Late Winner Takes Three For Indy - Bethlehem Steel FC v Indy Eleven REVIEW

We didn't need to give Bethlehem 99 problems, one was enough. Jack McInerney with the only goal.

By: James Cormack

Indy Eleven kicked off their third in a series of four away matches at an unusual start time of 11.00 am at Goodman Field in Bethlehem. After losing to Charleston Battery and Tampa Bay Rowdies our team needs to find points and find them soon. The two sides have met once already this season at Lucas Oil Stadium when the visitors left with all three points after defeating Indy by two goals to one.

There were three changes to the starting XI that lost 3-1 in St. Petersburg at the weekend, one forced change was Brad Ring who received a retroactive suspension from the previous match. Tyler Pasher continued at left back and Ayoze not in the squad this time around. Nico Matern dropped from starting lineup while Soony Saad, Seth Moses, and Zach Steinberger returned to the starting lineup.

Only five of the Bethlehem players that started against Indy Eleven in the initial encounter in May will begin this game. One of them was Santi Moar who was pivotal in Steel's attack along with McGuire, Mahoney, Najem, and Ngalina.

A welcome sight to the listed roster for the match was Reiner Ferreira added to the bench after missing the bulk of the season so far, missing since picking up an injury in the first home match of the season against FC Cincinnati on April 1st. He would see game time in the match sooner than we would have liked.

Starting XI: Williams, Venegas, Ouimette, Mitchell, Pasher, Moses, Watson, Guerra, Steinberger, Saad, Starikov. Bench: Lundgaard, Ferreira, Rusin, Matern, Amankona, Speas, McInerney

Action from the home tie in Indy where Bethlehem stole the points in a 2-1 victory.

The first half was more of an exhibition of passing than anything else, very few shots on goal from either side. Indy threatened more, Seth Moses pressuring Maguire early in the first ten and shortly after a good interchange on the right between Venegas and Starikov saw the latter drop a nice pass back in front of goal but Venegas could not get in fast enough to let off a shot.

Starikov and Venegas starting to look comfortable with each other and 17 minutes in, interchanges between the two drew a corner but Indy Eleven could make nothing of it. Around the 20 minute mark, Bethlehem got their first real shot on goal from 22yrd out centrally but was easily smothered by Owain Fôn Williams.

The pitch was heavy and wet after a lot of rain locally, the surface was slick and players on both sides were losing their footing. Indy Eleven did well to defuse the attacking danger of Santi Moar, most of Steel's best opportunities of the counter were coming on the opposite side of the field where the ground was wetter.

Bethlehem's Ferris was causing most of the trouble on Indy's right. Two thirds into the first half after an Indy free kick on our left Ferris again showed he had the measure of our back line and was unlucky not to get a shot off. Bethlehem caught us with pace again on the opposite side with Mbaizo but his cut back pass into the box was luckily not met by a teammate.

Venegas and Starikov linked up again in the 35th, Venegas took it to the line and cut back in for the onrushing Starikov but his shot went high. A minute later Seth Moses managed to beat the back line and attempted a chip shot over Maguire but the home side keeper saved the ball with his face as it was heading goalwards.

An unfortunate site as Tyler Pasher leaves the field after 38 minutes and is replaced by Reiner Ferreira who has not taken the field for Indy for over three months, Ouimette slides out left to allow Mitchell and Ferreira to pair up at centre back. Reiner promptly picked up his third yellow card in only his third appearance of 2018.

Ferreira got himself involved again on 45' conceding a free kick on the left corner of the 18-yard box which worrying got delayed after Ouimette fell to the ground clutching his leg. The free kick came to nothing and 0-0 was the score heading into the break.

Fans waited a long time to see Tyler Pasher return, sadly he exited the match before halftime.

Indy came out fast in the second half with a minute played Steinberger linked up with Watson who fed in Soony Saad in front of goal but his curling shot went just wide of the upper 90. Steinberger also missed a chance in the 53rd minute after a corner clearance fell to his feet but his long-range effort went wide left.

It's cliche to say the game had 0-0 written all over on evidence of the first half, with occasional flurries of activity in the second half it settled down to looking just like that again. Both sides finding chances but unable to apply the concentration in the final third. Indy's next best chance would fall to Saad again, approaching 70 minutes into the game a buildup that started with Mitchell on the edge of our 18 ended up with Saad in front of a near open goal but was not able to get his shot on target.

As the game wore on Bethlehem almost managed to level it up in the 84th minute with a free kick about 19 yards out from the Indy goal after Nanco drew the foul, but Chambers low driven shot to the right of the wall was well smothered by Owain Fôn Williams.

Jack McInerney came into the game for Soony Saad previous to this and it was he who would be the late hero for Indy. The match was not exciting by any means and neither was it an outstanding performance by Indy Eleven, but it is fair to say if one side was going to open the scoring it likely would have been the visitors.

