Indy Eleven vs OKC Energy FC - 08.28

 

Summary

- Opponent: OKC Energy FC
- Location: Taft Stadium
- Attendance: 3,677
- Final Score: 1-1 D

- Starting XI: Edwards, Timmer, Adewole, Ayoze (C), Partida, Koffie, Gutjahr, Seagrist, Torres, Law, Arteaga
- Substitutions: Sissoko 63' (Partida); Doyle 74' (Ayoze); Ouimette 74' (Adewole): Liu 86' (Torres)
- Unused: Farr, Moon, Wild

- Scoring Summary:
IND - Arteaga 12' (assist Ayoze)
OKC - Adekoya 87' (assist Basuljevic)

- Bookings:
OKC - Chavez 28' (Yellow)
OKC - Batista 65' (Yellow)
IND - Arteaga 67' (Yellow)
OKC - Cochran 82' (Yellow)
IND - Cochran 90'+3' (Yellow)
OKC - Bijev 90'+3' (Yellow)

- Referee: John Matto|
- Adage goals: One

Thoughts and Opinions

Here is the good news from tonight's 1-1 draw with OKC: 

• Indy didn't lose. 
• Indy scored a goal. 
• Both of which they hadn't done in three games. 
• Indy had as many shots on target in this game as they had in the previous three. 
• Arteaga scored the run-of-play goal. 
• Indy had an 80% shooting accuracy. 
• Indy had an 81.3% tackles success rate (compared to the 25% in the game on Sunday). 
  
• Partida played fairly well and was one of just a few who seemed to press hard on defense early in the game.
• Indy is still mathematically eligible for the playoffs.

Here is the bad news from tonight's 1-1 draw with OKC:

• With tonight's goal, Indy has scored 28 goals in 27 games, while conceding 39.
• Arteaga had a penalty kick saved in the 81st minute.
• OKC scored in the 87th minute.
• Indy remains planted in 7th place in the table.
• Indy lose another tiebreaker with a team in the 4th playoff spot hunt. Indy and OKC split the season 1W-2D-1L, but the next tiebreaker is goal differential in head-to-head matches, which goes to OKC 5-4.
• You can only Rennie Rogers Bunker(TM) for so long. 
• Indy used their final sub in the 86th minute. OKC score the game tying goal in the 87th minute and Wild and Moon are sitting on the bench next to Farr.
• Mathematically eligible isn't the same as realistically eligible.
• In my recap for the Tulsa game on September 8th, I estimated that Indy probably needed at least 5 wins and a draw to make the playoffs. Since that game, Indy has picked up 4 points out of a possible 15. With five games remaining, against ATL2, BRM, LOU, TUL, & MEM, I have even less hope they can get enough points to make the playoffs with only 15 points available. 

Random Thoughts:

• Indy came into the game in 27th place in the USL's Power Rankings. What do you notice about the teams below them? That's right, they are all last place in each of their respective divisions, including Loudoun who is already eliminated from the playoffs (and embarrassed Indy 4-1 earlier this year). 
• Admittedly, I don't watch every single game across the USL Championship, but Indy has to have the slowest counterattacks in the entire league. There is absolutely no urgency in the majority of them lately.
• With guys like Ayoze, Law, and Wild who can provide great service, why does Indy get cute with their corner kicks and free kicks in the final third? Put it into the mix where you have Arteaga and Timmer (and Ouimette and Hackshaw when playing).
• Farr has had some difficult bounces go against him this year, but Edwards' inability to play with both feet is a nerve wrecking affair for a team that tries to play out of the ball, seemingly at all cost. 
• When does Indy run out of "must win" games? Soon, right? Then it's just playing for pride?

The Game Beckons Game Ball

As I said in the "good news" portion of my thoughts on the game, I thought Partida put in a good shift. Considering his limited time with the team, I thought he was effective in his role. 

