Week 24 recap: Dismantled

Gotham’s 11-match undefeated streak in all competitions came to a close Saturday evening as the table toppers Kansas City took down the Bats 2-0 in a back-and-forth yet one-sided game of football. Gotham came into this match fully aware of the Current’s playing style but because they were unable to find the back of the net, this knowledge was ultimately useless. Despite having more possession, creating more shots, and generating more xG, the Bats ultimately fell short against the side that played better football that evening.

The game was a battle of two strong and distinct game plans that have been met with quite a bit of success against the rest of the league. What made Kansas City’s come out on top?

To answer this question, we need to split this game into 3 phases: before Kansas City scored their first goal, between the first and second goals, and after the second goal. The Current have a very distinct way of playing in each of these phases, and despite knowing this, Gotham was helpless against their strategy in all three.

It’s hard to talk about this game without talking about the fact that Ann-Katrin Berger, a goalkeeper who Gotham values for not only her shotstopping abilities but also her contributions on the ball and her ability to pick out players to kickstart attacks, was ruled out of this match with a knee injury. This left the still very talented but not quite as attacking-minded Shelby Hogan to take her place in Gotham’s lineup against the single most dangerous offense in the league. All of this is to say that from the get-go, Gotham was missing one of the most (if not the most) important pieces of the team and its strategy. The only other notable omission from the starting XI was Lilly Reale, who started on the bench for the third league game in a row—we’re hoping that this is just to give the rookie with a lot of minutes on her legs some rest.

Back to the game: while Gotham’s usual game plan consists of winning the ball high up the pitch and generally maintaining control and possession of the ball once in possession, Kansas City prefers to use its speed to strike on the counter attack and then suffocate any offensive attempts from its opponent for the rest of the game. We can see this difference in play style in the concentration of defensive actions. Gotham’s defensive actions are focused on winning the ball higher up the pitch, whereas Kansas City was okay with having the majority of theirs be closer to their own defensive third.

We can also see this difference in the players’ average positions on the pitch.

Kansas City was happy to sit back and allow Gotham into their defensive half, and even their defensive third.

Why was this okay for Kansas City? What made them so happy to sit back and allow Gotham to play around in their defensive third?

Phase 1: 0-0

First, it’s important to look at how timing and gamestate affected this match. Kansas City did not concede a single shot to Gotham until the 43rd minute, at which point the Current were already up 1-0. Before their first goal in the 34th minute, the Kansas City defense was on it, not allowing a single successful pass into the box by a Gotham player until the 29th minute. They did a really good job of anticipating Gotham’s movements and using that instinct to swallow any momentum Gotham had. 

Of the 16 times that Gotham was able to string together at least one completed pass forward in the first 34 minutes of the game, 9 ended with Kansas City reading the Bats like a book and intercepting their passes.

5 ended with a Bat being forced to play the ball out due to all other passing/shooting options being cut off.

And 2 ended with a Gotham player being dispossessed on the ball.

The last one was in the 33rd minute of the game, and this fast break opportunity for Kansas City led to this shot.

Which forced Shelby Hogan into an excellent save that conceded a corner kick. And on that corner…

Kansas City scored. 

The events leading up to that initial shot from Kansas City really highlighted Gotham’s defensive disjointedness compared to the Current. Where Kansas City had consistently been able to read and intercept the Bats’ plays, Gotham was consistently caught off guard at every step of the way here. And then one moment of lazy defending caused Gotham to concede, which allowed the Current to effectively manage the rest of the game.

When they managed to move the ball forward, Gotham quickly succumbed to Kansas City’s defense. But those moments were few and far between because they spent so much of their time on the ball passing back because they couldn’t find room to break through the Current’s lines. In this game, Rose Lavelle had just one progressive pass and many many passes backwards.

Compare this to Lavelle’s passing in Gotham’s 3-0 win over the Portland Thorns a few weeks ago.

In that game, she had 3 completed progressive passes out of only 17 passes total, and many of the others still went forward. 

Of course, Rose Lavelle is just one player, but a lone attacking midfielder passing back so often is indicative of how the rest of the team played.

Phase 2: 0-1

Now that the Current had a goal in hand, the entire game changed, and they were finally okay with Gotham pushing a little further forward. Within a minute of the game restarting, Gotham already had more box touches than they did in the whole first 34 minutes of the game.

Despite this not being the Current’s ideal scenario, they’re defensively compact enough to prevent the Bats from getting a real shot off here and the chance is ultimately harmless. Gotham’s first actual shot came 9 minutes after the goal they conceded, in the 43rd minute of the game.

