Port Royal's rough week

[GingerJLD]

Port Royal suffered two losses this week on MD2 against Stockholm in a 3-0 defeat and suffered another 3-0 loss against Athltéico Medellin. In both games stellar performances from the opposition goalkeepers kept them from converting any chances of goals. In both matches the stats provided share an immensely different story with a xG with in .1 in both games and the majority of possession in the game. However when Jimothy Erickson was asked to comment on this he said something that some readers might find shocking, "Listen at the end of the day regardless of what the stats say, we need to be better. Up and down the whole pitch we need to be more arrogant on the ball and a little humbler off the ball. We need to try our best to regain possession after its been lost and need to make sure we are marking the corner threats and at the end of the day that dosen't fall on anyone except us players." Jimothy Erickson who so far this season has been rated on average a 6.8 has been very clinical in his passing game when asked about it he said this, "Look like I said earlier better stats don't win games, I remember growing up and one of the first players who grabbed my attention was Henrik Lind. The cool and calm composure on the ball has been something that I aspire for and hope one day can achieve!" Another topic in hot debate for Port Royal is their lack of capitalization on set pieces, mainly corners, when asked to comment on it Jimothy said the following "I am working on it *sigh* I am usually one of the tallest on the pitch but seem to be getting beaten by whoever is marking me half the time, and the other half of the time I am not making good enough contact on the ball to place the ball in the net or clear it clinically enough so the team can set up a counter." Port Royal's next opponent after dropping down to 5th in the Academy table is Adowa Accra who beat Port Royal's MD1 opponents Sydney City 5-1. "They will be a tough opponent but all we can do is train and get our heads into the right mindset to strive for the win!"

[Wiggli]

Variance can be a cruel thing. It is sad to hear that Port Royal had two bad outcomes back to back. While stats like individual rating or xG may make you feel more optimistic about the future prospects of the squad if things had broken a little more evenly, it sounds like Jimothy has the right mentality - winning is ultimately the thing that matters. You can only control so much in the game, but at the end of the day you do need to evaluate yourself against that measuring stick. Over the course of a long season you won't win them all, but finding a way to win every one you can is what makes the difference between a pedestrian season and one for the record books.

It sounds like Erickson is also focused in on one of the most impactful parts of the game as well, converting and defending corners. Open play can have too many variables to control sometimes, but the relatively more solvable space of set pieces does seem a promising area to focus on.

The great thing is that there is always the next match to turn things around. It has been an exciting academy season so far, and I look forward to seeing how Port Royal and Adowa Accra match up in their next match.

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