Club América had a tough game against Angel City FC. They could never get the hang of the match and ended up losing 3-0.
Going against another NWSL team again
A handicapped América flew to California to play its second friendly against an NWSL team in less than a month. Without Scarlett Camberos, Kiana Palacios and Alison Gonzalez, and having competed on Monday for the league, they were set to play against Angel City.
Read more: 2023 Revelations Cup: Mexico won but what’s next?
The last time América played in the United States was at the end of February against OL Reign. That game ended in a 3-1 loss for the Mexicans. This time, the score wasn’t that different but what was different was the build-up of it.
América started well, finding space to move the ball mostly on the left. But only five minutes later, things changed. Alyssa Thompson, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NWSL Draft, left everybody in awe when she left behind four defenders and goalkeeper Itzel González, to score the first goal of the game.
Thompson was a nightmare for América in the first half. She put Karina Rodríguez and Andrea Pereira in trouble more than once. González was instrumental to stop McCaskill after June Endo sent her a diagonal pass that left her in a 1v1.
Club América had its first shot on target through Sabrina Enciso near minute 40. Nonetheless, DiDi Haracic sent it over the bar with the tip of her fingers.
A foul on the left side of the box gave Martínez the opportunity to put the ball near the six-yard box. After a collision between Haracic and one of her defenders, Andrea Pereira, Martínez had the chance to shoot but she sent the ball high.
Second half
The Mexicans didn’t even have time to settle on the field when Claire Emslie scored the second goal for the host. The Scottish finished with a lobbed shot, but the referee checked VAR and ruled the goal out due to an offside position.
América couldn’t control the ball since the game resumed and it wasn’t about to get any better. In the 54th minute, McCaskill won a foul on the left near the box for Angel City. América’s defense couldn’t clear the ball and Page Nielsen took the opportunity to control it with her chest, turn around, and score for the host.
After that, coach Ángel Villacampa started to move the bench. Nikki Hernández and Cassandra Cuevas came in for Eva González and Sarah Luebbert. Minutes later, Andrea Falcón, Eva González and Natalia Mauleón left the field, while Montserrat Hernández, Cas Cuevas, and Karen Luna came in.
Angel City also made some substitutions and maybe the most interesting one was when goalkeeper Brittany Isenhour came in for Haracic.
América looked very disjointed in the second half. If they had a game plan to level things up, it didn’t work. They showed poor defending, especially in set pieces, and were very slow in defensive transitions.
And while Angel City was having fun in the field, America’s fans were partying in the stands despite the result.
The coach kept moving the bench, so Noemí Granados, Alexandra Godínez and goalkeeper Itzel Velazco came in for Martínez, Enciso, and González.
The subs helped América a little but not quite. Simone Charley, who came as a sub for Angel City, sealed the deal in the 86th minute. América’s defense was once again caught out of position and the forward ended up in a 1v1 with Velazco thanks to Katie Johnson’s diagonal pass.
The aftermath
No doubt this was a tough game for America and not only because of the result. The team didn’t look good in the entire game and didn’t find a way to solve the puzzle Angel City put in front of them. This game was different from the one they played against OL Reign. In that match, América had its moments and didn’t look so disjointed. It is true that they had Palacios and that she scored in that match but still. The Mexican club has more quality players that could’ve done better.
Of course, playing two games in less than three, days plus an international trip is not ideal. They were evidently tired. Nonetheless, if América wants to compete among the greats they need to get used to this kind of schedule. Maybe the brightest points for América were Mauleón and Enciso. But of course, both weren’t enough to stop a team that is preparing at length to make history this season.
América left California with lots of lessons learned. They will hopefully apply them in this second part of the season and will keep writing history in Mexico.