Zach Steinberger stepped up to take his first corner from what can only be described as a swamp in the left corner of the field and this was probably the best delivery of the game. Sent in towards the penalty spot the ball curled in and found the head of Jack McInerney who directed his header away from Maguire and into the right side of the net. It was enough of a hammer blow for Bethlehem to seal the win as they appeared deflated for the closing minutes.

Indy Eleven did enough with possession to round out the six minutes of added time and take the three points back to Indianapolis. After two straight defeats on the road, these three points are extremely valuable. To head to Louisville with none or only one, other matches in between could potentially put Indy out of the playoff positions or perilously close. Instead, they move to 5th in the table with 31pts.

It was a difficult game, Indy is still having issues with some forced rotations and lineup changes but now have over a week to rest and recover before facing Lousiville City FC in Kentucky for the first time in four years on August 5th, following that match Indy Eleven will not play again until they face North Carolina on August 15th at home.

There won't be many breaks for Indy after that, and it's important as they near the final third of the regular season to up their game and start winning points on a regular basis, inconsistency will put them in a position of relying on the fate of others, to do that they will have to start finding the back of the net on a more regular basis. Indy has averaged only a goal per game for their last six matches.

FT: Bethlehem Steel FC 0 Indy Eleven 1

We need a good travelling support for our next match, if you are interested in joining the supporters buses for Lousiville you can get ticket and bus INFORMATION HERE. Also, don't forget to pick up tickets for Indy Eleven's next home match against North Carolina FC on August 15th at BYBTIX.COM

Rough-N-Tumble Heartbreaker In The Heat - Indy V Ottawa Fury FC REVIEW

Never a good sight as Indy scores the only goal of the evening. (Photo: James Cormack)

By: Rebecca Townsend (aka The Pitch Bitch)

(Lucas Oil Stadium, INDIANAPOLIS) — The death blow was so quick and quiet it took a moment for the awful truth to resonate: In trying to block an incoming freekick, stalwart defender Carlyle Mitchell had instead redirected the ball's trajectory in a way no one could have predicted, scoring a dreaded "own goal." 

So it was that visiting Ottawa Fury gained a 1-0 advantage in the 28th minute.

The score didn't budge for the rest of the heat-soaked match at Lucas Oil Stadium-turned sauna. And it wasn't for lack of effort. Mitchell, for instance, was involved in the forward-motivated attack rhythms of the team from the game's opening minutes — and was fouled early on as he tried to move forward to connect with a teammate. 

Mitchell also deserves credit for an excellent fully extended tackle to strip the ball from an in-the-box attacker threatening to launch a pass in front of the goal mouth. (On that note: Mitchell deserves much more credit than he has received thus far for his consistent and effective approach to anchoring the central defense. In fact, aside from Indy goalie Owain Fôn Williams, who has started 16 matches, Mitchell's record of starting 15 matches and playing 1,249 minutes is unmatched by his peers. Ayoze has more minutes, but not more starts or games played, while Justin Braun has as many starts but about half the minutes at 637.)

Despite an own goal Mitchell made many critical tackles during the 90 (Photo: James Cormack)

Indy Eleven head coach Martin Rennie took some time to reflect on the evening's lessons:

"The way I look at it: We gave the ball away, then we gave it away again, then we gave the free kick. So three or four errors before they got the free kick and then, obviously, a mistake. And one we had a lot of time to put right and we didn't.

All we can do now is recover and do our best to have more energy than that in the next game. It's extremely hot. The stadium doesn't let any air come in. It's hard to breathe but it's the same for both teams. And in a game like that, where we're chasing the game, it obviously makes it difficult.

I thought we had a lot of chances. I was pleased with the players' desire in the second half. I thought we pushed and pushed and pushed. We changed the way we played. We got the ball forward a lot. We had a lot of attackers on there, we had a lot of crosses, a couple shots off target. Their goalkeeper made some good saves — a good save from the overhead kick.

Some nights we have to say, 'It's not our night.' We've had nights where it has been and we're obviously right in a good position (on the standings table) — disappointed, though, because that was a chance to really move us right up there tonight and we missed it.

Indy Eleven missed the opportunity to close the gap on the top after a great June (Photo: James Cormack) 

The concentration when it's nil-nil. Because that's two games where we've lost a goal and then we're chasing the game a little bit instead of being in control of the game and creating chances from a position of strength.

In the last two games, we've lost a goal we shouldn't have lost and we lost the first goal in the game, and that has meant that we're then chasing the game and not making good decisions on the ball or around the box. We really have to improve on that. At home, as well, with a lot of fans here to see and we didn't manage to put the ball in the net, so that's disappointing.

For us, there's ups and downs in a season. We know that. It's about getting to the right place in the end. Learning from the mistakes that we've made and pushing on. There's nothing we can do about that (the past) now. We can analyze it and move on."

