Indy Eleven vs Brooklyn FC - 13.23

Summary

- Opponent: Brooklyn FC
- Location: Carroll Stadium
- Attendance: 8,234
- Final Score: 4-0 W

- Starting XI: Dick, Mitrano, Kibunguchy, Herbert, Hafferty, Quinn (C), Lindley, Blake, O'Brien, J., Kizza, Rendon

- Substitution: Henry-Scott 60' (Kizza); Sharp 60' (Rendon); Rasheed 67' (Hafferty); Omar 74' (Quinn); Mesanvi 74' (Blake)

- Unused: Charles-Cook, Craig

- Scoring Summary:
IND - Blake 17' (assist Rendon)
IND - Rendon 33' (assist O'Brien, J.)
IND - Blake 40' (assist Rendon)
IND - Kizza 48' (assist Blake)

- Bookings:

BKN - Stojanovic 23' (Yellow)
IND - Sharp (RED)

- Referee: Edson Carvajal

- Adage goals: None
- Points Lost from Winning Position (Year To Date): 10

Thoughts and Opinions

During my discussion of the game Friday night against New Mexico, I asked into the void Coach McAuley's logic of changing the starting lineup, including going with Charles-Cook over Dick in goal, which hadn't happened all season in league play. The next day, Rakestraw asked Coach that very question on Soccer Saturday. McAuley's response, and I'm paraphrasing, was that if they got points out of New Mexico then great, but he also needed to prepare the team and roster for tonight's game against Brooklyn because points against teams in the Eastern Conference, and specifically teams below Indy in the table, were vital due to the tiebreakers. With Indy having previously laid an egg against Brooklyn in the opening game of the season, it was vital that Indy not do the same thing against the visitors tonight at Carroll Stadium. Indy came away with points in New Mexico, despite their slow start in that game, and with the win tonight against Brooklyn, Coach McAuley seems like he knows what he's doing with the team this week.

The opening minutes of the game were extremely even. Not surprisingly, Brooklyn held the possession advantage by percentage, but not necessarily in dangerous locations. Indy and Brooklyn both showed signs of getting on the scoreboard early, but it was Indy that found the opening goal in the 18th minute. The ball went outside to the right side to Rendon, who picked up his head to look to the middle of the box before sending in a cross that an on-rushing Blake one-timed to the left side of the goal as Burns was leaning to his right. In this current version of McAuley's 4-4-2, Blake did exactly what he likes and needs to do, which is find the pockets in the defense and put shots on target. He did that for his fifth league goal on the season, and his second in two games. 

Indy's counterattack can be a thing of beauty and their second goal was the epitome of an efficient and effective counterattack. What started deep in Indy's end on a corner kick moved the length of the field in a just a handful of passes that culminated in a cross from O'Brien to Rendon, who, like Blake on his goal, one-touched the ball to the opposite side of the goal out of the reach of Burns. 

Indy matched that counterattack beauty in the 40th minute when Lindley cleared a ball from his own 18-yard box to Rendon who caught up to the ball around midfield. The team's leading goal scorer continued to put his foot on the gas and absolutely sprinted passed his defenders (plural) with the ball until he got to Brooklyn's box. At that point, he took a quick look to his right and laid off a ball to the center of the box to...nobody. At least it looked that way initially. However, Blake was trailing the play as fast as he could. He caught up to the ball, took a controlling touch, and then put another ball to the left side of the goal as Burns attempted to make his way across the goal. Rendon admitted to me after the game that he wasn't completely sure that Blake was actually there, but he thought the Jack would be following, which he was. Guys playing together long enough to know who and where they should/could be at and playing that percentage even if the play didn't seem to make sense from a fan's perspective. 

With three of the best counterattacks you will ever see in this league, Indy found themselves ahead 3-nil going into the halftime locker room. About the only thing Indy didn't do right was stay on side, as the home side was called offsides 5 times in the half. 

Indy came out of the locker room and added a fourth goal by Kizza before Brooklyn's three halftime substitutes had even broken a sweat. The fourth goal, so quickly after LeBlanc tried to make halftime adjustments, was a backbreaker for the visitors. A fourth goal against a team in Brooklyn's position in the table is demoralizing and McAuley felt like that goal and when it happened was vital. It really took Brooklyn out of the rest of the game. 

