Nati SC falls to Reggae Rovers 5-1, likely eliminated from TST
Damon Gumbert
Maybe next year.
Nati SC was likely eliminated after falling 5-1 to the Reggae Rovers Thursday evening.
Other than the first 13 minutes, the match was not close. The Rovers looked commanding for the third straight game, ending their group stage run undefeated after dominating Concafa FC, Burnley FC, and finally Nati SC.
The Rovers only allowed three goals over all three games of TST group play. Nati SC, on the other hand, allowed 14 goals in three games, while only managing nine goals on offense.
The defense looked lost for two complete games, after getting dog-walked by Concafa SC on Wednesday and then manhandled by Reggae Rovers on Thursday. Chad Johnson added nothing to the offense but played some pretty decent defense over the three games.
He was the only one, with most of the Nati SC defense looking lost over the three games. Dalton Jaye allowed nine goals between Burnley and Concafa, while his replacement allowed five goals in his one game.
Nati SC looked to employ a 2-3-1 setup, with two defenders, three midfielders, and one striker, in the tournament. Rarely did the midfielders fall back and help on defense though, leaving the two defenders to manage multiple attackers on most plays.
This could be seen most often in the second match against Concafa SC when multiple goals came off of rebounds from previous shots. Meaning there were more attackers in the area than defenders.
Nati SC sits in third place, with Burnley FC losing to Concafa SC. Nati’s GD over the three games is -5, placing them among the teams to be eliminated from the tournament. They would have needed a GD of -2 to make the knockout stage outright.
It’s tough to say what will happen in the future with Nati SC. Emmanuel Ledesma was the lone bright spot for the team, scoring five goals over three games.
Could be smart for Nati to look at some of the more recent retirees when recruiting for next season. I hear Ray Gaddis has some free time.
