we’re creating, the types of finishes that are needed, and just repeat those actions.”