An uninspiring win to say the least. I’ll hold back on loosing with both bores until De Rosario gets back on the field. Indeed, rather than delving into minutiae, let’s just have a look at the biggest point I took away from the match, shall we?
Full credit to Pajoy. Despite the obvious handicap of his ridiculous hair[1], he did manage the only goal of the game. He also ran his socks off chasing balls and harrying defenders.
But.
And there’s always a but, isn’t there?
Carlos Ruiz (and you can count me with those who think Rico Clark was entirely justified for booting the Little Fish while he flopped about on the turf [viz], but I digress). Carlos Ruiz had just over ten minutes on the field. In those ten minutes he had three chances and did something that Pajoy, for all his effort, just doesn’t do very well.
He combined with the rest of the attack. Directly and quickly.
Balls forward were knocked into space with one touch or held with consideration and an eye for runners. Contrast, if you will, with Pajoy’s penchant for dribbling or holding until he loses possession or picking passes that don’t lead runners but stop them in their tracks.
Pajoy’s wastefulness in front of net has been the focal point of much of the ire directed against him, but for me the number of attacks he kills by dallying on the ball or failing to bring others into the play is the far greater sin. And for all the many sins piled at his feet, Ruiz isn’t guilty of this one.
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And this match certainly had its fair share, didn’t it? I’d say Valasquez shaded the title for Most Absurd Coif though. Quite a feat when Beckerman’s around. ↩
"I’d say Velasquez shaded the title for Most Absurd Coif though."
ReplyDeleteShaded? Those haircuts -- I don't think you can really call it a single haircut, more like several sharing the same head -- are Bayern Munich to Beckerman and Pajoy's Stirling Albion and Racing Santander B.