Match Info
On Thursday, September 17 Reno 1868 FC hosted Tacoma Defiance for Reno’s twelfth match of the season. This match was originally to take place on July 23. It was postponed to September 16. The match was then rescheduled to September 17. Reno had already defeated Tacoma twice this season. A win or draw would also clinch a playoff birth for Reno.
Pregame Thoughts
I didn’t think about this one too much going into it. Reno has dominated against Tacoma this season. I figured they would dominate in this game as well. Tacoma has never beaten Reno. Tacoma was also on a 4-game losing streak coming into this match. I did think that that the air quality could delay the game. About two hours before kickoff the Air Quality Index was at 201 which is very unhealthy. If anything at that point it would have just delayed the start of the game. The Air quality did improve by kickoff.
This was an early match. Kickoff was at 6:30. I got off work at 6. I decided to not do a pregame show in the short time I had before kickoff.
What Happened In The First Half
5’ minute Reno opened the scoring. Sam Gleadle scored an unassisted goal. Reno got the ball into the box from the wing. The ball went off of a couple of Tacoma defenders. Gleadle got to the ball. He stepped into a one-touch shot while pressure was coming. The shot stayed on the ground and found the back of the net. Tacoma failed to clear the ball Reno capitalized.
19’ minute Corey Hertzog of Reno 1868 FC received a yellow card for an off the ball foul.
37’ minute Eric Kinzner of Tacoma Defiance received a yellow card.
40’ minute Ray Serrano of Tacoma Defiance received a yellow card.
What Happened In The Second Half
47’ minute Sota Kitahara of Tacoma Defiance received a yellow card.
52’ minute Reno scored to increase their lead to two goals. Emilio Ycaza scored unassisted. The ball was taken into the box by Reno. A pass was blocked by a Tacoma defender. The pass was trying to reach two Reno players who were open in the box. The ball came out about 20 yards. Ycaza picked up the ball. He headed towards the box with the ball. He took a shot from about 10 yards outside of the box. The shot went over the keeper and into the net. The keeper was on the edge of the 6-yard box which was too far forward to block the ball. The keeper didn’t make an attempt for the ball. This goal was Ycaza’s first goal as a pro player. On the replay, a Reno 1868 FC academy player (being used as a ball boy) can be seen reacting to the goal from behind the net.
55’ minute Tacoma scored. Abdoulaye Cissoko scored the goal. The assist came from Christopher Hegardt. The ball was put into the box by Tacoma on a set-piece. The ball went into a group of bodies. In the 6-yard box. Reno’s keeper failed to get the ball. The ball ended up in the back of the net. I can understand how the keeper didn’t get the ball on this play. He had to jump over some players and he just couldn’t. I think this is a case where he wasn’t able to jump high enough and wasn’t physical enough to move the attacking players out of the way to get the ball.
57’ minute Reno scored retaking a two-goal lead. Foster Langsdorf scored the goal. Emilio Ycaza got the assist. Ycaza won the ball on the side of the box. With pressure coming from two Tacoma players he passed it to Langsdorf who was running into space inside of the box. By the time Langsdorf go the ball, he had a defender pressuring him. The defender overcommitted. Langsdorf was able to turn and open up space. He took the shot. The keeper couldn’t make the save. This was the sixth straight game where Langsdorf scored a goal.
65’ minute Christopher Hegardt of Tacoma Defiance received a yellow card.
75’ minute Tacoma scored. Ray Serrano scored an unassisted goal. Alec Diaz of Tacoma took the ball into the box while under pressure. He was able to get a shot off. The keeper made a diving save to keep the ball out. Serrano was there to put the rebound away while under pressure. That would be the last goal of the night. This goal comes down to Ben Beaury (Reno’s keeper) not controlling the ball. He gave up too good of a rebound chance for Tacoma when he could have held on to the ball. I think he had plenty of time to get to the ball and pick it up. This could be his situational awareness too. He might not have known that Serrano was going to a position to get the rebound.
90’ minute Azriel Gonzalez of Tacoma Defiance received a yellow card.
90+4’ minute the match ends in a 3-2 Reno victory.
Referee Thoughts
I think there were a few missed calls. Overall, I don’t think the officiating in this game was too bad. The ref never lost control of the game. I think that was due to the 6 cards he gave out during the game. After Tacoma’s goal in 55’ minute, one of the players from Tacoma jumped over Reno’s keeper. The ref saw it. His reaction can be seen in the replay. I thought this should have been a yellow card. What the Tacoma player did was disrespectful. It was also dangerous. If the keeper decided to get up while he was jumping the keeper and the player could get hurt. After Reno got a yellow for excessive celebration in their last match this should have been a yellow card. This isn’t ok and the league shouldn’t allow things like that. There is very little consistency in the way games are called in the USL Championship. If there was more constancy it would have been a yellow card. This league doesn’t respect or protect its keepers. This is just another example of that. I give the refs a 5 out of 10 though for this match. They did ok in this match. I would like to see more matches like this.
After Match Thoughts
Reno got the win. Reno eliminated Tacoma from the playoffs. Reno secured a playoff spot. Reno also secured a playoff spot for Sacramento Republic FC. I don’t like how Reno hasn’t been able to shut teams down. For this game, I think a lot of that is on the goalkeeping. I think Ben Beauy’s ability wasn’t good enough for him to stop the first Tacoma goal. I think he was able to stop the second goal but just didn’t. I think he knows that too by his reaction after the goal. Reno won’t be able to win if they play sloppy defense in the playoffs.
We are only four games away from the playoffs. Reno should be refining their game at this point in the season to get ready for a solid playoff push. I think Reno needs to work on their defense moving forward. If we can’t shut down Tacoma in the regular season how are we going to be able to shut down better teams in the playoffs? In the last two games, we have let our opponents come back into the game. If we do that in the playoffs we will be eliminated. The defense has to make significant improvements in these last four games. Otherwise, we might not make it past the first round.
Current Group A Standings
September, 18, 2020
X – Reno 1868 FC (28pts)
X – Sacramento Republic FC (25pts)
e – Tacoma Defiance (7pts)
e – Portland Timbers 2 (6pts)
Next Match
Reno 1868 FC heads to Portland to take on Portland Timbers 2 for the final time this season. Reno is undefeated versus Portland this season. Reno has not won a game by less than 3 goals verse Portland. The air quality again might be a factor in if the match happens. This match is currently set for Sunday, September 20. Kickoff is currently set for 6 pm.
Zac Electrifly 