Post-game comments from @IndyEleven coach Rennie Martin... https://t.co/jsvyevBSjM

— The Pitch Bitch (@IndyPitchBitch) July 5, 2018

[Humble Pitch Bitch apologies for her most critical field error of the evening — made on the verge of heat exhaustion: In preparing to Tweet the post-game interview with Coach Rennie, dyslexic transposition suggested an imposter stood in for the interview. Be assured this is, indeed Martin Rennie, not Rennie Martin. My bad, Coach.]

For your reading pleasure, a synopsis of the Pitch Bitch game notes:

Hopeful moments for Indy in the opening minutes with good connectivity between Eugene Starikov, Kevin Venegas and Ayoze. Also evident straight out of the gate: a hard-nosed, rough-edged match was unfolding. (Appropriate for the return of BYB Golden Corn Dog Award-winning defender Colin Falvey, a former anchor of the Indy Eleven backline during its 2016 trip to the NASL championship game against the New York Cosmos. Now back at Ottawa for a second stint after helping bring that club to the league championship in 2015, Falvey still exhibits his trademark roughneck, loud-mouthed, hit-first-ask-questions-later style.)

Colin Falvey: You tried to act all innocent early in Wednesday's game, but you know you totally pushed Ben Speas in the back. (Did you have an unsettled grudge or is that just your way of telling Ben you missed him and wish you could touch him a little more than the rules allowed?)

It wouldn't be an Indy V Ottawa game without physicality and some tetchy moments (Photo: James Cormack)

Minutes after Falvey's fondling of Speas, Jack McInerney was taken down and the foul wasn't called.

The players' aggression got so intense that before the game was even 15 minutes old, the ref is literally screaming at Ottawa's Adonijah Reid, "Stop it! Stop it!" after Reid pulled a dirty move on Indy captain Matt Watson. Reid continued to earn reprimands, including a yellow card after a pull-down in the 20th minute. On the whole, Ottawa earned four yellow cards on the evening to Indy's one (Juan Guerra in the 26th minute for jersey grabbing) — and the visitors were lucky not to earn more than a yellow for the extremely unsportsmanlike conduct of Ottawa captain Carl Haworth. Haworth did receive maybe a little heavy shoulder from Ayoze as the two sprinted down the sideline to control a ball at the corner. But then, once the ball was out of play, Haworth pushed Ayoze down in the tunnel leading off the field. Nothing but dirty.

Speaking of unsportsmanlike: Zach Steinberger, we suspect you were bored on tonight's uber-talented bench, but you were observed playing head games with your guest when he was trying to retrieve a ball from you on the sideline. You weren't going to throw it to him. You were going to make him walk to you and take it out of your hands. Then, when he went to grab it, you dropped. OK, yes, it was funny (she writes full of shame in finding joy in others' humiliation) ... But, aren't the new marching orders from our leaders at FIFA to "Live Futbol" now? Just pondering the question, bro, 'cause it comes down to karma, right? And, in the end, karma knocked us on cocky little asses tonight, didn't it?

(We must admit, however, if we're talking about karma, that Ottawa really deserves to suck it for their heavy-handed style. And we will make them suck it by the end of the season, if the plan unfolds as conceived...)

Ayoze locks out Howarth in the second half. (Photo: James Cormack)

Still, Indy kept hammering... Ayoze had a strong shot Crepeau did well to block, though he couldn't control the ball, the Indy additional runners just couldn't quite get there to hammer the deflection across the line. Juan Guerra should be credited with one of the best-camouflaged switches this evening, as he managed to keep Ottawa's defense flowing one way while he shifted his approach and launched a pass that was almost on. (The Bitch would like to see more switching passes strung on the turf with shorter, faster connections.) Watson had a nice volley on frame, but also into keeper Maxime Crepeau's hands. McInerney had a helluva nice bicycle kick, placing the ball on frame, but Crepeau was maximally effective in his position and shut down what would have been a huge Indy party. 

McInerney and Guerra almost connect in 74th minute...

Guerra also was fouled just outside the Ottawa box for an excellent free kick opportunity in the 79th minute. But the team's signals/timing misfired and possession rolled away.

Even the dynamic, 73rd-minute, super-sub duo of Justin Braun and Tyler Pasher (finally back to the field after a months-long injury) could not penetrate Ottawa's defenses.

And speaking of penetration and defense. Perhaps the most valuable bit of video from the evening might be found around the 89th minute when Ottawa's Tony Taylor penetrated two Indy defenders deep in Indy's defensive third. The strategy could be improved in this instance.

Indy players got great closeups of the turf throughout the match. (Photo: James Cormack)

Ottawa is coming off a brutal June and had an overall road record of 2-5-1 heading into tonight's match. Stealing the win from the U.S. hosts on Independence Day probably tasted extra sweet for the downtrodden guests.