The team decided to completely redefine what a set piece looks like, and this was the first time all game that Kansas City looked like they truly had no idea what was coming next. Unfortunately, Rose Lavelle’s shot sails just over the crossbar and Kansas City is still up for now.

Although they were a little more liberal than before, Kansas City still kept things tight, only allowing the Bats one more chance before they scored again.

We get to see some amazing maneuvering from Jaedyn Shaw that led to a pair of shots from Rose Lavelle and Midge Purce that were blocked and deflected, respectively. So, Kansas City is still on it.

And then, in the 51st minute of the game, Kansas City finds an opportunity to score again and they’re too good of a team to squander it.

Jess Carter makes a big mistake here, leaving Bia Zaneratto essentially through on goal, and as a result Sonnett drifts towards her to cover for that error, losing her own mark. This leaves the reigning NWSL MVP Temwa Chawinga open for the perfect dime from Bia, and suddenly Shelby Hogan is face to face with and frankly helpless against the best attacker in the league.

At this point Kansas City has a comfortable 2-goal lead with 40 or so minutes of game left to manage. Let’s see what they do now.

Phase 3: 0-2

5 of Gotham’s 8 shots came in these final 40 minutes of the game, and in general the majority of the time that the Bats spent in their attacking half came in this phase of the match. With 2 goals in hand, the Kansas City Current were suddenly a lot more willing to allow Gotham to push further up—Kansas City didn’t take another shot until the 88th minute of the game—but they still didn’t let the Bats create anything of quality. Let’s take a look at what Gotham was able to produce in these final 40 minutes, as well as what they were unable to produce because of Kansas City.

Chance 1: 58’

This chance starts with a nifty little nutmeg from Rose Lavelle that opens up space for Bruninha to cross the ball into Esther. The Current defense gets there first and clears it, but not very far as Jaelin Howell has a shot opportunity from outside the box. Howell’s shot is blocked, and Kansas City is able to hold onto the second ball here and send Temwa Chawinga off to the races on the other end of the pitch and quickly turn this into an attacking opportunity. Gotham just couldn’t compete with the Current defense here.

Chance 2: 80’

The good: Gotham’s midfield did a great job winning this ball from Temwa Chawinga.

The bad: Gotham’s offense was so uninspired and lackluster that the best option for the team was a 0.04 xG, outside of the box, Hail Mary shot from a defensive midfielder.

Chance 3: 82’

Another set piece experiment from the Bats ends with Midge Purce missing a shot that, albeit difficult, probably stayed with her for a while. Kansas City’s defense conceded a rare opportunity to score, but even that opportunity was only a 0.07 xG chance.

Chance 4: 90+5’

Chances 2 and 3 were already in the too little too late period of the game, so these next two feel especially hopeless, which is ironic considering they resulted in Gotham’s two highest-xG shots of the game. With 3 minutes left in stoppage time, Mandy Freeman pulls out this brilliantly accurate long ball into the box, and Jaedyn Shaw keeps it alive by getting it to Katie Stengel. Stengel’s shot is blocked and deflected into the crossbar, missing the goal by this much 🤏. Sheesh.

Chance 5: 90+9’

And finally, Gotham’s last chance of the game came in the form of a corner kick with literal seconds to go. The ball bounces around a little until Kayla Duran uses her height to come up with a looping header that was probably intended for a teammate but ends up in the hands of Kansas City keeper Lorena.

So what’s the lesson at the end of the day? Goals change games. Kansas City made things difficult for Gotham in this game, but they still had chances that they were unable to capitalize on and generally weren’t the lively, dynamic, and creative offense that we’ve gotten used to seeing in the past month and a half. And a few off moments from Gotham’s defense against the most opportunistic team in the league meant that Gotham both conceded goals and allowed their opponents control of the match. As the playoffs loom, Gotham needs to focus on being clinical in front of goal and finishing their chances in order to be able to fully execute the game plan that has brought them so much success over the past 3 seasons.

Looking ahead to next match

Gotham’s next game is also the team’s final home game of the regular season as the Bats take on Racing Louisville FC this Sunday, October 19th, at 3 PM ET on NWSL+. Louisville currently sits in 8th in standings, and are likely hungry to lock in their playoff position with a win. The last time these two teams faced off, Louisville came away with the full 3 points in a 1-0 victory where the Bats found themselves on the receiving end of a high press. Hopefully Gotham is better equipped to deal with that strategy this time around, and hopefully some of our players return from injury just in time for this final playoff push.

Thumbnail courtesy of Gotham FC.