Seattle Reign vs North Carolina Courage NWSL Game Review August 25, 2024

hey guys welcome back to my channel where I talk about the nwsl women's soccer just soccer only soccer in this video/ podcast I'm going to be discussing the nwsl regular season match between the Seattle rain and the North Carolina courage all right so the nwsl regular season returns after going on break for the 2024 Summer Olympics the Seattle rain are currently ranked 13 in league standings and their record this season is two wins five draws and nine losses before the first half of the Season closed the rain showed a handful of good moments however despite being able to get forward and create some decent buildup place the rain still struggled with their consistency in the attack especially when it came to their connection and finishing in the Box finishing has been a problem for this rain side for some time and while there are good goal scorers like Veronica latco Bethany Baler and Jordan hatima getting them and the rest of the team to score on a more consistent basis um has been challenging so it's clear that the rain needed change in the attack and during the Olympic break the rain would make a handful of new signings the rain would Sign haian Ford nerilia mesia Swiss Ford Anna Maria Cog govic and in a surprising twist the rain would trade Bethany boster to racing Louisville and acquire Jaylen Howell and $50,000 in allocation money I already wrote an article covering these signings and I'll leave it in the description below the trade of Baler to racing Louisville came as a surprise to many rain fans as Baler has been with the rain since 2019 and was very devoted to the club and team while many fans will disagree with trading boser mesir and covic will definitely be players to keep an eye on in the attack how they connect with hatima fishlock latco and G Yun will be interesting to see they could be changes that this team needs that being said let's get into the lineup for this match all right so the lineup we have Claudia dicki in the goal for Defender Sophia wera Phoebe mcclanan Shay Holmes and Jordan bug for midfielders Quinn Jess fishlock and G so Yun for forwards Jordan hea zerra King and Anna Maria Cog goic and here are the substitutes at the very bottom as well all right so I'm looking forward to this attacking line of hatima King G and sag govic it may take a while for sag govic to get adjusted but with time we could see good connection in the rain attack I also think Howell would have been good to start alongside Quinn but I can understand not playing her yet and bringing her on in the second half to sub out Quinn if you were to play Howell with Quinn that would mean losing and attacking midfielder like fishlock or G however if the rain finds themselves struggling to hold and keep possession bringing on Howell to play alongside Quinn could help the rain anyway I'm looking forward to this match let's get into the first half all right so the first half we are off some early back and forth between the rain and the courage one minute king with a cross or attempt Murphy saves 2 minutes rain corner kick headed away work across King and hea can't put it in Murphy collects 3 minutes courage down the wing kicked Away by mcclanan 5 minutes courage corner kick rain eventually clears 6 minutes long ball to the Rain box goes out 9 minutes um the courage are controlling for now 10 minutes courage long ball headed Away by wera courage cross kicked away 12 minutes courage plays it up McLaren back to Dicky 13 minutes touch behind the rain back line courage making a run courage cross wera tackles it away I'm surprised the courage player didn't just go for goal there 14 minutes courage corner kick Dicky saves hea and fishlock trying to get something going but taken away 15 minutes holes plays it back instead of Crossing in the end courage still recovers 17 minutes rain long ball courage recovers King foul courage ball I mean the courage already had it like I'm not sure why you needed to play it back you could have just played to the advantage 18 minutes fish lock long ball up to hea Murphy collects 21 minutes Holmes cross kept in play kicked away 22 minutes rain corner kick Center govic back to wera wera cross rain attempt hits the post defended away kick back to wera wera cross defended away 23 minutes rain corner kick goes wide bug foul or offside courage ball 26 minutes fish lock fouled rainball it's like whenever I look up or finish typing the courage has possession or has one back possession 29 minutes courage offside lucky for the rain because the courage were just chilling around the Box 30th minute stop playing it back and just send it in G in for hea hea misses it goes out well that didn't make much of a difference didn't it 31 minutes courage long ball McLaren recovers I don't know why she couldn't just play it back to Dicky instead of um kicking it away 32 minutes hatima is trying to get the other attacking players forward but they're not following uh 35 minutes G fou rainball 37 minutes ball up for wera too much too much behind it goes out 40th minute the rain with some more possession now G running into the box unable to play it in dispossess 42 minutes turn a goobic in for fish lock fish lock attempt saved that was the rain's best play from open play so far 43 minutes long ball up to King King Hider to Murphy um not much she could do with that 45 minutes whistle blown First St ends rain no no all right so it was an all right first half early on the courage would have have more control and possession they were able to get forward and create a few buildup plays and services however the rain back line did well to recover possession and regain control one thing that was concerning in this first half was the rain's lack of control in the Midfield while the rain would start gaining um more control and possession as the first half went on it's still very clear that the rain needs to be more aggressive in the Midfield perhaps bringing on Howell in the second half could help the rain regain better