Indy Eleven vs OKC Energy FC - 08.27

 

Summary

- Opponent: OKC Energy FC
- Location: Taft Stadium
- Attendance: 1,960
- Final Score: 2-0 L

- Starting XI: Edwards, Ouimette (C), Timmer, Doyle, Buckmaster, Koffie, Gutjahr, Seagrist, Wild, Law, Arteaga
- Substitutions: Moon 18' (Buckmaster - injury); Liu 64' (Gutjahr); Ayoze (Wild) 75'; Sissoko (Koffie) 75'
- Unused: Farr, Partida, Torres

- Scoring Summary:
OKC - Chavez 30' (assist Bijev)
OKC - Daniels 74' (assist Bijev)

- Bookings:
IND - Seagrist 23' (Yellow)
IND - Gutjahr 45'+2' (Yellow)
IND - Koffie 70' (Yellow)
OKC - Kurimoto 90'+2' (Yellow)
IND - Sissoko 90'+4' (Yellow)

- Referee: Kevin Broadley
- Adage goals: None

Thoughts and Opinions

The phrase "must win" has seemed like a constant refrain for weeks now and Indy hasn't been very successful at doing that. As a result, they continue to find themselves on the wrong side of the playoff cut line for 10 out of the past 11 weeks. Atlanta and Memphis both hold the tiebreaker over Indy, further making their chances of making the playoffs more difficult. The result on Wednesday now determines who holds the Indy-OKC tiebreaker. Indy brought in four new players in the past two weeks to help that cause, but positive results in back-to-back games in OKC were a must to make the addition of the players meaningful and not just potential steps towards next season. A dwindling bench with Haworth, Cochran, and Hackshaw injured meant that Doyle has already seen minutes, and Partida made the trip to OKC. 

Another refrain that has been constant lately is that Indy isn't catching any breaks and the bad bounces just keep happening. Or that Indy continues to be undone with silly (or bad) mistakes.

So would you expect anything less than to see Buckmaster go down with what looks like a very serious ankle injury (they went straight to the locker room with him) around the 16th minute, further shortening an already depleted bench? Or how about OKC taking a ball from their endline as Ellis-Hayden dribbles about 1/3 of the way up the field, passes easily to Bijev, who dribbles another 1/3 of the way up the field, and then passes to Chavez who had beaten the offside trap, and easily puts it past Edwards? Full length of the field in two passes and Indy are down 1-nil in the 30th minute having already burned a substitute. 

As the first half continued, the fans who have been starting to worry about Farr's effectiveness watched as Edwards ran towards a long ball only to not touch it at all, and then whiff on another ball outside his box (and luckily watched it run across the endline). All of that was after Edwards came to his endline corner of the box and missed getting the ball completely, but was bailed out by the OKC player slipping and not being able to get a good shot/cross.

Forget it. Here's the basics of how this game was lost. 

Indy hasn't scored a goal in 3 games. 

Indy had a single shot on goal, by Law, in the 79th minute. 

OKC had 11 shots, 7 on target, for a whopping 63.6% shooting accuracy. 

Indy had a paltry 25% tackles success rate. 

Indy's final third had less green than my bank account when my daughter's gymnastics fees are due.

Right now, there is so much wrong with the way things are going that the addition of Ledesma, Partida, and Adewole look like extended tryouts for next season. The fans that still think there is a chance to make the playoffs are like the band on the Titanic, knowing the ship is going down, but trying to put on a brave face and doing your job of supporting. This team was rebuilt after missing the playoffs, and it is looking like an inevitability that this team is going to miss the playoffs this year as well. A new coach will be added and we'll see what players remain (I suspect at least a few are on two year contracts...Law and Arteaga if we're lucky).

Indy go again on Wednesday, maybe with Adewole in the bench, but I wouldn't expect him to play. As they mentioned on the broadcast, when you have back-to-back games like this, often times the second game feels more like an extension of the first game, picking up right where it left off. If that's the case, I don't see how Indy do anything but lose like they did tonight. Their lines were so spread out that OKC easily passed between them, there seemed to be a defeated mentality for a good chunk of the players, and they looked outmatched.

