Well, that 2-1 loss wasn’t the result we wanted, or thought we might get away with, in Kansas City last night.
We know this game will never be remembered as anything other than The One Where Alex Ring Got a Red Card and Then We Lost, but we’d like go on the record about the player himself. That game description implies causality, as does much of the postgame coverage (example from The Striker Texas: Red card costs Austin FC shot at history in Kansas City), and most, if not all, of social media.
Look, were we happy to see that red card? Of course not. Did we understand why he kept charging just as hard despite a first yellow and more warning from the ref than he probably deserved? Nope. Did Austin have a worse chance of holding on over those final thirty minutes without eleven players on the field, let alone losing Ring in particular? Of course!
But if you watched that game, you know Kansas City was coming at us hard. Maintaining a single goal advantage on the road for 90 minutes is tough anywhere in the world, and in Kansas City, even tougher. That’s true for any team, and even more so for an expansion team with three (3) full competitive games under their belt.
It was a tough lesson, and a tough night, we’re sure, for our number 8. But it’s not fair to blame the loss on Mr. Ring, any more than it is to blame Pochettino, Cecilio, or Fagundez for not scoring more (after all, if they’d notched just one more goal, we wouldn’t have lost!), or to blame Stuver for only making a million saves, instead of a million and two.
It’s early in this club’s season, and earlier in its history, but for the record: Alex Ring isn’t a boss. Alex Ring is the boss.
Violet Crown verdict on Alex Ring: Two thumbs up