Week 18.5 recap: Two things can be true

Gotham FC flew to El Salvador early this week to face Alianza Women FC in San Salvador on Tuesday night. The Bats came away with a 2-0 victory, thanks to a penalty from Geyse in the 62nd minute and a header off a corner from newcomer Kayla Duran in the 4th minute of second half stoppage time. This was the same team that our NWSL rivals, the Washington Spirit, beat 7-0 just two weeks ago, so Gotham’s more modest scoreline can feel like a failure. Let’s take a look at the facts.

• Alianza was in a very organized low block

• The pitch conditions were unusual

• Gotham was playing with a less-than-ideal lineup

• Gotham had more shots, shots on target, ball possession, passes, and pass accuracy

• Gotham still scored no goals from open play

Let’s talk about it.

The lineup

Last weekend against the Orlando Pride, head coach Juan Carlos Amorós played his ideal starting XI, which meant that the lineup for this match was pieced together with the few players that he had left over. 15-year old Mak Whitham saw her first start for the team, and Geyse and Khyah Harper served as her wingers. In the midfield, we saw Sarah Schupansky, Sofia Cook, and Nealy Martin. And finally, on defense Jess Carter started her second match in a row and Taryn Torres, Kayla Duran, and Mandy Freeman filled out the rest of the back line.

This lineup was a little doomed from the start. While Whitham is certainly precocious, she is still only 15 years old with very few game minutes this year and up until this point 0 consequential game minutes. Putting her out there with a second-string lineup made it very difficult for her to be effective, and as a result she looked lost at times. 

Another questionable decision was starting Sarah Schupansky and Sofia Cook, two players who prefer to play at the attacking midfield position, together. Again this was something that Amorós didn’t have a lot of control over, but either way this decision forced at least one of them to sit further back than usual, which made them less effective on the ball. In addition, this was Cook’s second ever start for the team, so playing someone so inexperienced out of position further set her up for failure.

The backline looked very solid, but because of the way Alianza was playing, they didn’t have much to do. 

Overall, the important part is that this team came away with the 3 points that they were looking for, even if the path there was difficult.

The pitch conditions

Gotham as a team was definitely uncomfortable with this pitch. Speaking on the result, goalkeeper Shelby Hogan said, “I think that the pitch brought some difficulties for us and I think that we weren’t quick enough to make changes.” And similarly, midfielder Sofia Cook commented on the conditions, noting that, “I think the field too—we realized the balls in behind, they just kept going out so then at halftime we reevaluated and I think you saw we came out keeping the ball a lot more in the second half.”

The first half of the game was full of moments like this one.

And this one, where everyone receiving the ball seemed caught off guard by where it ended up

Gotham definitely had a difficult time adjusting to these new conditions, and that was something working against The Bats this whole game. It was definitely a speedy and slippery one, so we are proud of the team’s ability to adjust.

The goals

It took Gotham until the 62nd minute to score, thanks to a penalty from Geyse. Sofia Cook earned the penalty after being fouled just inside of the box.

Even if she hadn’t been fouled, it didn’t look like Gotham’s attack was going anywhere on this play, so the foul was really a gift. Geyse stepped up to the spot…

And delivered maybe the best penalty we’ve seen from a Gotham player all season. Apologies to Geyse, we weren’t familiar with your game.

Gotham’s second goal of the match came in the 4th minute of second half stoppage time. The Bats had earned a corner kick, and Sarah Schupansky went out to deliver.

Kayla Duran ran into the path of the ball pretty undetected and earned herself a free header into the far post. Gotham attempted this set piece once before in this match, when it went just wide of the goal, and the second time did the trick. 

The Bats ended this game with a 2-0 scoreline, and although it wasn’t the prettiest, they ultimately got the job done.

Looking ahead to next match

Gotham next plays Angel City FC at home on Sunday, September 7th at 5 PM ET on ESPN. This will be Angel City’s first game since losing star winger Alyssa Thompson to Chelsea, but their second straight game playing without her since she was on excused leave in last week’s fixture. Angel City currently sits just 1 point and 1 spot below Gotham in league standings, with 6 wins, 5 draws, and 7 losses on the season, although they have won each of their past 2 matches. Gotham FC’s 4-0 victory the last time these two teams faced off remains the team’s best result of the season. The Bats will be without head coach Juan Carlos Amorós due to yellow card accumulation.

Angel City underwent some serious roster changes during the most recent transfer window, including the additions of Icelandic forward Sveindís Jónsdóttir and up and coming USYNT outside back Evelyn Shores. Jónsdóttir has primarily been playing on the right side for Angel City, so she’ll likely be the problem of left back Lilly Reale, but the absence of left-winger Alyssa Thompson frees her up to play on either side of the pitch so we’ll have to see what new coach Alexander Straus rolls out against the Bats on Sunday. We’re just really hoping for Gotham’s recent momentum to be meaningful and real and hopefully turn into another 3 points.

Thumbnail courtesy of Gotham FC.