Let's hope the evening was a success for Indy's HVAF, which works to provide housing, employment help and all kinds of wrap-around services for the hundreds of homeless veterans that live in Indianapolis. People can text HVAFHELPS to 24700 to send a donation in support of HVAF's important work and as an Independence Day recognition that freedom comes at a price — a bill that soldiers pay far beyond their fair share.

Indy's Maiden Voyage Against Charleston Battery A Bit Rough - Indy Eleven V Charleston Battery REVIEW

Ayoze scored his third and fourth goals for the season, three from the penalty spot.

By: Rebecca Townsend, aka The Pitch Bitch 

Anyone who left the Indy Eleven game early on Wednesday night missed the evening’s most intense action: four goals were scored after the 80th minute, two within a minute of each other in stoppage time. 

In the end, visiting team Charleston Battery, left the field with an unsullied unbeaten streak, which now stands at 11. Indy, which held a 1-0 lead at halftime, was lucky to hold on to a 3-3 tie. 

Before proceeding to the meat of the match, let us first recognize that this Charleston Battery team that came from such a deficit to snatch victory away from the hosts in the final minute (or so) of stoppage time is coached by not just a product of Indiana University (where he was part of the 1988 NCAA national championship-winning squad), but a native son. Congratulations to Fort Wayne's own Mike Anhaeuser for bringing Indy a heck of a game! 

Now, deep thoughts on formations: "Who is the "2" in the supposed 4-4-2?" she wonders, because watching Indy defend Charleston building out of its backline usually meant watching Jack McInerney in a 3-or-4 on one situation as the rest of his teammates collapsed into a more compact hive clogging the central channels.

Jack McInerney as solitary forward has to cover a lot of ground and sometimes has to go get the ball himself.

This thought builds into a scribbled idea, "Indy does ok defending vertical channels, but when they go horizontal, they’re in trouble." This does not mean just the backline. This is a team-wide situation. It's part of how these weakside threats keep coming in unchecked. It means all opponents in Indy's defensive half need to be tracked; no weakside runs are unchecked. 

Please note: Somewhere between minute 25 and 32, Charleston almost nails Indy (with a bullet dodged — where? — on the far side). Lucky for Indy an unchecked weakside runner fails to connect meaningfully with his tasty, close-range volley opportunity. 

When Indy strikers aren't trying to harvest "Hail Mary" miracle passes from the sky, they also work hard to create open channels only to be snubbed. 

The Pitch Bitch sees you out there Jack McInerney, calling for the ball ... totally ignored. Surely that makes you want to say some bad words. Keep it positive! Maybe along with a solid pat on the back you could say something like, "Hey buddy, next time I'm open right in front of your face and all I have to do is turn on one square defender and just get one step before I'm one on one with the keeper ... feed me that ball, dude! That is if you enjoy scoring in the actual open flow of a soccer game." 

While we're at it Jack, nice idea about trying to chip their keeper from distance. We have to dream to do, but that was pretty dang hopeful brother. The Pitch Bitch wants to see you taking people on - and stuffing the ball down their throats when you have equal numbers in your attacking half. Something tells her you're good at that. Same with you, Justin Braun! Keep going at them with all you have and it will yield results.

Zach Steinberger wins possession and pushes forward against Charleston Battery.

Zach Steinberger, this applies to you also. In the 75th minute as the Pitch Bitch notes you, well in the attacking half, intentionally delay your pacing to find a pass — instead of charging their keeper. At that point, there were two defenders between you and the goal, neither right on you — and a mountain of space. The notes say, "Zach has stellar ball control and the strength to really take it to those defenders — and possibly beat them. He has a strong enough shot that he can throw everything off balance and maybe give himself or another player crashing the box a chance to score a rebound shot." 

Bottom line: Get hungry, brothers! You've got it in you! Take it to their back line — on the ground! 

It's not that the midfielders aren't working. They are. And hard. Same with the forwards. It's just that in the defensive half, the opposition needs a tighter leash. On the attacking half, Indy needs to leash their opponent's backline and have their bevy of bodacious attacking artillery in the front line and midfield test defenders' boundaries and wandering patterns. Can those defenders be moved in predictable ways? Can that be exploited in Indy's favor? 

Yes, yes they can! Walk opposition D as you would walk your dog Indy. Literally, make them your bitches. And while one or two of you walks the backline over to one side or another, the rest of you pounce on the resulting opening. Don't leave Jack up there by himself when we're moving on the attack or when Owain Fôn Williams is getting ready to distribute. Pressure! 

Throughout the match, recurring thoughts of a shape that was tending heavily toward central and deep. The Pitch Bitch believes the team can develop more dynamism in the wide channels during attacking and defending.

Trinidad nationals Nathan Lewis and Neveal Hackshaw wrestle in Charleston's left corner.

She noted that the team lost a ball in the 10th minute by trying to plow through the middle - and a mess of Charleston D - instead of taking a totally open pass up the perimeter. Perhaps, instead of long, crazed passes out wide, some beautiful leading or even directly connecting passes out wide. Then pressing the full unit into attack mode using width and depth to its advantage, working angles, easing closer and closer while looking for weaknesses or opportunities to appear. 

