Devo's Direct Kicks - Report Card
Here are my random thoughts from Saturday night's 2-1 win by the Rhinos over AC St Louis in some of the worst weather ever for a Rhino's home game:
- I wonder how much Bob Lilley and Bill Sedgewick will go over the film of this game given the extreme weather?
- I thought it was a good sign of the mental toughness of this young team that they could overcome that sketchy goal against early in the second half to score the lone goal of the match into the wind to bank the three points.
- The Rhinos are a bit lucky to get AC St Louis early in the season and before Steve Ralston is on the field.
- On the goal that they allowed, I think you need to look at Vallow and his defenders for why that ball hit the turf. Vallow needs to be more decisive and come out and clear that ball. But, the defenders can't allow a ball like that to hit the turf, either. Thankfully, it didn't cost them 2 pts.
- I might breath a little easier if Frankie Sanfilippo never went in for a slide tackle as a Rhino.
- I was a wimp and watched the game from the really nice press box.
- It was a no brainer to me for the team to give the 1447 fans that showed up a chance to redeem their ticket stub for a ticket to next Wednesday night's game versus Crystal Palace Baltimore.
- It was nice to see Darren Spicer make a difference when he entered the match.
- Hopefully Alfonso Motagalvan can stay healthy! He is a huge piece of the midfield.
- Nano Short sure isn't afraid to throw his body around.
- The Rhinos have some games in hand, but it's nice to see them on top of the standings for now.
News & Notes:
- Crystal Palace Baltimore went into Vancouver and came out with a scoreless draw. I'm sure Bob Lilley will scare his troops with that video ahead of next week's game!
- Dear Chris Wilmot , Frankie Sanfilippo wasn't on last year's team and they have three returning players from 2009 (Vallow, Heins, & Short).
- Puerto Rico won the CFU title to earn a spot in the CCL.
- Here is a look at some of the work that will go into Saputo Stadium with Montreal making the jump to MLS in 2012.
- I wonder what the USL is supposed to do? I know that they did a lot to help prop up various USL-1 franchises over the years.
- Rhinos fans aren't the only ones getting refunds. Seattle fans will get them not because of the weather, but because LA came to town and smoked the Sounders 4-0.
- Rangers are not coming to the US this summer and Beasley won't be returning to Rangers.
- The ad for the USWNT vs Germany match is pretty cool.
The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author, and not necessarily those of the Rochester Rhinos or SoccerSam.com. Feel free to send any comments or complaints to news@soccersam.com. James promises to read (but not to respond) to all of them.
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