Within minutes of the halftime break, Indy's game goals switched to keeping guys healthy and ready to play Sunday against Oakland and keeping a clean sheet. However, second half substitute Sharp was given Indy's first red card of the season when he lashed out at a defender after just 15 minutes of action. The red card forced Indy to defend a little more on tired legs than they would have liked, but if there was ever a time in a game to get a red card, a 4-goal cushion in the late stages of a game is the right now. For a 3 games in a week scenario though, Sharp's inability to be available for Sunday's game against Oakland definitely makes things a little tricker from a personnel perspective for Sunday's game. It's really the only thing that went poorly for Indy in this game. Again, other than maybe the 7 offside calls, but even some of those McAuley will likely live with when his guys are pushing the limits at attacking a demoralized defense, this was a clinical game for Indy, offensively and defensively.  

It can be argued that teams are supposed to beat the teams behind you on the table, but Indy dismantled Brooklyn from the early moments of the game. Beating a team is one thing. Doing nearly everything that you want to do offensively and defensively against an opponent, in this league, is nearly impossible, but that's what Indy did tonight. Indy has continued to show that they know who they are, how they want to play, and for one of the rare games this season, put everything together to make a team look like they didn't know what hit them. The win also means that (at least temporarily until the weekend games happen) that Indy's three points from this game bumps them up to 6th place ahead of Louisville City who are even on points but lose the tiebreaker to Indy. Indy also has a game-in-hand on the geographic rivals to the south. Let that sink in for a minute Indy fans. In mid-September, Indy is ahead of Louisville in the table. Yes, it's middle of the table and not the top, but it's a topsy-turvy world we're living in.

The midseason player deals with Lexington have this team looking different. Again, I don't like saying it because he's still young and improving, but it seems like Neidlinger's defensive liabilities were forcing other players to cover for him, putting them out of position. With Hafferty in the lineup, who is definitely NOT a defensive liability, the rest of the players can just do their jobs too. 

Indy has just one loss in their last 7 games after their rough patch in the middle of the season. Gaining momentum late in the year when playoff positions start to become within reach is a good time to find your form. Indy seems to be gaining confidence and are getting closer to riding that confidence into a playoff position. Tonight's three points also means that Sporting JAX can't catch them. It doesn't quite do that yet for Brooklyn, but that's getting closer too. 

Indy needs to continue to live the mantra. Beat the teams behind you, get good results against the teams above, and get a little help along the way with other teams' results. Oakland come to town on Sunday, and while not a team behind Indy, they are one that is below their own playoff cut line in the Western Conference so Indy needs to use their 10W-4D-3L home record (across all competitions) to get a couple more good results in the next two games to keep building on the momentum they've had in the past couple of weeks.

Indy scored 4 goals tonight, which has happened a bakers dozen number of times previously. They've only ever scored 5 goals in a game twice; once in 2014 in U.S. Open Cup action against the Dayton Dutch Lions...also Indy's first hat trick; and once in the magical 2016 season when the Jacksonville Armada came to town. As it looked like Indy might get a 5th goal tonight and tie the team single-game goal record, it's interesting to note that the coach for that Jacksonville team was former USMNT player Tony Meola. 

Separate from the game action, but related...

Former USMNT player Brian McBride was in the press box tonight. I decided it wouldn't seem "professional" of me to ask for a picture so I can't prove it, but I had a nice conversation with him. He was honest and more open with his information than I would have expected from a visiting front office (and high-ranking one in his case) member. Not sure I would have to officially call it an "off record" conversation, but I'm going to consider some of it that. Basically though, it just felt like a couple of guys talking football about their respective teams. In his case, he did say he likes to travel with the team when his schedule allows it because it allows him to see the way his guys are playing in a much better way than via video. So here he sat in an unusually crowded Carroll Stadium press box on a Tuesday night talking to me. As I left the press box, I managed to give him a gentle joking by telling him it was a rough day at the office for his side, but thanked him for coming to Indy. Midwestern hospitality. Sorry your time here didn't go like you had hoped, but we're glad you stopped by.

I've said it over the years, but this grassroots media path that I've taken continues to give me way more than I ever gave football. Tonight's conversation with a former National Team member is just the latest example.

I love this game. 

Game Beckons Game Ball

Nope. I'm not going to give it to one person. How could I? In this kind of game, nearly every player has had to have a good game. You don't have a 4-nil performance, being down a man at the end, and have many guys on the roster have an off night. Everybody performed well. So how do you narrow it down? So I'm not going to. 

Blake and Rendon share the GBGB honors tonight. One had 2 goals and 1 assist, while the other had 1 goal and 2 assists on 4 combined shots. That's some ruthless efficiency.

Don Thompson Photography