Just prior to McInerney earning a PK in the 85th minute, the Pitch Bitch notes, "The shape problem is this: We clog the middle. Which is a good thing when strong opposing players are trying to stuff an attack down the middle, but we are not getting the flanks shut down? We are allowing those crosses in - and we suffer as a result. 

"The sweat-ethic of the team is decent. People aren’t lazy. But our resources aren’t yet being utilized with prime efficiency and efficacy." 

In the first 20 minutes, Indy was already switching play over the top instead of using easier, more direct passes on the ground. Switch away, but try switching with rhythmic, quick-released, closer (or at least more open) passes on the carpet, instead of trying for the one-and-done, over-the-top miracle or trying to dribble through a clogged mid-channel.

Soony Saad lashes in another great strike from Brad Ring's layoff to open the scoring.

In the minutes before the evening's opening goal: a free kick goes nowhere and no one seems expecting to receive it. Why not try a weak-side run and collect the trash? Maybe there's an opportunity there. 

At one point Indy midfielder Juan Guerra works hard to muscle off his opponents and feed up the ball up the channel. But the pass finds no one, though Guerra and Nathan Lewis seemed to communicate immediately after the play about an opportunity lost. 

"Perhaps it will work next time," she thinks. 

Minutes later, Soony Saad asks for a long switch from his D, gets it, but can’t control it and ends up fouling the Battery while trying to control the ball, a call which displeased him so much that he was sure to communicate with the ref. 

Still, Indy reclaimed possession, only to have Guerra taken out by Charleston's Tah Anunga. Indy Captain Brad Ring set the resulting free-kick rolling and Saad smashed it home in the 44th minute. A later attempt at a repeat, with Ring again setting a free kick for Saad in the second half, results in Charleston rejecting the kick before it even reached the top of its arc, causing the hosts to complain that their guests had not honored the 10-yard rule. Coach Martin Rennie also protested. But the play was already in the rearview and the game moved on. 

In the minutes before the Battery's first goal of the evening, Jack McInerney took an overly hopeful shot at trying to chip the keeper from distance and then, when Indy regained possession, his teammates failed to send him an easy, up-field pass for which he was open. Next thing the spectators see: O'Brian Woodbine bury a goal on a deflected shot he was happy to clean up from an unchecked weak-side run.

Neveal Hackshaw chasing Saad, carved through Indy's midfield on the way to Charleston's third goal.

If one were to draw a vertical line through the field in the second before Woodbine shoots, one can see that Ayoze is charged with covering two players in vitally threatening positions on the left flank/corner of the box, while 5 Indy players swarm three players with the ball on the right side of the defensive third. The goal is scored when an unguarded weakside runner takes advantage of his teammate's overly ambitious shot (rejected by Indy's defensive). The deflection sets him to scramble to beat Fôn Williams and deliver a one-touch tap across the face of the goal and into the far side netting. 

Charleston added to their score in the 80th minute when the Battery's Nico Rittmeyer made an unchecked run into Indy's wide left flank and completed a low cross across the mouth of the goal where Ataulla Guerra runs to meet it from the center for a well-controlled one touch to the far corner of the net. Again, Indy struggles to make a timely shift and get the top of their box shut down. 

The visitors looked poised to issue the host an embarrassing upset, leading 2-1 with 10 minutes left in the game. But then McInenery earns a PK and Ayoze nails it for the team, tying the game. Then, miracle of all miracles, Indy earns a free kick in stoppage time and Ayoze manages to convert it into a goal for Indy! The hosts look poised to win only to have the euphoric celebrations deflated when ... 

From a review of the so-called highlight reel, in the plays leading up to heartbreak for the home side, we have Indy with essentially a 4-3 advantage around the center circle as the Battery begins to dribble by them by pushing a bit wide, skirting the line between Indy's wide right and the right central channels. Meanwhile, his teammate takes off upfield on the same line, running to split three Indy defenders in the area. 

One of the three defenders pops up to meet the oncoming dribbler, but not in time to prevent a pass upfield to the feet of the splitting runner who beautifully slows pace as three Indy defenders descend around him. He launches a pass back to the center of the field at the top of the box to the feet of the onrushing Tah Anunga, who was all too happy to use his right foot to shoot to the far right netting, just past the fingers of the outstretched and crestfallen Fôn Williams. 

Indy’s next match will be at home. Kick off against Atlanta United FC 2 will be at 7 p.m. June 9 at Lucas Oil Stadium. Fee-free tickets are available for purchase through the Brickyard Battalion supporters club at BYBtix.com.

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Time To Hit The Reset Button - Indy Eleven V Bethlehem Steel FC REVIEW

Zach Steinberger scored Indy's solitary goal against Bethlehem Steel in a 1-2 loss.

