Disappointing loss but we were clearly the more talented team. Their effort ramped up over the course of the game, particularly when the team went down 1-0. We appear to struggle most up the spine with our central midfielders not contributing sufficiently. Building a sustained attack with midfielders and forwards flooding forward and in front of the goal seems to be lacking. Scoring firepower will continue to be an issue until this issue is solved.
One of the replies mentioned Monogue. That team had five consistent scorers and another two or three that contributed on a somewhat regular basis. As I recall they almost always controlled the center of the field, pushed forward and put massive scoring pressure on the opposing team. They usually played a four back but occasionally switched to a three back to get more pressure in the midfield. The outside backs seemed to spend half the game moving forward which further pressured the opposing team.
The current team has plenty of talent and can compete with almost any other team but they need to find a way to put more emphasis on controlling the spine and overwhelming the opposing teams defense. We may not have the right players, with right skills/talent/experience, to utilize a formation that will promote the themes I touched on.