Indy play again on Wednesday at 8:30. Watch at your own risk.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

Just so that I don't have to do the "Nope" thing that I did for the Loudoun game, I'm going to give the GBGB to Aidan Liu for making into the game. I never like to see guys make it through the entire season without getting minutes and he was the last one (not counting the Academy guys or the new guys). So good for him.

Indy Eleven vs OKC Energy FC - 08.18

 

Summary
- Opponent: OKC Energy FC
- Location: Carroll Stadium
- Attendance: 5,999
- Final Score: 2-1 W

- Starting XI: Farr, Buckmaster, Ouimette, Cochran, Hackshaw, Sissoko, Gutjahr, Ayoze (C), Law, Wild, Arteaga
- Substitutions: Seagrist (Ayoze 72'); Vassell (Sissoko 72')
- Unused: Dick, Hamilton, Liu, Malic, Revolorio

- Scoring Summary:
IND - Law 26' (assist Arteaga)
OKC - Batista 37' (assist Wynne)
IND - Arteaga 53' (assist Law)

- Bookings:
IND - Sissoko 10' (Yellow)
OKC - Adekoya 45' (Yellow)
IND - Arteaga 90'+3' (Yellow)
IND - Wild 90'+4' (Yellow)

- Referee: Joshua Encarnación
- Adage goals: None

Thoughts and Opinions

Let's be honest, a win doesn't change everything immediately. Indy is still mired in a very crowded middle of the Central Division table and just outside of the playoffs. Despite Farr's return to the lineup, Columbus Crew loanee Eric Dick was still in the 18 because Bobby Edwards is on the Injury Report. Speaking of the Injury Report, Haworth is finally off of it, but Timmer and Moon took his place. An issue of depth in the back became apparent when recent USL Academy signing Revolorio was included in the game's 18.

But damn a home win feels good.

The Indy Eleven players went nearly 3 months without celebrating a win with their fans and had just come off of a 6-2 drubbing from Atlanta United 2, that was described by interim coach Rogers as "embarrassing." So to find the goal twice and keep OKC from getting a second goal helps everybody get a little more confidence moving forward. With a very winnable game on Wednesday against a struggling Loudoun team (2W-1D-14L), Indy could see their first win streak since the end of May.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves though. 

This was a game of interim coach versus interim coach as OKC is also working on finding a permanent coach. Some of which could explain why the majority of the first half felt like it was mostly played between the 18-yard lines. Both teams went into the halftime locker with 2 shots on goal and a goal a piece, but there was also a lot of action in the middle and wings of the field that didn't lead to much. I've described Indy's success when they attack the middle of the field and Indy's first goal by Law was another example of that. Ayoze attacking the middle, to Arteaga in the middle, to Law in the box with a cheeky little chip over the keeper to put Indy ahead. It was gorgeous inter-play between three of Indy's best (and in Manu's case, maybe most energetic) players. Arteaga had another shot later in the game that followed the same script of Indy attacking the middle of the defense instead of the wings.

As far as OKC's goal from a corner kick, what can you do? Jordan Farr was blocked from getting to the ball and OKC's 6-foot 5-inch tall Batista outjumped everybody and put the ball on goal. Credit to them for signing a basketball player. Unrelated to the goal, Batista went over after the halftime whistle and talked crap to Arteaga who was sitting on the ground after being fouled (but not called), which the Indy bench didn't appreciate. As I watched them all walk off the field to the same spot, I noticed that Law was walking briskly behind, and towards, Batista. Once he caught up with him, Nicky slowed down and had a word with Batista, then gave him a quick fist bump to Batista's chest. I would love to know what Law said in that moment.