By: The Pitch Bitch (Rebecca Townsend) A disappointing week - with an early exit from the U.S. Open Cup, the only open, true test of soccer champions offered in this country - morphed into a disappointing weekend for Indy Eleven with a 1-2 home loss on Saturday to Bethlehem Steel. In post-game comments, Indy head coach Martin Rennie was ready to push the reset button. His tired team was ready for a refreshment of minds, bodies, and spirits. He was the first to admit that the squad’s teamwork, passing and movement were off, that too many opportunities were given away because of rushed play. And, he said, he offered no excuses for himself or his team regardless of their recent grind of several games on the road with several talented players benched to injury. “The players are all here to play - to perform,” Rennie said, noting the hard truth that virtually every soccer player on the planet has faced before - that the evening’s match was not on. With three Steel players collapsed on the field in the 9th minute and one Indy player down, the theme of the night did appear to be 'collapse'. The Pitch Bitch noted several plays where Indy men were in the right places, attempting the right things and the hand of fate just would not allow them the sweet sound of ball caressing net. Nathan Lewis worked his butt off attempting crosses and shots from the flank … and though his shots weren't on, he earned a free kick and corners, which could have been better utilized.

Nathan Lewis working inside the 18 in the first half for Indy Eleven.

Kevin Venegas dished a gorgeous free kick for Justin Braun. The subsequent header just wasn’t on, it was inches off, into the post. A deadly goal of such caliber would have given the game an entirely different flavor. Instead, it was missed by an inch. Soccer is a cruel mistress. Total bummer. But champions don’t cry. They move on and keep salivating for deadly strikes, they keep working, keep hunting. “Goal scoring has so much to do with confidence,” Rennie said. “If you hammer the players, you’re not really building the confidence, which they need to have.” The game plan moving forward, the coach said, is to have the players clear their heads, recharge their bodies and get back to work. Because, after all, with one fewer game played than arch rivals and current USL table leader F.C. Cincinnati, Indy sits just six points behind. Good leaders keep perspective on such matters.

I'm live with @indyeleven coach Martin Rennie... https://t.co/jzimAopEbs

— The Pitch Bitch (@IndyPitchBitch) May 20, 2018

Parting shots from the Pitch Bitch game notes (please beware these will include a sexual reference.): Rushed play. What can we do about it? Look for time, space and your people. Think not just about speed, but change of pace. Remember, good soccer is like good sex: Sometimes we need to do it quick and dirty, capturing great effect in minimal time. This would be akin to a goal scored on a counter attack with minimal passing.

But so often, we need to enjoy the anticipation, we need more foreplay, we need to enjoy the movement, the control we achieve when we’re working together and running our opponents around the field in patterns predestined to expose their vulnerable underbellies. After watching one too many squandered passes, the actual bitch notes say, “Don’t force it. Find some rhythm. Settle into it like a good, long fuck.” The game notes end on a sour note of two Bethlehem shots forcing Fôn Williams into action. But just prior, in what for Pitch Bitch on-the-spot, short-hand game notes is trés élégant cursive longhand, “even when all else is shit, Brad’s ninja stuff is fun.”

Brad Ring was acknowledged and celebrated for 100 appearances and played a strong game.

So, here’s to you Brad Ring and your more than 100 games you’ve played for Indy Eleven - and all your games as an Indiana Hoosier! - plus your MLS years and every other game that made you the man you are today! Keep up the good, solid, tough, dependable play. It’s a treat to watch you work! Thank you for your service, sir!
Thoughts by James Cormack...

My disappointment in our performance on Saturday is not easy to put into words. We had a short time to prepare coming off a Wednesday game but so did our opponents. As the game wore on our visitors could see we were lacking and they took advantage of it, they grabbed the game by the throat.

We have players missing and that does not help, but the problems we can see in the way the team plays did not just develop on Saturday night. Our lack of bite in the final third has been the cause of repeating discourse for many weeks now and not wholly down to a lack of confidence in players. The issues are all over the park and it comes down to lack of quality delivery, creation, and poor decision making. All the stats in the world do not point to an improvement if those shots taken or attempted are pitiful or a result of ill decision.

Last Wednesday against Mississippi Brilla we played route one football. Jack McInerney spent a lot of the game having to wrestle for 50/50 balls in the air. On Saturday it was the same again but this time Justin Braun was the wrestler and again we played way too much long ball. When we did get the ball down and play it into the width the ball disappeared into a vacuum most of the time and never came back.

This was the assumed position for Justin Braun for most of the game. Guess where the ball is at.

Lewis did not have a good game, we saw the same at Pittsburgh. There was just no end product, whether he was playing on the right as in the first half or for a spell on the left in the second when he received the ball in the corners or took it there himself it either was poorly delivered in and lost or was sent skywards with woeful attempts at shooting. If we want to have someone on the field just to look fast and dangerous we could sign Tony Kanaan, he’s in town. I am sure Nathan can do much better, but a player has to be given the incentive to improve, I really hope he does. Be more dangerous.

