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Anyone else watching this or just me? It's FTA on the MNUFC website.
St. Pat's probably had the best chance so far, no idea of the strength level of the MLS side to be honest, they could be playing a bunch of kids for all I know.
https://www.mnufc.com/livestream
Watched bits and pieces of it,3 players that started for them in their last league game are playing the first half here,just starting their league season aswell so using it to get a look at their squad players I’d say….
0-0 at half time. The Brazilian keeper has come on for Rogers at half time for St. Pats.
You see it happen when our sides play against better standards of opposition in Europe and it's the case here too that the difference in general athleticism seems vast. Keating is by no means a slow player in the LOI but he got played in behind in the first half at one point and looked like he was moving through quicksand as their centre back easily made up about 5 yards on him before he could get a shot away.
Not much else to take away from it really, been a fun if quite weird one overall. Even for a friendly it's been strangely reflective of most of our games so far this season.
Agree with you there, athletically Minnesota were miles ahead of any LOI side. Even so I thought Pats put in a good account of themselves and created some good chances, McClelland had a great chance to equalise at the end but the pass seemed to have too much power on it for him to keep his effort down. Good test for the 19 Pats players used against a side with a lot of senior internationals playing. I feared injuries with a few of the tackles flying in and with the game being played in -5 degrees but all appeared to be ok on that front too
The picture and sound quality of the stream was excellent I thought. (the camera and the microphones were good, not the verbal diarrhoea being spouted out of them ;)).
Obviously MLS clubs have much more resources than the LOI would but it was far better quality than any LOITV stream I’ve watched. The only pain point being that throughout the match they seemed to continuously show a replay of a 5 yard pass for example, when one of the sides were on the attack, resulting in missing out on seeing the attacks in real time. That’s an easy fix for them however, they just need a director that has the slightest clue about the sport :)
I’ve always thought the same. Our teams seem to lack strength and athleticism in a lot of cases. Not quite sure why this should be the case for full time teams. Should we not be paying more attention to strength and conditioning work ?Quote:
Originally Posted by Jack B
On the game last night, I thought Pats did ok. Faded a bit in the second half, which maybe could be put down to the travel. Passing could have been better at times, gave it away needlessly on a few occasions.
Players with natural speed and strength get snapped up earlier I suppose?Quote:
Originally Posted by TonyD
Farrugia is probably the most athletic specimen in the league and would have been gone as well but he stayed in Ireland to study.
Even since he finished his studies, he’d be gone abroad ages ago if it weren’t for how incredibly injury prone he isQuote:
Originally Posted by ontheotherhand
Yeah, absolutely. They also keep him from working on his technique as he'd been unstoppable if he could find the top corner!Quote:
Originally Posted by 2 Year Contract
Well, possibly, to an extent, but I would have thought that speed and strength are things that can be worked on, more so than natural, skill and ability. I can’t help wonder are our manager and coaches missing a trick here ?Quote:
Originally Posted by ontheotherhand
Strength can absolutely be worked on but for me, speed isn’t something you can improve a huge amount by coaching. Of course working on running technique etc can shave time off a sprinter's speed, but we’re talking minimal amounts of time which in sprinting are huge. In football however, simply put, no amount of training is going to turn a slow lad into a fast one really.Quote:
Originally Posted by TonyD
The resources and finances a club like Minnesota has makes their accessible player pool infinitely better than any LOI clubs, meaning they can cherry pick big, strong, fast players from many markets. Hence why when you look at their squad, the majority are from outside of America. Good quality overseas scouting is something that LOI clubs have really struggled with but considering the gap in finances it’s to be expected unfortunately
Would agree (with no backing from actual experience or qualifications) with 2YC below i.e. you can build up strength and speed in anyone but the natural athletes (in terms of body shape and size etc) will always have an advantage and always be snapped up because academies know they can train the other pieces better. Armstrong, Ogbene and Ferguson spring to mind.Quote:
Originally Posted by TonyD
I remember Real Madrid coming to Tallaght and looking like a different species to our lads. Just bigger frames outside of being in better shape.
Dundalk did put a lot of focus in to S&C and waltzed the league here along with competing much better in Europe so maybe it was something that gave us an edge then. Have other countries just improved more than we have on that front?
I don't know, I'm probably talking out me hole.
I’m delighted we held our own. It’s clear that Minnesota are at a different level but he had some chances in the game. I reckon we are but rigid this season as on a couple of occasions we had the opportunity to get forward and didn’t take the chance. The crowd was ok , it was a lovely stadium just a pity it’s in the coldest place on earth.
I lived in the City. As they like to say locally. White out in the winter and white hot in the summer.Quote:
Originally Posted by D24Saint
What was the attendance for this game! :confused:
Haven’t seen an official figure so just basing it on watching the stream and videos that pats posted.. their ground holds just under 20k but it was pretty sparse for this game, I’d guess about 8k maybe?
Good luck to Pats on this and great experience for all involved.
Am I the only one that thinks the whole thing is a bit Oirish. May as well have St. Patricks Vs Shamrocks playing on Paddies day to go full hiy-diddly-eye on it. Throw in a guinees drinking competition during half tme to be sure to be sure.
Now, you're talking ! (wink)Quote:
Originally Posted by redobit
There are worse promo ideas than St Patties Athletic v Shamrock Rovers for a league game in New York around the 17th of March....