Indy's second goal early in the half resulted from a recycled ball from Law after a free kick. Law's class showing again as he put the ball in a location where the keeper couldn't get to it, but game his teammates a chance to do something with it, which Arteaga didn't spectacularly in the tiny little window he had between the post and the keeper. With the speed at which Arteaga was making his run, his head could have very easily been sent into the wrong side of the side netting, but luckily for Indy, the ball found the back of the goal just before Arteaga took out the advertisement signs behind the goal.

After Indy scored the second, I don't know if I could describe Indy's play as a complete bunker, but there was a drastic difference in possession between the two teams after that point. The average position of the starters for Indy was definitely skewed heavily towards OKC's goal. While Indy managed to out-shoot OKC after the goal (4 to 3), the average location of OKC's substitutes was well within Indy's defensive half of the field. Indy was just able to do more with their opportunities, with 6 of their 8 shots being on target and a blistering 75% shooting accuracy.

After Rogers made two of his five available subs at the 72nd mark, and despite having Hamilton on the bench and Arteaga frequenting the field in pain, Rogers didn't make another substitute. Felt like a Hoosiers "My team is on the floor" moment. I don't know why Rogers decided to not make anymore subs, but that was what popped into my head.

Indy celebrated with their fans. Smoke was cathartically released after the win. It may not solve all the issues, but a good solid win on a nice August nice certainly helps the confidence.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

I think I'm going to have to give this to the trio up top in Arteaga, Law, and Wild. The trio accounted for 5 of the team's 6 shots on target, both goals (and assists), and had 5 chances created between them. 

Additional Photos

Former Indy Eleven player Kyle Hyland during the pregame Cheers to Indy

Indy Eleven vs OKC Energy FC - 08.13 (Part 1)

 Summary

- Opponent: OKC Energy FC
- Location: Taft Stadium
- Attendance: -
- Final Score: POSTPONED

- Starting XI: Edwards, Buckmaster, Timmer, Cochran, Seagrist, Smith, Gutjahr, Ayoze (C), Law, Moon, Hamilton
- Substitutions: Moon 
- Unused: Dick, Malic, Ouimette, Koffie, Sissoko, Vassell, Arteaga

- Scoring Summary:
IND - Smith 15' (assist Hamilton) - Until it didn't...
OKC - Lopez 20' (assist Ellis-Hayden) - Until it didn't...

- Bookings:
NONE

- Referee: Brandon Stevis
- Adage goals: One - Until it didn't...

Thoughts and Opinions

This game started much differently than the last game. Indy's decision to press was in more display and they looked like a team that wanted to play. What wasn't different was Moon's effort and the team rode his effort up the right side of the field for a good portion of the half. While OKC worked their way into the game in the 2nd third of the first half, the overall first half heat map shows that the game was tilted towards the OKC goal. 

Indy's hustle in the first third of the first half lead to a goal in the 15th minute as Law intercepted near the OKC box, that he passed to Hamilton. Hamilton then pushed the ball to the left to Cammie Smith who was making a run up the field, took a couple of touches, and then fired a rocket past C.J. Cochran, who the commentators pointed out a few times isn't related to A.J. Cochran.

Indy's propensity to give up early goals didn't happen in this game, but it seems it translates to their ability to not stay focused after scoring as well. While Indy dominated the field position game, the halftime whistle found them nearly equal in possession, shots, shots on target, and passing accuracy However, Indy held a 7 to 0 advantage in corner kicks and a 14 to 3 advantage in crosses. It definitely feels like the team is missing something on the corner kicks without Hackshaw and Ouimette's presence.

With all the similarities, it was probably fitting that they went into the locker room tied at one apiece. Then they came out and started the second half. 

Then there was a weather delay in the 48th minute...and so we waited.

...

...

...

...

...

...