We rarely used the middle of the park behind the forward line to create opportunities, most times when we did it was long balls or short balls popped in the air for 50/50 challenges, I took over 1400 photos at the game and probably about 20% or more of them are Justin Braun having to wrestle in the air or on the ground for a ball. In contrast, if you look at Bethlehem and the way they played, Santiago Moar totally bossed the middle of the field in front of our back line, he was serviced well and he serviced his team around him well, he tore us apart. We need that in our play, we need a Santi Moar.

The boys do need some rest, but all other teams are playing pretty much the same amount of games. The style of football we are playing, and I use the word style loosely is not good and its getting worse. In matches where we have had a healthy roster to choose from you can see the same things. Our strong defensive play has been remarked upon but even on Saturday against Bethlehem, we looked shaky. Will a couple of days rest change the way we are set up and the way we play football? Time to reset everything and look to see how we can approach matches differently in order to win regularly in this league. The problem isn't really the strikers in my opinion.

If this is the way we want to set up and play for the season, we may make the playoffs, but we probably will get found out quickly in the first postseason match. I am still optimistic, we have quality in our roster from top to bottom, it needs to shine.

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Indy Eleven Face Strong Test In Home Opener - Indy Eleven V FC Cincinnati PREVIEW (3/31/2018)

Enough Talking! Let the game begin! Okay we talked too much.

By: James Cormack

The moment everyone has been waiting for is finally here. Ticket sales are rocketing and Indy Eleven look set at least to break their highest ever attendance for a home match and probably even smash it. New areas have been opened up due to demand and the entire lower bowl of Lucas Oil Stadium is now available for supporters.

Earlier this week it was announced the south end had been sold out and more seats would be opened, the visitor allocation has been sold and we believe more tickets for traveling support have been made available and their section has been moved and expanded along with the opening up of the east side of the lower seating.

While for me attendance is secondary in priority to the product we put on the field, it is very exciting and important for the future of the club. Indy's highest ever attendance at Carroll Stadium was somewhere around 11,500 and this looks set to be smashed. Anything above what we have done previously is a step in the right direction and the higher we go the more Indianapolis as a city can see that Soccer is not going away and is very much a part of this city and state, and it's growing.

Come On You Seats In Blue! Lucas Oil Stadium prepares the field for Indy Eleven (Photo: Jeff Belskus)

Our team is as prepared as they can be for this game. We have one game and a win under our belt and enough evidence for Martin Rennie to pour over and see where we can improve on the field. We face a stiffer challenge this Saturday, but we will play in front of our own support, it is early in the season and while the result may not give an indication of where we are in terms of playoff quality, a positive result could certainly turn a few heads.

So what about FC Cincinnati...

It could be argued that they are one of the poster boy teams for the USL, they are breaking attendance records and turning heads by themselves since joining the USL in 2016, but are they matching this with their product on the field? By all accounts reading through some of the USL articles we seem to have been placed as underdogs for this game, we got that a lot in NASL when we played the Cosmos for example, but it didn't seem to give them an edge when playing us.

In their inaugural season of 2016, FC Cincinnati finished 3rd in the regular season and came up against Charleston Battery in the first round of playoffs losing 2-1 at home. In 2017 FC Cincinnati scraped into the playoffs finishing 6th in the regular season and losing out again in the first round by 3-0 to Tampa Bay Rowdies. What should be noted from this is a new team has made the playoffs in their first two seasons and made a great US Open Cup run, not the fact they have failed to win silverware. It's impressive. 

I was fortunate enough to attend FC Cincinnati's home opener last season against St Louis and I was very impressed firstly by the huge attendance and the atmosphere, not going to lie it's always incredible to see the continued growth in teams and support in this country. I was also impressed with the product on the field.

FC Cincinnati won that game by four goals to nil and all four were scored by Djiby Fall, I was impressed with how he and Victor Mansary were causing the St Louis defense no end of trouble on both sides of the field. Neither of those players is there anymore. Mansary is now with Charleston Battery and Djiby Fall is as far as I know without a team. Djiby collected a rather lengthy ban in 2017 and despite scoring 12 goals for the year appears to have fallen out of favor with the team.

Ledesma scores for Cosmos in a 2-1 Indy victory in 2017 (Photo: Bloody Shambles)

The 2018 Cincinnati roster is strong, is it as strong as previous years, this remains to be seen. Familiar names to Indy Eleven fans such as Blake Smith, Lance Laing, Nazmi Albadawi, Richie Ryan, Emmanuel Ledesma, Tyler Gibson, and Tomi Ameobi have been added, all previously played in NASL. Among the notable returning players for FCC is Danni König who scored 11 goals for Cinci in 2017.

