Last evening I did something I had been threatening to do for some time; I went to a Minnesota Thunder game. The Thunder is the Twin Cities representative in the USL First Division (former A-League), so, according to my way of thinking, it is alright to begin to follow them as they represent a different level of soccer compared to DC United and MLS.
And, yikes, what a different level it is! The wife and I were part of the teeming throng of 3176 people who witnessed the clash against the Rochester Raging Rhinos. The Thunder lacked some qualities, it must be said. So did Rochester. Former Wycombe Wanderer/Leicester City (and, briefly, DC United) winger Steve Guppy featured for the Rhinos, while the home side included former DC United hand Steven deRoux, so here is a little cross over to grab my attention at least. The play, however, was pretty lackluster. Minnesota started brightly enough and looked more likely to score in the first 12 minutes or so, but after a freekick from Ricardo Sanchez whistled by the post, the Thunder never really threatened again.
Not that Rochester was peppering the goal either. Still, when Menyonger one timed a cross into the back of the Thunder net in the 19th minute (by far the most stylish play of the match), you never got the feel that this was going to get away from Minnesota. The rest of the match was rather uneventful. The Thunder goalkeeper made two nice saves, and the Thunder cleared two balls off their goal line...which resulted in the loudest cheers of the entire match....never a good sign. The Rhino goalies made one save, according to the stats, but I don't remember it.
This is not to say the Thunder is a complete lost cause. They have some nice pieces. Melvin Tarley can play the center forward back-to-goal role pretty well, but he got zero help up front. Luchi Gonzalez has a great soccer name (and bright red shoes) and if he ever felt like actually playing the wing he was assigned to, he might be able to whip in some useful crosses. He spent most of the game ducking inside to display a variety of useless one-on-one moves that left me groaning. DeRoux is a useful little player, but he was manhandled by a bigger and stronger Rochester right back. Still, he never quit. Ricardo Sanchez obviously has a little bit of class, but he got frustrated early and wasn't nearly as effective after the first half hour. (I think he also got tired of watching Gonzalez run into the middle to get dispossessed.)
No other Thunder player made a noticeable impact upon the game. Kyle Altman made one promising run from the midfield, and would have been through to the keeper but for a wrongly decided offside call. That was it.
Still...the stadium was pretty good, the parking was free, the popcorn and soda were not terribly overpriced...so things could have been worse. However, they didn't have beer on sale because the beer truck "got held up." Unfortunately, they didn't mean by armed men looking for some hoppy refreshment. No, they meant the beer truck was doing too much business elsewhere to be bothered to serve 3000 soccer fans (of whom only about 1000 could legally drink, I must admit.) Bush league!
I'll have to wait and see if the USL soccer thing will catch on with me.
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