Until just before midnight EST, when my screen went from Delayed to Postponed. Meaning everything that took place in the first 45 minutes will be as if it didn't happen. So Cammy Smith's goal and Hamilton's assist do not count. Moon's and Law's efforts do not but take more off of their legs for future games. Luckily, the team has a week to deal with a long night of sitting in (a dark?) locker room waiting for the weather to clear and the lights for the stadium to start working again, which they didn't and is what was the ultimate decision maker to postpone the game.

So here I sit just after midnight writing a recap of a game that didn't officially happen.

Onto the next one, that will hopefully count.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

From the first half of action, I would have given the GBGB to Moon. His continued energy and crosses were causing the OKC defensive problems the entire time. In 45 minutes, Moon had 1 chance created, 1 shot on goal, and 2 crosses.

Indy Eleven vs OKC Energy FC - 08.05

Summary

- Opponent: OKC Energy FC
- Location: Carroll Stadium
- Attendance: 3,999
- Final Score: 1-1 D

- Starting XI: Farr, Hackshaw, Malic, Ouimette (C), Gutjahr, Law, Seagrist, Moon, Wild, Smith, Arteaga

- Substitutions: Koffie 66' (Gutjhar); Hamilton 66' (Smith); Vassell 77' (Wild); Cochran 77' (Malic)

- Unused: Edwards, Timmer, Sissoko

- Scoring Summary:
IND - Moon 42' (assist Wild)
OKC - Lopez 69' (assist Coronado)

- Bookings:
OKC - Daniels 65' (Yellow)

- Referee: Calin Radosav
- Adage goals: None

Thoughts and Opinions

I'm not sure what I expected when Rennie brought back the 3-4-3 formation. Maybe that it would happen with the guys from the SKCII game. Maybe that the end result would be the same as the result of the SKCII game. Maybe those are just unreasonable expectations when post Louisville City FC bunker, Indy was playing 3 games in 8 days, 4 games in 11 days, and 5 in 18 days. So some roster adjustments were in order, an 80+ degree day was in play, and some of the guys who started were seeing their first action of the season. 

As a result, the pace of the game for Indy in the first half became much less active in the second half. Indy started the game well with the run of play clearly in their favor. In the 42nd minute, a well placed corner from Wild found the well placed header from Moon and Indy found themselves leading going into the halftime locker. After halftime though, Indy could not sustain their energy, and then by extension, their lead. Coach Rennie said it best during the post-game press conference:

"We were winning and were looking fairly comfortable, but instead of staying focused on what we do and how we play, I felt that we were more just hoping to get through the second half."

"Hoping to get through the half."

That's not a way to win a game and in the 69th minute, they were unable to get through the half as Lopez found the goal after getting to a Coronado cross to even the game. As the starters' legs and energy began to falter, Rennie began his substitution pattern hoping to get in fresh legs to get the game back into the positive side for Indy, but the substitutions never looked like they were fully in the game either. Almost like an emotion late win over a regional rival took a lot of out them. Given the long preseason and the long season still remaining in front of them, it's a little disappointing that the team didn't look to be in better form for a full 90 minutes.

After the Louisville game, I thought it was a win that felt like a loss, and after this game it was a draw that felt like a loss. I'm hoping that there's a win on Saturday against Memphis that feels like a win again.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

I gave the defense the love last week and I still want to give Law some credit for his effort, but you have to reward Moon for his effort. His effort was finally rewarded with a goal and Indy fans can only hope that turns into more goals from him.

Indy Eleven vs Rayo OKC - 03.32

- Opponent: Rayo OKC
- Location: Oklahoma
- Attendance: 1,043
- Final Score: 2-1 L
- Starting XI: Cardona, Franco, Keller, Janicki, Shaffer, Paterson, Smart, Gordon, Lacroix, Reinoso, Youla
- Substitutions: Vukovic 45' (Franco), Torrado 62' (Smart)
- Unused: Busch, Ubiparipovic, Busch, Braun, Falvey
- Goals: Paterson 52' (PK)
- Bookings: Franco 29'
- Adage goals: One

Final week of the Fall Season and the Eleven headed to Oklahoma to play a Rayo OKC team fighting for a final spot in the Championship. Similarly, Minnesota United headed to New York with a chance to do the same. That was the narrative during the week ahead of the weekend clashes between the two top teams in the league and the final two remaining teams with a chance to extend their seasons.

