Chicago Red Stars Vs Portland Thorns: 3 things we learned
On Wednesday, the Chicago Red Stars and Portland Thorns played out an exhilarating 0-0 draw in the NWSL Challenge Cup. Here are three things we learned.
On Wednesday, the Chicago Red Stars and Portland Thorns played out a thrilling 0-0 draw. That sounds oxymoronic, and it is to some extent, but this affair was boring and intense at the same time. A thrill ride that went nowhere. A game that constantly felt on the verge of a goal ended scoreless.
The Red Stars were the better team in the first half. Thanks to rotation, they had much fresher legs, and it showed on the pitch. The rested Chicago attack took the game right to the Thorns. The Red Stars played fast and loose with the ball, looking exciting in thier build-up but never quite converting their opportunities. Portland then looked to counter-attack but were met with the same problems in the final third.
Much of the second half looked no different from the first. Then, in the last 20 minutes or so, the Thorns grabbed a stranglehold on the game. They bombarded rookie goalkeeper Cassie Miller deep into injury time. The Red Stars, though, remained firm and withstood the barrage of attempts, holding to what was an exhausting and exhilarating 0-0 draw.
Here are three things we learned.
3. Dames treats early games like preseason
Rory Dames made a strange substitution at half-time. Cassie Miller may have ended the match as the Chicago Red Stars’ goalkeeper, but it was Emily Boyd who started. Dames actually used one of his five substitutions at half-time to send on a new goalkeeper. In a competitive match, this would only ever happen for injury or on the very rare occasion that the starting goalkeeper is struggling horribly. But it is more common in preseason and the decision hints at what Dames views this competition as.
The Chicago Red Stars were a completely different team from Saturday. Dames changed the entire team, looking to both provide rest to his star players so that they are fresh for later in the tournament and offer starting opportunities to younger, lesser-known players.
This was an opportunity for different players to impress, and some of them did. Kayla Sharples and Zoey Goralski, for instance, two defenders who have lined up beside each other many times over the years both in college and in the reserves, stood out as they repelled an excellent Portland attack. Dames, then, is treating the early games of the tournament as a preseason. Expect more rotation in the subsequent matches.