Game Review: OM-PSG (with bonus Heinze rant!)

By: Sarah | November 22nd, 2009

Let me start this post out by saying that I love pre-match hype. I love the excitement and anticipation of the unknown; the fervor and passion from both sides in the pre-match psychological games; and the drama when a last minute injury and/or bust-up throws off all the previous pre-match assumptions. But, one thing I hate about pre-match hype is the fact that 99% of the time the match rarely lives up to the massive expectations I set for the game and the players.

Unfortunately, this Classico fell into that 99%. Now, there are tons of reasons why I should have expected the lackluster play and low energy– it is right after a long international break, the drama for this game had been drawn out for way too long and the spotlight had shifted elsewhere. And, while I went into the weekend understanding that everyone else was still following Thierry Henry, Ireland and FIFA, I always assumed that at least our players wouldn’t forget how important this game is. And this year, the importance isn’t just about the pride of winning the Classico– we are desperately in need of points. We are sitting 6th in the league. My only comfort at this point is that despite sitting in 6th place, we are only 4 points behind the leaders Auxerre (wow– who would have ever guess that in August?) and have an extra game play. But before I get too ahead of myself, let’s review the game in details…

The Match

OM started the match off well and we had at least two great chances from Brandao and Niang in the first 10 minutes or so of the game. From the beginning, it was obvious that PSG were missing something– and I suspect that something was Makelele..and probably Giuly as well. All was going well until M’bia was injured and had to be replaced with Cisse at the 17′ mark. I actually had a bad feeling when M’bia went down in the early minutes of the game in a clash with Sessgnon, but in that encounter he was able to get back up. The second tousle with Sessgnon proved too much for M’bia though, and he limped off after only 18 minutes (or was he stretchered, can’t remember..). For information on the extent injury, continuing reading!

As M’bia left the pitch, I will admit that I got a bad feeling, but OM managed to continue playing pretty well and PSG kept giving away corners and free kicks. Despite those chances where we looked certain to score, OM’s single goal managed to come in an unlikely, odd situation. Abriel delivered an accurate free kick to the box, and our two centers- Heinze and Diawarra- both made a bee-line for the ball, even if it meant getting in the other player’s way. Despite each of them trying to do everything possible to prevent the other one from scoring, the ball happened to fall for Heinze who headed it into a corner .

I know, I know– why am I knocking his hussle and goal? The truth is, I dislike Heinze..even when he scores for OM (I do feel a little guilty saying that), and my hatred extends back several clubs…

I disliked him when he was at Manchester United, I was thrilled when they sold him to Madrid (not a Real fan), I was even more giddy when he was frozen out of the Madrid side, I almost wept when Marseille bought him this summer and I was pissed when his presence undeservedly left Taiwo out of the starting 11.

So why do I dislike Heinze– especially when he has produced some critically important goals for us this season (Milan, Zurich, and now PSG)? Because he is suppose to be a f**cking defender, not a striker dammit! Our defense sucks this season. It is ill-conceived, poorly organized,unattractive, painful to watch and more importantly– completely ineffective! Heinze was brought in to help patch-up our horrible defense from last year as well as some big game experience (but, honestly, despite the fact that Heinze has played for MU and Real- I’d take Cana over him ANY DAY). He hasn’t been able to accomplish either of those tasks. I don’t care how many goals he scores for us– he is still completely useless in my eyes. If he was able to help plug up our goal, frankly we wouldn’t need him to score! Some people (read: Deschamps) have tried to assert in the press that OM and Heinze defended well this game. My verdict isn’t quite as generous– to defend well you have to be threatened at least a little. In my eyes, PSG had very few legit scoring opportunities that our defenders (other than Mandanda) effectively disrupted. The only defensive credit I can bring myself to give to Heinze was for that last ditch tackle on Erding on the 70 minute mark, which looked like an equalizer.

The only person I am more angry with in this situation in Deschamps for trying to justify his own bad summer purchases by moving Heinze to the left and leaving out Taiwo. At least that was corrected in this game– and it was great to see Taiwo’s smile.

The rest of the game was pretty uneventful. A few good breaks here and there, but nothing to mount a serious threat.

So, after scoring 11 goals in two games, we will have to be content with just one goal in this game. And, I will have to be content with the fact that Heinze scored it.

Don’t Forget: OM is preparing for Milan this week so check for Rich’s preview this week.

M’bia Update

M’bia, who injured his ankle in a tackle with Sessgnon, is uncertain for the Milan game this week. OM have reported that they will wait until the day they leave for Italy to decide on taking him. So, while we desperately need him for the Milan game, at least he isn’t out for weeks!