Except Minnesota and NY played on Saturday and OKC and Indy played on Sunday. Minnesota proceeded to lose to NY on Saturday giving Rayo OKC the final spot in the Championship regardless of the result on Sunday. So, Rayo OKC and Indy Eleven fans were blessed with a game that was, in the grand scheme of standings, absolutely meaningless. So as we all sat down to watch a digital stream of the game on the patchwork quilt field with 1,000 of our OKC brethren at the stadium, neither team had any motivation other than good ole-fashioned pride.

What resulted was a game that really wasn't all that cohesive for either team. There were a lot of counterattacks for both teams and goals from penalty kicks, set pieces, and a bad defensive breakdown. There were some good moments by both and I'm sure I could analyze it in a lot more detail if I rewatched it again like I typically do, but there isn't much need. The Eleven scored off of a Paterson PK that resulted from a shot by Lacroix that hit an OKC defender's arm. Rayo OKC got their first goal because three different Eleven players didn't close down Velasquez and he got off a shot that was out of the reach of Cardona. The second was on a corner kick where two Indy Eleven players were out-aerial-dueled by two different Rayo players as Indy Eleven players who aren't all 90-minute match fit lately were out-hustled.

Normally, I would be upset about a game that could have been won, but wasn't. However, I have to respect Coach Hankinson for his 18-man travel roster. Just in case Rayo OKC still had something to play for, he traveled to Oklahoma with Busch, Falvey, Zayed, Braun, Ubiparipovic, Vukovic, etc. so that he could put a lineup on the field that respected the game instead of fielding a lineup of predominantly reserves while OKC fielded their starters. Once it was determined that OKC was into the Championship and neither team wanted to risk injuries to their starters, Coach Hankinson had the ability to field a similar lineup as what was fielded in Tampa Bay. All while giving Palmer a chance to recover from his injury against Puerto Rico, preventing Ring from potentially getting his 5th yellow card in the Fall Season (& suspending him for the final game in the process), and giving Mares a rest.

All things considered, the Eleven might not have come home with the victory, but it was probably a fair result. The depth players were able to play some minutes and most importantly, on the velcro quilt field, it didn't seem like anybody got hurt. Not a win on the scoreboard, but maybe a win in all other respects.

Now the Eleven need to prepare for Edmonton who visit The Mike on Saturday with the intent to continue their own season and ruin the Eleven's home unbeaten streak. They need the fans to show up in full voice to help prevent that from happening.

See you there.

Highlights:

Indy Eleven vs Rayo OKC - 03.19

- Opponent: Rayo OKC
- Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
- Attendance: 7.066
- Final Score: 2-1 W
- Starting XI: Busch, Palmer, Falvey, Janicki, Vukovic, Smart, Ring, Torrado, Mares, Youla, Zayed
- Substitutions: Gordon 78' (Youla), Paterson 90+2' (Zayed)
- Unused: Cardona, Ubiparipovic, Keller, Miller, Reinoso
- Goals: Mares 41', Falvey 84'
- Bookings: Ring 11' (Yellow), Zayed 45+2' (Yellow)
- Adage goals: None

On a night with a constant rain falling through most of the game, the Eleven dominated nearly every statistical category, but required another in a long string of late game goals to get the win. This week's heroics came in the 84th minute by Eleven captain Colin Falvey who pounced on a ball on the six after OKC's goalkeeper Fernandes mishandled a corner kick.

