3 things we learned from the poor Gotham FC loss to the Kansas City Current | OneFootball

On a rainy and humid Saturday afternoon, NJ/NY Gotham FC celebrated Pride in their game against the Kansas City Current.  Before the fixture, the visiting side was in first place while the home team sat in ninth, just outside the playoff line.  The Bats knew this would be a difficult game, but the hope was that the CONCACAF W Champions Cup championship win would lead to some better days in the NWSL.

Unfortunately, Kansas City and poor refereeing from Danielle Chesky rained on Gotham FC’s Pride celebration and Champions Cup celebration, as the Bat lost 2-1.  Poor defense at the beginning of the match and two overturned goals barred the home side from any points.

The result was not ideal, and it felt like the odds were not in the NJ/NY side’s favor.  Every single time they thought they were back in the match, a goal was overturned, or something was not called in their favor.  Some of the decisions were correct, but ultimately, fans left Sports Illustrated Stadium feeling like the team was robbed and/or missed out on a chance to earn a decent result.

As always, there is so much that can be discussed.  Here are three things we learned from the match between Gotham FC and the KC Current.

3 things we learned from Gotham FC’s loss to KC

3. Gotham FC’s defense was abysmal at the start of the game

For some reason, Gotham FC could not pull themselves together defensively.  The early goals were due to defensive errors and should not have occurred.  Michelle Cooper’s goal in the third minute was due to an uncharacteristic failed clearance from Emily Sonnett.  Then, Temwa Chawinga’s 11th-minute goal was allowed to happen because Cooper outran Lilly Reale and had nobody in front of her to stop the pass to the incredible scorer.

To make matters worse, the Current was not constantly attacking with ferocity.  Rather, the two defensive failures enabled the visitors to go ahead early.

If the Bats had been more clinical in front of the goal, then they could have come back to at least tie the game.  This includes the two goals overturned by VAR and the referee.  Additionally, there were too many poor crosses into the box.  But the truth is, the game would have been 0-0 until Kansas City’s own goal without the abysmal start from Gotham’s backline.  A win was possible, and that stings.

2. Gotham FC lost players and gained Rose Lavelle

If there was a positive from the match, then it was Rose Lavelle’s return and season debut.  The player has missed the season so far due to her offseason surgery on her ankle.  Since the star made a critical impact last season, having her back will ideally change the season for the better.  More than likely, she will come on as a substitute in the next two games as well, but having her on the pitch while she builds up her minutes should make a difference.

Meanwhile, Gotham FC sadly lost two players due to injury.  Ella Stevens had to come off in the first half, and Midge Purce had to depart in the second.  For Purce, her injury looked a little more concerning since she labored off and was distraught.  If the Bats are to lose both players, then it will be a major blow to the team.  They are already in a tough spot with just the three wins, and have not scored in their last four NWSL games, for the own goal does not count toward their count.

Hopefully, Juan Carlos Amorós will have a update soon.  But at the very least, Lavelle played well in her return.

1. Controversy plagued the game

As mentioned earlier, there were multiple aspects that led to Gotham FC’s loss.  If everything that occurred during the match still happened, then the Bats could have ended the afternoon with a point if they were just a little more clinical in front of the goal.  There were too many shots that should have been on target.

Of course, the defensive errors are a major reason why they lost 2-1.  However, Gotham can easily place some of the blame on Chesky.  The referee is known by fans to not be the best in the NWSL, and often, she does not do a good enough job.  In Saturday’s game, she had multiple silly calls and no-calls that impacted both teams.  Yet, there was a clear bias where the home team was impacted more than the visitors.

The biggest call that was controversial occurred when Esther González’s goal was called offside.  As many know, the offside rules can be vague, and there was shock around the stadium about the goal being called offside.  At first, it appeared it was given and that play was going to resume.  However, a delayed decision after VAR, with Chesky not going to monitor, saw the offside call given.

For context, González was in an offside position when the ball was played.  However, Ellie Wheeler touched the ball, and it fell to the Spaniard.  She subsequently sent the ball into the goal when she was not offside.

At Skyscraper Blues, the feeling was that the goal should have stood, especially since play was resuming.  But the question was whether Wheeler’s touch was a deliberate save or deliberate play.  A deliberate save would mean that González was offside, but not with a deliberate play.  The referee did not feel that it was a deliberate play, canceling out the goal.  But whether it was deliberate makes the call so controversial. Gotham FC will hopefully have an answer sooner rather than later from the Professional Referee Organization.