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Ouch. One word. Arguably the worst game of the Fury franchise history, a 15-5 defeat to the Edmonton Drillers...we're asked 'what went wrong?' The short answer is 'out classed'. The long answer...out classed, out gunned, out played, out hustled and any other combination of 'out-(insert soccer skill here)' you can think of.
One player said it best..."it was 80% them being better, 20% our stupid mistakes". It was a night where just nothing went right for the Fury. Passes that last week found their targets and let guys into space, today were played behind players making runs, or just given away to the opposition. On several occasions, little give and goes that have given guys like Matt Mehrassa so many goals, just weren't happening. Too much touch, not enough (a touch too much), just gave away too many balls to an opposition that didn't need it to begin with.Edmonton obviously knew a lot about us...it showed in the fact that not a single time during the game did Tyler or Sipho get clear possession on the ball...not once. Every time the ball was played up, it was either left to go into space, or the defender got in front of the target man and made getting any sort of attack impossible to mount. Jon's marker was a scramble, Seabook's 1st was on a breakaway, there wasn't really a goal that was a typical PG goal...play to the target man, spin and shoot, or pass off to a running midfielder. It's a game plan that is going to have to change in order for PG to beat Edmonton in 7 days time...they simply knew our game and played to shut it down. PG were a step behind every step of the way. Edmonton are a quick team without a weak link in their lineup. Comments made by some of the players mentioned the fact that they were extremely strong, quick and pressed possession from minute one. From the opening kickoff, Mitchell MacFarlane was pressed on the ball and almost gave it up, no fault of his own, just because of a strong forecheck which NEVER relented. That, combined with the essential removal of the Fury's target man option, meant that the Fury had very little room and very little time with the ball. Possession was STRONGLY in favour of Edmonton...not even close...and anything they did, seemed to be in slow motion. Scorers for the Fury were Jon LaFontaine, Andrew Seabrook (2), Matt Mehrassa & Scott DeBianchi but it was never close, as Edmonton held a 5-goal lead or more for most of the match. The players have to turn it around tomorrow against Calgary, traditionally a defensive team, and work together to give their biggest strength, that play to the target man, more of a chance to succeed. Join me for the Final Countdown to Kickoff tomorrow at 3:45 PST with the game at 4:00. |