control and stability in regard to the Reigns attack they have been able to get forward while there were buildup plays they would ultimately go nowhere as the courage Midfield and backline would recover possession once the rain would reach the courage box we're not seeing much from the rain attack when it comes to open play the rain has had a few chances from corner kicks as well as some services from wera nevertheless there needs to be more from the rain attack the attack is slow and looks no different from the first half of the Season OTAs latco and Mia may be able to change up the attack and provide more urgency pace and creativity there needs to be a different approach to the second half if the rain wants to get past the courage defense that all being said let's get into the second half all right so the second half we are off 46 minutes courage through ball bug on it Courage foul or offside rain ball 47 minutes fish lock fouls courage ball 48 minutes courage corner kick short sent in Courage attempt Dicky saves 49 minutes ball up to King Ki um kicked Away by Murphy 50th minute fish lock dispossesses someone over to wera wera cross headed away 51 minutes Quinn cross tapped away G attemp Murphy saves Quinn fouled rainball 52 minutes wera over to CAG govic serag govic cross goes wide King attemp goes over 53 minutes McLaren back to Dicky cleared 54 minutes courage running into the rain box kicked Away by holes Holmes down may have gotten stepped on trainers out to check on her Holmes coming off still getting checked over on the sidelines they're wrapping up her knee hopefully it's nothing serious and hopefully the rain doesn't have vaal wolfsburg's luck when it comes to Def um when it comes to Defenders I think there's probably like two Defenders at vaa wolfburg who are going through injuries all right so 56 minutes courage cornit defend away sent back in King fouled in the Box Holmes is back in 57 minutes Dicky and McLaren discussing something Dicky long ball CNA goik fishlock King King attempt saved um that was a good play 59 minutes where to cross defended away G cross Heim a header saved yeah this is a lot better from the rain courage in the rain box courage attempt Dicky saves 60th minute courage cross missed by everyone goes out 61 minutes fish locked down trainers out to check on her she's okay and is coming back in 64 minutes courage attempt from outside saved 65 minutes fish lock up to heighta defended away rain substitution King out L go in 66 minutes courage cross Dicky saves 67 minutes courage cross blocked letco fouled rainball 70th minute good defending by Holmes honestly she's been doing really well in this game letco is running eventually dispossessed 71 minutes ball up for hea saved 72 minutes courage long ball headed away fish lock up for latco headed away ball in the courage box defended away 73 minutes bad giveaway by Dicky a courage attempt from outside goes wide 74 minutes rain substitutions Center govic and fishlock out mesier and Howell in 75 minutes Bad Touch in the Midfield courage on the attack Dicky running out to tackle it away still in play uh rain defense struggling to get it out um they eventually do courage cross Dicky saves 76 minutes hea attempt blocked let go attempt blocked touch to howl howl attempt goes wide yep that was something 77 minutes mesir cross H to g g attempt blocked 78 minutes rain attempt saved 79 minutes G attempt from outside saved and and here's the thing they're actually On Target like they're actually shooting at the goal bug fou tripped rainball 81 minutes courage cross wera with a block 83 minutes wera sends it up courage recovers 84 minutes mondir in for G G over to Quinn Quinn attempt deflected G down she's okay 85 minutes rain corner kick headed away 86 minutes ball sent in for alasco and hea saved 87 minutes rain substitutions he and G out Adamas and Athens in 88 Minutes latco cross cleared 89 minutes courage cross goes wide 8 minutes of added time 92 minutes ball in for Adamas and mesir headed back to Murphy where to cross saved 93 minutes mesir cross McLaren collects 94 minutes Adamas making a run dispossess it's like watching a team of Ula Brands just running at Defenders and expecting them to let you throw 95 minutes rain cross goes wide 96 Minutes let go cross Adamas header bounces off the post then off Murphy then into the goal rain 1 nil um so even though it came off Murphy last they are giving it to um aamas that is otam mas' goal 97 minutes courage cross wherea comes away with it you guys better not 98 minutes courage sends it in kicked away then whistle blown second half ends rain wins 1 n all right so while the first half was pretty average for the rain the second half of this match was more exciting and much better there was more urgency and confidence in the rain attack better buildup plays in addition to more crosses and services the rain were still getting their shots off and while finishing may need more work getting past the courage goalkeeper Casey Murphy was always going to be difficult but hey at least their shots were on target overall it was a great attacking effort from the rain and hopefully it will continue to get better the next steps for the rain will likely involve building consistency in developing attacking connections and Partnerships CNA govic and mesir also look promising in the attack as well there was more pressure in the Midfield from the courage however the rain did well when it came to managing that pressure and regaining control the rain backline and defense also performed well with wera holes bug and McLaren making multiple blocks and recoveries and Dicky making many important saves it's great to see the backline sinking up and getting back on track after struggling in the first half of the season this was a great win and promising performance from the rain and much like the second half of this game hopefully the second half of this season will be better for this rains side um that is all I have for you guys today or tonight and I'll see you all in the next one later