What's going on with our Royals?
A brief look at URFC's lackluster start to the season
The Utah Royals certainly haven’t had the start to the season they as a team and we as fans hoped for. Going into the first break of the season sitting on one point and out of the basement only due to Chicago’s struggles is not where URFC hoped to be, to say the least. So what’s going wrong? I’ve cracked a La Croix and am ready to take a stab at it.
But first, excuses:
Because I’m going to be critical of Jimmy Coenraets and the team later in this blog, it’s probably necessary to mention some of the bad luck they’ve had. They’re human, and things not quite going your way can make it hard to start the season off strong. So, I’m giving some grace here.
First, the Royals have somehow blown through their defensive depth already. In terms of central defense (as in center back and defensive midfield), Coenraets only has about half of his options available to him. Kaleigh Riehl has a mysterious ankle (?) injury, Alex Loera is still working her way back after an ACL, Tatumn Milazzo recently tore her ACL, and Lauren Flynn is fresh off SEI and not fit to play 90 minutes. So the four people playing there now (Kate Del Fava, Ana Tejada, Dana Foederer, and Claudia Zornoza) are just about it, and Coenraets has no options to try to fix defensive issues with personnel changes.
URFC is similarly thin in the fullback area. Coenraets’s options here consist of league veterans Madison Pogarch and Imani Dorsey (who is also working her way back from SEI) and Europeans newbies Janni Thomsen and Nuria Rabano. The loss of Milazzo for the season impacts depth here too, and the (hopefully) shorter term injuries to Paige Monaghan and Ana Guzman leave the Royals shorthanded as well. Remember when we all commented on how much defensive depth the Royals had in preseason? We got too excited and the universe has struck us down for our hubris.
Second, the Royals have been without captain Monaghan since about 30 minutes into the season. Not to disregard the leaders that have stepped in, especially Del Fava, but there is a noticeable difference in the team without Monaghan in the forward areas of the pitch. She knows how to uphold standards and direct a press from the wings, and her absence leaves a largely new-to-the-team forward line apprehensive in the press and unorganized in their attack.
Third, the Royals have had a uniquely difficult schedule to start off the season. Their home opener was a draw against Bay FC, a playoff team last season which has had little turnover in their starting XI. This was also a challenging game because Bay played in a back three, which I doubt the URFC coaching staff expected. And as mentioned earlier, they lost their captain 30 minutes into the match and had to play Thomsen (who arrived in Utah mere days before the game) in the right back position. Earning a draw here was a good result.
Then the Royals went on a rough two-game road trip. Their first stop was San Diego’s home opener. While most people assumed San Diego would struggle this season, they’ve found success with a forward line of Gia Corley, Adriana Leon, and Delphine Cascarino (who woulda thunk). But if not for a Mandy McGlynn howler in the second half, the Royals would’ve gotten a hard-earned point (or maybe more) from this match.
The Royals spent week 3 in Kansas City, and suffered a comprehensive defeat to the Current. This is a team that has dominated most of their opponents since last summer and is leading the league in every offensive statistic. They also have Temwa Chawinga, who (as the Royals learned) can do basically whatever she wants to any team in the league. Altogether, the first 3 opponents the Royals have faced this season have been challenging offenses, and the thin URFC defense has struggled.
Despite these excuses, it must be said that there have been moments of clean, free flowing football from the Royals. They clearly have it in them, so once the issues are fixed, this should be a team competing for playoffs.
When they have the ball…
Onto the things the Royals can control and need to fix. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that there are some issues happening in the buildout. Coenraets has said that he wants his players to take risks as they build and be adventurous. The reasoning is clear: attract the other team’s press, pull them into your defensive third, then pass and turn out of pressure to get your forwards good looks at goal. This is a valid gameplan, and there have been moments when its worked. But I think it’s fair to say that the Royals have been taking too many risks in their own defensive third. Had they not been so risky, URFC would’ve escaped San Diego with a point, quite possibly three given the momentum of the match.
I know Coenraets has said he’s not changing how he wants to play, but I think a compromise can be found here. In my novice opinion, the Royals need to get some more midfield movement going to provide options to McGlynn and the center backs. Some of the team’s most successful phases of play come when McGlynn makes a deep line breaking pass to Ally Sentnor or Mina Tanaka in between the opposition defensive and midfield lines. These passes are less risky, get the Royals upfield, and often get the ball past the high pressing forwards of the other team. But they require an active midfield and press resistant recipients.
Now onto the point I know you were all waiting for: we GOTTA get Tejada back into the midfield. She is incredibly press resistant, and has the strength and ball skills to hold off opposition players and get the ball into useful areas. With Foederer playing there now, the team is lacking a safe pair of hands on one side of the midfield (Zornoza is doing fine on the other) that can turn and launch an attack. I prefer Foederer as a chaos 10, à la Sjoeke Nusken and Jill Roord, where she can press and make runs in the box. She just doesn’t have the receive, turn, and launch abilities that a build-from-the-back team needs in their double pivot. But to get Tejada where she needs to be, URFC needs truly just one other healthy center back. Please say a prayer for Kaleigh Riehl’s ankle (?), Alex Loera’s knee, and Laurn Flynn’s legs. Your friendly neighborhood URFC fans would appreciate it.
