CD Tacon went down 2-0 in the first five minutes to crosstown opponents Madrid CFF, but there were still some positives to glean from the team’s third loss of the 2019-2020 campaign.
In need of a bounce-back performance following a 5-1 loss to Logrono last week, CD Tacon immediately found themselves in the hole. A handball that led to a converted penalty and a fluky, albeit embarrassing, defensive miscue gifted Madrid CFF a 2-0 lead in the first five minutes of this key game.
While Tacon only managed to cut the deficit by one and came up short from claiming a point in front of their fans, they still showed great resiliency to stay in this one after facing some awful luck.
Here are three takeaways from CD Tacon’s 2-1 loss to Madrid CFF.
1. Chioma Ubogagu needs to start
Kosovare Asllani is the biggest name on CD Tacon and her Sweden teammate Sofia Jakobsson has received the most plaudits for her play this season, but Chioma Ubogagu is the one coming off of a sensational league campaign in the NWSL for the Orlando Pride.
There aren’t many wide players who are as devastating on the counterattack as Ubogagu, who, like Jakobsson, would benefit from a faster offensive pace of play from Tacon. But on this day, Ubogagu showed her technical quality and finishing, which made her a key goal-scoring option on an Orlando team that boasts global superstars Marta and Alex Morgan.
Late in the game, Ubogagu gave Tacon hope by scoring a wonderful finish from the top of the box, curling the ball in from range. It was a picture-perfect finish from a world-class player, and it’s hard to believe that a player capable of her individual brilliance was sitting on the bench.
Ubogagu needs to start every game for Tacon. She is a wonderful player who adds so much with her work ethic, pressing, finishing touch, and technical ability.
2. Resiliency in defeat
It would have been easy for CD Tacon to have given up on this game, since it seemed like everything was going against them. Going down 2-0 in five minutes off of two fluky plays is devastating, but Tacon managed to stick to their plan and play a solid game. They deserved a point with the way they played, and they looked better than Madrid CFF for stretches of the game.
In the points column, this will go down as another goose egg from Tacon. But it was a better goose egg to, say, their 5-1 loss to Logrono. These women fought hard on both sides of the ball, and the lumps they are taking early in the season will pay dividends later on. Tacon are a quality team, and their quality will start to show soon enough.
3. Defense and midfield still not on same page
When we talk about “taking lumps”, there still needs to be more cohesion between CD Tacon’s defense and midfield. The back four had another subpar performance, though they did steady in the second half and received another strong performance from Osinachi Ohale.
But there still needs to be better chemistry between the center backs and center midfielders in transitioning to attacks, as well as filling gaps in defense. The second goal Tacon allowed was simply inexcusable and the difference between them getting a point out of this game.
I would like to briefly praise Thaisa, as the veteran center midfielder was always looking to set up teammates with creative passes. She had a couple of nice balls to Asllani and Jakobsson and was the best player on Tacon at recycling play to give the forwards time to spring free.