Ledesma had a good year in 2017 with Cosmos scoring 10 for the season, for several years before he was getting very little game time at clubs like Middlesborough and Rotherham, Emmanuel is a great player who was never given enough opportunity. He is definitely a player who will be a danger to Indy, he scored twice against us last year for New York.

Blake Smith is well known to Indy and played for the Eleven in 2014 on loan from Montreal Impact, his most notable match was our first US Open Cup game against Dayton Dutch Lions where he scored the clubs first ever hat-trick in a competitive match, a tie that ended 5-2 in favor of Indy Eleven. Smith also scored against Columbus Crew in the following round.

Blake is a versatile player who can cause danger in any part of the field. After returning to Montreal and failing to become a part of the first team plans Smith was picked up by Miami FC in 2016 as they commenced life as a new franchise in NASL. Blake was a regular starting player at Miami and scored four goals in two seasons. He is one to watch for Indy and scored FC Cincinnati's opening league goal in a 1-0 away win at Charleston.

Lance Laing working the left for North Carolina in Indy 2017 (Photo: Bloody Shambles)

There is one former FC Edmonton player in Cinci's roster that worries me and it's not Tomi Ameobi. Lance Laing has a great scoring average and is dangerous not only in attacking build up but also from set pieces, he will no doubt be a part of any creative attack from Cinci if he plays and is another player who can change a game very quickly.

I am only touching on a few players, and mainly because they are known to me, but if I were to sit on the outside and look at Indy Eleven's roster I would be equally as worried or perhaps more. There is really nothing that stands out between these two rosters that give me a reason to label one team as a favorite in this match over the other. On paper, it looks very finely balanced.

So are Indy Eleven the underdogs in this game?

It would seem so, and although most of the spin appears to be coming from USL's own punditry and maybe a little favoritism towards a team that has made USL playoffs in two consecutive seasons, it's not really surprising.

Former NASL teams should not be underestimated, but to be fair Indy Eleven's 2017 was possibly the worst season we have ever had. It's an entirely different squad, less returning players than FC Cincinnati but it is probably the strongest team and the most depth we have had in a roster to date.

Both teams have had seven preseason games and both suffered only one loss. Cincinnati beat Indy in our first preseason game without a full squad and also lost their last preseason match against Sacramento. Those games mean nothing at the end of the day, both Indy and Cincinnati have played one league game and both won 1-0 on the road.

Formidable. Indy coaches Dave Dixon, Martin Rennie and Phillip Dos Santos (Photo: Bloody Shambles)

In all fairness I would rather be the underdog, pundits are already putting a check in the win box for Cincinnati so all the pressure appears to be on them if we are expected to be the losers, I doubt very much that Alan Koch will be taking anything for granted and pretty sure Martin Rennie is prepared for any challenge.

It is going to be a spectacle between two well-supported teams in a great venue in front of a large crowd. There are no stats or theories or any evidence out there that is going to help you call the winner in this game, we'll find that out in reality somewhere around 9pm on Saturday night, everything else is just speculation.

How different will this game be to the opener in Richmond?

It will most likely be much more intense, Indy Eleven will have to deal with a more technical and clinical attacking build up from Cincinnati. The defensive line and midfield in Richmond worked very well and certainly look like they could handle a tougher challenge, they will have to defend more and this can affect stamina over the 90.

If anything could have been better in Richmond it probably could have been our overall attack, Cincinnati will probably provide us with fewer opportunities at goal so it will be important that we not only create more but put more of those chances on target. 

The work rate and area covered by our attack were not in question but more opportunity in the final third needs to be talking point for this game. As mentioned in our review you can't just expect this to happen in the first game of the season but you can improve upon it match by match.

'SAS' Soony and Starikov were a handful in preseason, turn it up a notch and more goals will come.

Our center backs will be called on more in this game, how much work they have to do will depend on the combination of players (if those players start) that I mentioned earlier this week. Ouimette, Pasher, Matern, Watson, and Steinberger. Breaking down Cinci's attacks without losing our shape will be critical, players will need to support and cover each other much more in this game.

Defending will be critical, this doesn't mean we need to worry about a "Park The Bus" scenario, but how cleanly and clinically we defend will have a significant bearing on how quickly and effectively we overturn possession and switch to attack. Sloppiness will not cut it in a game like this at all, so better to be patient than frantically chasing everything that moves.

I won't make a match prediction although I feel Indy Eleven will not lose this game. I am envisioning an opening period of frantic jostling before settling down to what could become an intense chess match, and if it comes to that it will be all about Rennie versus Koch. So bring it on Cincinnati.

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We already know we are going to surpass attendance expectations for tomorrow's game if you are still sitting on the fence about coming along it's really a no-brainer. The Brickyard Battalion need as many wild and crazies in their section as possible so if you want a great deal, a crazy day and be right up on the action fork out $15 and buy yourself a ticket without added fees by following THIS LINK! DO IT NOW, RIGHT NOW!