Brad Hauter's keys to the game beforehand were for the Eleven to limit set pieces and for OKC to get out ahead early. Neither of those happened as OKC was awarded a free kick in the 12th minute that Michel put perfectly into the box and Danso put into the top of the goal. A completely opposite start for the Eleven from the way that Hauter felt they needed to begin. Yet, as we've seen all season, you better put the Eleven away when you get your chances, otherwise, you're just flirting with losing your win (or draw). In both of the Eleven's losses this year, they went down by multiple goals and couldn't overcome them. OKC had some chances early, but similar to the way that Fernandes couldn't handle the corner kick on Falvey's goal, Fernandes couldn't handle the 41st minute headed ball from Zayed off a Torrado cross and Mares was in the right place at the right time to blast the rebound into the back of the net bringing the team back to level right before halftime.

The Eleven may have officially lost the possession battle for only the second time in the Fall Season, but that hardly matters when they dominated so much of the rest of the game. The Eleven had 12 corners to OKC's 0. Zero.

OKC didn't manage a single corner kick.

The Eleven put 11 Shots on Target to OKC's 1.

Fernandes had 7 saves, while Busch is credited with zero saves.

And proving me wrong, the Eleven matched their season high cross total by successfully achieving 30.2% of their 43 crosses. The Eleven had multiple chances and were just barely off on several of them. Zayed, in particular, had a few headers that he couldn't get over enough to get on frame, but a wet ball on a wet forehead can further complicate the placement. Though I doubt he would use that as an excuse.

With the defensive players finding the back of the net, Palmer is showing signs recently that he might want to get in on the action. Palmer had a shot in the 22nd minute that was a rocket very similar to another one of his three shots on the season. The power he showed in this week's shot mirrored the one recently and they were directed on frame. With that much power, and keeping them on frame, anything can happen on its way to the goal, including pinballing around to a fellow teammate for a rebound goal. I'm ok with him testing the keepers from 35 yards out, especially like Saturday with the wet field conditions where the ball could take any kind of strange skip. He might not be the next defender to get a goal, but he might find one by the end of the season.

The Eleven's victory extends their home win streak to 8 games and home unbeaten streak to 13. While the team finished their Spring Season undefeated, they've lost their last two away games. This becomes important because starting next Saturday, the team's next three games are away from the friendly confines of Carroll, playing at Carolina and Ottawa before finishing at New York. Wins on the road are the next step this team needs to take and the next three games will go a long way in determining if they can make that next step.

Highlights:

Indy Eleven vs OKC - 03.04

- Opponent: Rayo OKC
- Location: Yukon, Oklahoma
- Attendance: 4,729
- Final Score: 2-1 W
- Starting XI: Busch, Palmer, Falvey, Janicki, Vukovic, Gordon, Ring, Paterson, Ubiparipovic, Reinoso, Zayed
- Substitutions: Lacroix 18' (Ring), Braun 56' (Reinoso), Larrea 75' (Ubiparipovic)
- Unused: Cardona, Smart, Miller, Franco
- Goals: Reinoso 7', Vukovic 77''
- Bookings: Ubiparipovic 9' (Yellow), Paterson 44' (Yellow), Braun 84' (Yellow)
- Adage goals: None

After the Ottawa game, I wrote that until proven otherwise, I wouldn't predict any multiple goal games from the Indy Eleven. Since then, they have proceeded to score twice in back-to-back games. The first was Zayed's brace against the Cosmos and they followed that up with two goals on Saturday night against Rayo OKC. Reinoso put a one bounce volley from the corner of the box over Fernandes in the 7th minute, surprising every Eleven fan (and the BeIN television crew) by putting the ball in the net 80 minutes earlier than normal. After conceding a goal to Rayo OKC in the 26th minute to a set piece goal from Michele that I fully expect to be in the Play of the Week nominees, Vukovic once again found himself in the right place at the right time and neatly put a ball in the back of the net in the 77th minute. Is this a case of goals begat goals and the start of a welcome trend or a two game aberration? With Edmonton coming to town, who have only scored two goals in their first four games and given up 3, let's hope for the former.

