RIFC took down Birmingham Legion 1-0 tonight in the Jägermeister Cup quarterfinals. It turned out that Birmingham couldn’t do it on a cold, rainy, Wednesday night in Pawtucket. Credit to everyone who braved the elements to watch this team. It takes real dedication, especially when the team has been drastically underperforming.
While I did not get my usual tactical view from 205, I have to say section 104 was a little better than I expected. Nothing beats the 205 view, but this one wasn’t too shabby:
As always, here are my quick takeaways from what was a great win:
Koke Over Jackson
The first thing that jumped out to me from this game came an hour before kickoff. We were having a great time at the Tide Talk live show at High Motor when the lineup came out. I was a bit surprised and pretty disappointed not to see Jackson Lee in goal. Personally, I felt like he’d done enough to remain our cup goalkeeper. On the other hand though, I understand why Khano made the decision to start Koke. The team is looking for any momentum and consistency they can get. And after the last two games saw the team improve in possession, it makes sense to keep Koke in the 11 as he better suits playing out from the back. It ended up being the right choice in the end, as Koke looked as solid as ever
Getting Busy With It
In a game that was largely dominated by RIFC, the team yet again struggled when getting the ball into the attacking third. The team needed some attacking prowess and after bringing on JJ Williams for Aldair Sanchez in the 57th minute, Khano made a triple substitution in the 72nd that included Noah Fuson and Dwayne Atkinson as attacking options. And Atkinson yet again lived up to his nickname and got busy right away:
The pure hustle and skill on display here was awesome. And although it was a much smaller crowd than usual due to the weather/weeknight, the atmosphere was electric when the ball went in Birmingham’s net. It was right in front of the Defiance 1636 end and made for one of the best moments at Tidewater so far in a season with too few of them
Are We Back?
I’m definitely not ready to say that yet. But RIFC took a step in the right direction tonight. They ended with 63% possession, 4 shots on target, and 3 big chances. We’ve long talked about how Khano wants the team to be good on the ball but too often it doesn’t result in any meaningful chances. And while the team didn’t light it up by any means, the attack was definitely an improvement, albeit from what has been a pretty low bar. The most encouraging thing tonight was the way the team controlled the game and added something in attack. If they can keep building on this style of play and add some goals to it, this will definitely be a playoff team
Up Next
It’s perhaps the final El Clamico of the season on Saturday in Hartford. Before that though, we will be back with a postmatch pod tomorrow night and player ratings will soon follow. I will be back here with a preview of the Hartford game on Friday.
As for the Jägermeister Cup, Sacramento Republic and Greenville Triumph both won on penalties tonight, eliminating Loudoun United and Indy Eleven respectively. At the time of writing, Hartford are 2-0 up against San Antonio FC in the 2nd half and are looking likely to advance. The draw will be random and we should know shortly who and where RIFC will play next. Until then, I as always will leave you with a nice UP THE TIDE!
Tide Talk 
Leave a comment