After the presentation of the Steel Army's 2008 Player of the Year award, things turned dismal at the Valley this past Saturday evening. A slow first half ended with the City Islanders taking a one goal lead. At the half, the skies opened up forcing fans into the bowels of the stadium. Sensing the mood and wariness of the drenched populace, the Steel Army began chanting, singing and dancing; transforming the place into a carnival! The fans came out for the second half in good spirits, but the tying goal never materialized as Harrisburg kept up the pressure. The Hounds did not link up well and appeared uninspired for long stretches during the match. Some blame the recent two game slide on tactical changes while others point to a lack of player focus. Personally, I felt like midfielder Justin Evans was receiving the ball too deep in our own end to start the attack, which sputtered before reaching the final third. Whatever the reason, manager Gene Klein will need to find a way to right the ship heading into a two week break from action before the Hounds make the dreaded Charlotte/Wilmington road trip.
They have got to figure out a way to connect better on the short passes and push the ball in the final third. They looked to be on their heels for most of the match.
yes...I agree
and I think if Justin can get the ball in the middle a bit further up field it won't take so many passes to get into attacking mode
or we could go back to getting it out wide to Kutney, Hughes or Cameron and advance up the wings
I still think we need to see what Jerome and Bucknor can do together up top...Zewe didn't seem to play well with Jerome.
It seems like we lack some pace this year. We were just hoofing long balls up the pitch that the Harrisburg defenders were able to clear with ease.
@ Knuppmeister
see the thing is we didn't play that way at all vs Real...we attacked wide and passed a lot more