The Portland Thorns and FC Kansas City played 90 plus scoreless minutes to end in a 0-0 draw on Saturday. A “crowd” of 1,796 fans gathered in Kansas City on a beautiful sunny day to watch the game live while the rest of us struggled to watch a choppy live stream provided by Go90.
HOMESICK ALREADY
Entering this game the Thorns sat at the number two spot in the NWSL standings while FC Kansas City was in the ninth. So that means we are clearly the better team and this should be an easy win, especially after last week’s rough and tumble battle with Seattle...right? WRONG!
First of all, this was an away game for the Thorns. Sure, KC has a lovely field, sufficient facilities and a couple fans to root for either team... but it’s, you know, different when you're not at home. It’s like getting ready to go out when you're staying at a friend's house. You have all the basics amenities—but you don’t, you know, have YOUR stuff. YES, the Thorns are professionals and they know how to compete when they travel. But there's no doubt that playing at home in Providence Park with averages of 14 thousand fans is an advantage. HOME IS WHERE THE HEART-STOPPING ENERGY IS!
Secondly, several prominent Thorns are suffering from injuries and have been out of the game and out of training for weeks, if not months. Even the bench seems depleted; Thorns played with only four available substitutions on the roster on Saturday! THAT’S SLIM PICKIN'S! When will Tobin Heath be back? What about Kat Reynolds? Dagny Brynjarsdottir? Can Meg Morris come out to play?
THE MATCH
This match was tough to watch. Not only was the Go90 stream basically worthless, the game just got off to a slow start. Have you ever been driving home from work and then all of a sudden you kind of, come too, and think to yourself, “Am I driving? Where am I? Am I asleep? How long were my eyes closed?” You aren't lost or speeding, but your body is simply on autopilot while your brain is asleep. THAT’S WHAT THE FIRST 30 MINUTES WERE LIKE. Then the Thorns rolled the windows down, cranked up some Motley Crew and opened their eyes REALLY REALLY wide to opportunity! I AM AWAKE I AM AWAKE I AM AWAKE
Alie Long had a nice SPIN AROUND FAKE 'EM OUT move just past the 18 and nearly slipped a goal in. Unfortunately, that kick landed in the arms of FCKC goalie Nicole Barnhart. Moments later, the Thorns missed another beautiful opportunity after a corner kick found Horan’s head then Raso's foot. The Australian’s foot couldn’t find control and she booted up and over the goal rather than into the net. DAMN THIS LUCK
In the 37th minute, Christine Sinclair just missed the goal after receiving a beautiful pass from Nadia Nadim. It bounced off the far post and OUR DREAMS WERE THWARTED AGAIN.
The second half was frustrating. Sure, our defense threw some MAJOR SHADE on KC strikers. Sure, we had a nice rally at the end of the game and sure it was great to see AD Franch make a huge—AND I MEAN HUGE—save against Sydney Leroux. But guys, honestly, that feed from Go90 was poorer than Bob Cratchit on Christmas Eve. DICKENS REFERENCE! Every few seconds the screen would go totally black for a few beats. GO90 WAS BARELY GOING 20
COMING UP
I'm hoping we have some semblance of a full, healthy squad soon. Currently, the Thorns are third in the rankings, just below Seattle. But guys, Seattle isn’t just winning games, they are winning games by 5 or 6 points. And the number one team, the North Carolina Courage, aren’t just doing well—THEY ARE UNDEFEATED. Thorns are hanging in and doing OK, but looking at the other games played this weekend, the Thorns are going to have to step it up, speed it up, and get healthy.
The Thorns play away again on Friday in Boston. You can watch the substandard feed here.
Also, I have two tickets to our next home game on Saturday, May 27 courtesy of some friends at @NSCAA.
Whoever sends @erinjeanius the cutest picture of a Thorns dog can have them!
