51黑料

Becher鈥檚 goal in the 40th minute, which got City SC on the board and started its unsuccessful comeback, was his first since the third week of the season. Since then Becher, even though he came off the bench in most of the games under Olof Mellberg, has been neck and neck in expected goals with Klauss, even though Becher has played more than 300 fewer minutes. The chances have been there, but since his goal against the Galaxy on March 9, none of them had gone in until Wednesday. He is seventh in the league in goals below expected.

鈥淔eels nice to get one,鈥� he said.

Becher had four goals in nine MLS games, plus two more in four Leagues Cup games, after coming over Denmark last season. Those four goals came on just 1.58 xG, so this season has been very much a case of things balancing out.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 the game,鈥� Becher said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the life of a striker, sometimes everything you touch finds its way into the back of the net. And sometimes you do everything you can. 鈥� A lot of it is a mental game, and it鈥檚 about learning. And sometimes you do everything right and don鈥檛 score, and sometimes you take a bad touch and somehow it gets past the goalie. So try to take each chance individually and learn from them. Try to just stay present and finish what I can.鈥�

If you鈥檙e looking for tangible differences between Critchley鈥檚 City SC and Mellberg鈥檚 City SC, one simple one is that Critchley has been playing Klauss and Becher together, something Mellberg seldom did. The first hug Becher got after scoring was from Klauss.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a good partnership,鈥� Critchley said. 鈥淚n Simon, you have someone running in behind the line, stretching the team. Klauss likes to play between the lines, hold the ball up well with his feet, and they compliment each other. You can see that translates onto the field as well. A great partnership. We鈥檒l be utilizing it much more this season.鈥�

Team improvement, Part 2

The quick turnaround between the loss on Wednesday and City SC鈥檚 next game, on Saturday at Houston, won鈥檛 allow much time to work on improving the defense, which has allowed 10 goals in its past four games. Critchley acknowledged that his initial focus in taking over was to boost the offense. Now it鈥檚 time for the defense.

鈥淭o win football games, you have to score goals,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o we started there. We started with trying to attack better, more frequently, more often with higher quality. We鈥檝e spent a large amount of time in the training environments in that phase and on that moment. And we can see that, we鈥檙e fourth in goals scored since I took over. So that鈥檚 been good for us. Now it鈥檚 trying to face the next problem, which is conceding goals. So now we鈥檒l have a little bit more emphasis over the next day, and couple of weeks of trying to lock down the defensive side a little bit better for us. So it鈥檚 always going to be a challenge. Every day I wake up in this job, and with every problem, there鈥檚 got to be a solution, and my job is to try and find the solution. And right now, the solution for us is be better defensively as a unit, and stop conceding many goals.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 basically moments when we鈥檙e in a middle space,鈥� said right back Tomas Totland. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not pressing, we鈥檙e not covering in behind, so good teams punish us on that. Orlando did that to us.鈥�

Injury watch

City SC鈥檚 injury list isn鈥檛 shrinking.

Midfielder Tomas Ostrak is off it, but center back Timo Baumgartl has gone on it. Meanwhile, midfielder Chris Durkin, who was close to being back, needs another week and the team is now targeting next Saturday against Real Salt Lake for his return.

Baumgartl was hurt after colliding with an Orlando player as he broke up a scoring chance in 59th minute. Baumgartl was on the ground in pain and the training staff worked on his left leg before he came off the field slowly. Michael Wentzel was ready to enter the game for Baumgartl, but the team gave him a few minutes and he was able to return. Baumgartl couldn鈥檛 go the distance though, and in the 82nd minute he was subbed out. His injury brings to three the number of City SC center backs listed as out, joining Henry Kessler and Joakim Nilsson.

For Wentzel, it was his first appearance of the season, in Game 19. He was the last City SC player, other than those loaned out to City2, to get in a game.

鈥淚f you train well throughout the week you鈥檒l get your opportunity,鈥� Critchley said. 鈥淢ichael鈥檚 had a good week of training. He was very focused, just had a very good quality in training. I wanted to reward that.鈥�

He remains an Englishman

City SC had a pregame ceremony on Wednesday to remember the U.S. team, with five 51黑料ans in the lineup beating England 1-0 in the 1950 World Cup, which was a little awkward for Critchley, who is English.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a spectacle for the United States,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檝e been here for 16 years. I love this country, so it鈥檚 nice to see them celebrate. I鈥檓 always going to be an English fan. It was an excellent accomplishment for them 75 years ago.鈥�

City SC goalkeeper coach Alex Langer, who was born in Germany, was sworn in as a U.S. citizen prior to the Orlando game, and the coaching staff decorated his locker with American flags for the occasion. Critchley said he also has started the process of becoming an American citizen.

鈥淚 have my green card and the next one for me would be to get citizenship,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hen I can find some time, hopefully not in the near future, I will look into the process.鈥