Quote:
Originally Posted by Slava
Are you talking about the same final third? I have a feeling there's a disconnect here because they were brutal. But I think earlier you were saying that you didn't think it was as big of a chasm and that a CPL team could beat them, so we could just entirely disagree.
I didn't think that Cavs played bad, but they were just plain outclassed. Orlando is just much better. We could kind of hang with them for that first 15-20 minutes and then it was downhill from there. That really isn't to take anything away from the job that the Cavs did or how they played though. You're playing a far better team, away from home (not at their home either, but still) and you haven't played a competitive match in months. It's a tough one and I thought that Cavalry showed pretty well considering all that.
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I was probably the most optimistic about the Cavs chances of anyone and that’s despite knowing how good Orlando can be. Cavs were decent, they really were. Orlando was excellent though and clinical. Some sloppy moments from Cavalry I transition areas really killed them and Orlando punished them. Our right side was a mess with the inverted fullback and Kobza was forced to cover way too much space against excellent attackers. I think playing a more traditional back 4 could’ve helped take away space there
The other thing that surprised me was how Cavalry didn’t try and use the small pitch at Starlight to slow the game down and keep everything in front of them. To me they played too fast and got caught up in a transition game and that’s always going to favour the more talented team
I also hope they try and win more free kicks and am surprised with how good they were at them last year that it didn’t seem like that was too big an emphasis in their play. Kobza came real close at the end on a header, could be a way to manufacture a goal out of nothing. But again, Orlando was so smart and also not fouling. Perhaps a guy like Henry could help, a tricky dribbler who can bait defenders.
Honestly I think Orlando would be an awesome club for Cavalry to kind of model themselves after. They like to play with the ball, but can also play fast and aggressive when needed and while they don’t press a tonne, they showed last night that they can press real effectively with all sorts of traps when they want to. Good learning for both players and coaches
I’m obviously just a guy sitting at home and not a coach but I really enjoy talking about tactics and trying to understand what is happening. I’m definitely not an expert but if anyone else thinks along the same ways I would love to get some more tactical discussion going over the course of the season. It’s part of how I enjoy the game