hugh613
Pretty much a regular
Lads...
Saturday:
9/24/2016 7:00 PM USA USL Soccer 5895 Minnesota United (NASL)/Ottawa Fury (NASL)* Over 2,2½ -114
*First of all, just a joke - this isn't even anywhere close to being a "play of the year". Second, I'm only posting because I'm off to the game in a bit, so I figured I'd share the wealth (or the misery - we'll see how it pans out...)
Anyways, the Fury and Minnesota have played twice this year: a 2-2 draw here in Ottawa on May 7, and a 3-2 Minnesota win last Saturday in Minneapolis. Don't expect anything approaching that tally tonight (it would be nice, but the way the line's shaded, y'know...) but, if the first two games are any indication, there should be plenty of decent opportunities to score, at least. The game back in May featured a total of 19 shots (Ottawa 9 (5), Minnesota 10 (5)), while the game last week was even more wide open (Ottawa 10 (4), Minnesota 14 (8)). The shot totals themselves might not necessarily be that impressive, but I think the percentage of shots on target speaks volumes about the ability of each offense to break down the opposing 'D' and get off some quality tries from within the box.
As far as stats go, the O/U numbers are a tad suspect (Ottawa 4-8 at home, Minnesota 4-8 on the road). A little better once you drop down to 1.5 (Ottawa 9-3 at home, Minnesota 6-6 on the road) but, regardless, the NASL's not exactly the highest scoring league in the world, so you do sort of have to take the numbers with a grain of salt. That said, Minnesota's still one of the better offensive units in the league (3rd in the table), both sides rank above average in terms of shots per game, and both feature average defensive units.
As far as motivation, don't think this one should be too closely contested: neither team's going to be an NASL side for much longer (Minnesota's off to MLS while, if you believe the rumours, Ottawa's destined to join USL next season - which is fine by me as the level of play in NASL is beyond poor), so just playing out the string (well, Minnesota's in a playoff spot, but still...) And if you're wondering what the point is if there's no motivation, honestly, it always seems it's defensive intensity that takes the hit when teams don't care, so...
And on an unrelated note, I ran into a bunch of the Minnesota players at the Starbucks near my place the other night (all the NASL teams seem to stay at that hotel) and let me tell you, those guys are small. Not that I'm that big, but I felt like Peter Crouch standing next to a few of them in line. Moral of the story: hopefully 'small' equates to 'fast' and plenty of bursts of speed down the field.
Anyways, hopefully this hits (or, at the very least, pushes on the 2). All I know is, if I'm going to freeze my ass off for two hours (game time temp expected to be 12°C/54°F - welcome to Canada), there'd better be some damn goals.
Saturday:
9/24/2016 7:00 PM USA USL Soccer 5895 Minnesota United (NASL)/Ottawa Fury (NASL)* Over 2,2½ -114
*First of all, just a joke - this isn't even anywhere close to being a "play of the year". Second, I'm only posting because I'm off to the game in a bit, so I figured I'd share the wealth (or the misery - we'll see how it pans out...)
Anyways, the Fury and Minnesota have played twice this year: a 2-2 draw here in Ottawa on May 7, and a 3-2 Minnesota win last Saturday in Minneapolis. Don't expect anything approaching that tally tonight (it would be nice, but the way the line's shaded, y'know...) but, if the first two games are any indication, there should be plenty of decent opportunities to score, at least. The game back in May featured a total of 19 shots (Ottawa 9 (5), Minnesota 10 (5)), while the game last week was even more wide open (Ottawa 10 (4), Minnesota 14 (8)). The shot totals themselves might not necessarily be that impressive, but I think the percentage of shots on target speaks volumes about the ability of each offense to break down the opposing 'D' and get off some quality tries from within the box.
As far as stats go, the O/U numbers are a tad suspect (Ottawa 4-8 at home, Minnesota 4-8 on the road). A little better once you drop down to 1.5 (Ottawa 9-3 at home, Minnesota 6-6 on the road) but, regardless, the NASL's not exactly the highest scoring league in the world, so you do sort of have to take the numbers with a grain of salt. That said, Minnesota's still one of the better offensive units in the league (3rd in the table), both sides rank above average in terms of shots per game, and both feature average defensive units.
As far as motivation, don't think this one should be too closely contested: neither team's going to be an NASL side for much longer (Minnesota's off to MLS while, if you believe the rumours, Ottawa's destined to join USL next season - which is fine by me as the level of play in NASL is beyond poor), so just playing out the string (well, Minnesota's in a playoff spot, but still...) And if you're wondering what the point is if there's no motivation, honestly, it always seems it's defensive intensity that takes the hit when teams don't care, so...
And on an unrelated note, I ran into a bunch of the Minnesota players at the Starbucks near my place the other night (all the NASL teams seem to stay at that hotel) and let me tell you, those guys are small. Not that I'm that big, but I felt like Peter Crouch standing next to a few of them in line. Moral of the story: hopefully 'small' equates to 'fast' and plenty of bursts of speed down the field.
Anyways, hopefully this hits (or, at the very least, pushes on the 2). All I know is, if I'm going to freeze my ass off for two hours (game time temp expected to be 12°C/54°F - welcome to Canada), there'd better be some damn goals.