So that's the one paragraph recap of the scoring.

The defense continues to be stout. Unfortunately, they continue to need to be because the team, for the fourth game in a row, lost the possession battle. Badly. 65% to 35%, and that was consistent between the halves as Rayo OKC held a 63% to 37% edge at halftime. Rayo OKC had 260 more passes than the Eleven. Rayo also continued the trend of beating the Eleven on Duels and Aerial Duels. I hear you. Who cares if you lose the possession battle if you win the game? My only concern is that this is a definite trend. I will concede that a lot of the possession stat depends on where that possession takes place and Rayo OKC had a lot of possession in their defensive half. Yet, it means that you're chasing the ball and that starts to wear on the team's stamina and fitness. For a team that has had a few injuries and some concerns about working guys into full-match fitness, constantly chasing the ball isn't helpful. Maybe that will be the advantage of this team's depth as they move forward.

The positive is that the Eleven continue to find ways to get points out of games. With the Cosmos taking some points away from Carolina today, the top of the table took a much welcomed constriction after Carolina's fast start to the Spring Season. So the Eleven went on the road and came home with three points, regardless of how it might have looked. In an upcoming week where every single game pits a top of the table team against a bottom of the table team, it's good to get the win against Rayo and go into the Edmonton game with some momentum and confidence.

Now for some random thoughts:

NASL Opta Stats Average Position - Indy Eleven

Indy's points leader through the first four games is *drum roll* Nemanja Vukovic. That's right folks, your left back has been involved in three of the team's five goals in the early part of the season and so, even with some of the prolific goal scorers on this team, it's a piece of the stout defense that's also getting it done on the offensive end. His average position shows that he was getting forward against Rayo OKC, nearly as high up the field as midfielders Paterson, Ubiparipovic, and Larrea.

NASL Opta Stats Heat Map - Lovel Palmer

His counterpart on the opposite site of the field was a little further back on the field and provided me with the "Strange Statistic of the Game." Lovel Palmer was the only field player on the Indy Eleven whose heat map had red in it. Yet, not even Jon Busch had as intense a heat signature in one spot as Palmer. I'm not sure what that really means, other than Michel's presence on the left side for Rayo OKC likely had something to do with it, but Palmer spent a lot of time near the sideline in his defensive half.

NASL Opta Stats Heat Map - Zayed/Braun vs Cosmos

Finally, a random comparison of the difference between the 4-4-2 against the Cosmos and the 4-4-2 against Rayo OKC. Using the Opta Heat Maps for the two games for the "2" of the 4-4-2, here's the Heat Map for Zayed and Braun against the Cosmos. Both players spent a good amount of time in the offensive half with a good portion of it on the right side of the field and a nice signature around the 6-yard box which was ultimately where Zayed scored the game winner. Though, to be fair, that signature is more from Braun's presence than Zayed's.

NASL Opta Stats Heat Map - Zayed/Reinoso/Braun vs Rayo OKC

Now let's compare that to the "2" of the 4-4-2 against Rayo OKC. Zayed, once again, was up top against Rayo OKC, but he was initially paired with Reinoso for the first 56 minutes and then Braun for the rest of the game. In a game where the team held approximately 10% less possession, it would look like at least some of that was associated with the forwards. That, however, it about all that I can decipher between the two maps. Was the 4-4-2 more effective against the Cosmos? Maybe. Was Braun the difference? Maybe. Is it awesome that after last season where I spent most of my write-ups using only words and wishing that I could present graphical representations of data and statistics, I can actually do it this year? Definitely. Even if it is just to say that the difference wasn't exactly what I had expected.

Highlights:


Congratulations Jair for your Play of the Week nomination!


Congratulations Reinoso, Ubiparipovic, and Vukovic for being selected to the Team of the Week!

Congratulations Reinoso for winning Play of the Week!