In the times where the Royals have been able to find their way to their attacking third, their decision making has been problematic. Against Kansas City, the team took one shot from inside the box. That is not good. URFC has some great shooters in Sentnor, Thomsen, and Fraser, so taking these shots isn’t necessarily a bad thing all the time, but these shots appear to be plan A. Against the Current, it was frustrating to watch good phases of play end in a hopeful shot from outside the box. Some of this is certainly up to KC’s defense, but there is some very early trigger pulling happening in the Royals camp (and there has been for a while).
As URFC’s second goal against San Diego showed, they are absolutely capable of putting together a tiki-taka sort of sequence that ends in a lovely run INTO the box. So, why are they electing to settle for low value opportunities from outside the box? I find it likely that Coenraets is telling his players to shoot at the nearest opportunity, a statement he will hopefully correct upon review.
Another reason for the lack of good opportunities is movement and runners in the box. Because of the defensive instability going on, both Zornoza and Foederer have tended to stay home in the double pivot. This leaves the forwards to occupy the box and get on the ends of crosses from each other or the fullbacks. The issue here is that URFC is lacking players with the “fox in the box” instincts. Tanaka and Solorzano have them, and St George to a certain degree. But Sentnor, Fraser, Mozingo, and Ream are more likely to be shooters and crossers than get-on-the-end-of-it-ers. Coenraets and his team have to figure out how they’re going to get bodies in the box in meaningful areas so that the Royals have attacking options beyond a hopeful shot as soon as someone enters the final third.
When they don’t have the ball…
Safe to say the Royals have a left center back and left back issue. Things over there seemed okay against Bay in week 1 (or rather, they weren’t so wrong that it was noticeable). But San Diego exposed a clear weakness in this Royal defense. With Rabano and Tejada back there, the left side of the URFC backline is (pardon my French here) slow as hell. Both are great players with a lot of upsides, but watching them defend against Cascarino was physically painful. Rabano wants to go forward, but without the recovery pace required in this league, she left Tejada exposed against one of the best wingers in the world. Not great Bob!
Subbing Pogarch in helped against San Diego, as she’s more defensively inclined. But against the pacey, direct KC attack, the defensive struggles continued. As discussed above, getting Tejada back into the midfield and basically any other center back option in next to Del Fava should get some speediness back in the central defense. But left back remains an issue. If only the Royals had a league experienced, defensively inclined player to go back there (insert deep sigh and fist shaking at the concept of knees here).
It also should be said that the risks the Royals are taking in their buildup is making their defensive jobs much harder. When you easily turn over the ball while you’re in a more offensive shape, teams in this league will take advantage. And the result is the Royals conceding seven big chances in two games, six of which ended in goals for their opposition. Coenraets needs to find a way to balance the risks he wants to take with the need for defensive stability.
As far as URFC’s rest defense and pressing patterns are concerned, my amateur eyes don’t see a ton wrong with Coenraets’s plan. Honestly, it just looks like lots of players aren’t winning their duels. Too many players are easily skated past in the opposition’s build up and aren’t making recovery runs to help the defenders out. I’m not sure if the players have been given particular instructions or are nervous about when they should be stepping to the opposition, but URFC sometimes just looks hesitant to ~get in there~ with their opponents.
Now they are professional athletes, and I know me essentially saying “just defend better” is pretty rich. But it truly seems like some of the Royals’ defensive issues could be remedied by 15%-ish more physicality and 25%-ish more tracking back. A saying I heard on a podcast (I don’t remember which one, sorry) that’s stuck out to me is “you can’t control much in a game, but you can control how hard you work.” Again, they’re professionals and I don’t want to imply that they’re not working hard, but I would love to see the URFC defense up the pace and physicality a notch or two, especially when they’re playing at home. After 3 tough games, setting the tone of being a team that will battle the rest of the season will do wonders.
Looking ahead to April…
Here’s the good news for the Royals: they have a VERY kind schedule in April and early May. Their April begins with Portland Thorns and Chicago Starts at home, followed by a trip to the Houston Dash. Then they start May at home to the North Carolina Courage and with a visit to Angel City. These are five teams who haven’t won more than one game so far- in fact, three of them remain winless. None of them have shown great performances yet, and each has clear issues that remain unsolved. This is not to say that the Royals will or even should collect 15 out of 15 points from these games, but they have a clear opportunity to get themselves moving up the table.
The one pickle the Royals have here is that they don’t expect many of their injured players to return soon. Coenraets has said that he doesn’t anticipate anyone being back for the home game against the Thorns on the 11th, so the Royals will be short-staffed for at least another one or two games. The two returns of sorts that the URFC faithful can hope for is Flynn and Dorsey becoming fit to play 90 minutes (or really, more than 10 or 15). This would at least give the Royals some fullback options and the ability to move Tejada back into the midfield.
What the Royals must do in these next five games, regardless of player availability, is:
Show that they are able to build out from the back. Taking risks back there is part of the gameplan, but they need to do show that (a) this gameplan works and (b) they can do it without making mistakes that lead to conceding huge chances. If they can’t, it’s time for Coenraets to course correct.
Demonstrate better decision making in the final third. The Royals have the firepower to be successful this season. They have a SheBelieves Cup MVP winner and finalist up there for God’s sake. They and their fellow attackers have to create high quality chances, and not just shoot from outside the box as soon as they have the opportunity.
Put together five full 90-minute performances. URFC has had positive halves of football so far (notably the second halves against Bay and San Diego), but they have yet to play well for a whole game. Coenraets and his team must show that they can execute a gameplan and put in positive performances from the first whistle to the last.