Minnesota Thunder VS Cleveland City Stars – Game Preview

Week 6 in the USL-1 season sees the Minnesota Thunder take on the Cleveland City Stars this Saturday at the National Sports Center at 7:05 p.m.

This will be the City Stars first trip to Minnesota as a USL-1 team but it’s not the first time the team has made the trip to Blaine, MN. Last June the City Stars, then a USL-2 team and coached by Martin Rennie, the current coach of the RailHawks, defeated the MN Thunder on the exhibition field in a US Open Cup game 2-0. Saturdays evening’s match will be the first played in the newly renovated NSC Stadium for the Cleveland side. Cleveland went on to the win the USL-2 Championship in 2008 before being upgraded to USL-1 in November of last year.

Cleveland, who are now coached by Ron Underwood, received their first point of the season last Friday as they drew the Portland Timbers at home in Cleveland on a soggy Middlefield Cheese Stadium turf with a 0-0 draw. The team is 0-3-1 and sit in last place of 11 teams in USL-1.

The Thunder had a week off from league play and are coming off a home 3-2 loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps in an entertaining and high scoring game on May 2, which was the Thunder home opener. The team is 0-3-2 with 2pts and sit in 9th place.

IMS talked to Thunder head coach Don Gramenz about the Vancouver game as well as last week’s exhibition loss against the Chicago Sockers. Gramenz also talks about Saturday night’s match against Cleveland.

IMS:
Donny, how’s the general health of the team? I’m hearing Kevin Friedland has a hamstring issue?

Gramenz:
Kevin Friedland  does have a hamstring issue. Andrew Peterson is dealing with an ankle sprain and Quavas Kirk has a foot and ankle injury sustained in last week’s scrimmage.

IMS:
Would you care to comment on what you guys have been working on this week?

Gramenz:
We’ve  been working on our team defensive shape (pressure, cover, and balance) as well as final third finishing.

IMS:
Can you give me some positives and negatives from the Vancouver game?

Gramenz:
The positives were that we played with more urgency in the second half.  We came back after going down a goal twice and  we also scored two great goals.
The negatives…playing like we did in the first half at home. Losing at home, and giving up three goals.  Vancouver’s goals could have been prevented through better decision-making on the ball and individual defending.

IMS:
Leonel Saint-Preux and Melvin Tarley both worked very hard in the Vancouver game. They both made a lot of runs and played defensively as well. They also seemed to be attempting to stay near each other (10-15 yards) and yet there hasn’t really seemed to be any chemistry between those two players. With the success that Nathan Knox had in the scrimmage and who clearly looked to be one of the best players on the field even though he is coming back from his torn ACL, is there a chance we will see Knox combining with Saint-Preux or Tarley?

Gramenz:
I believe the exhibition game was important to see where he is at physically and mentally with his ACL injury.  I thought he was the best player on the field because of his intelligent runs off the ball and tactical understanding of what is expected of a forward.  Plus, he scored a great goal!  We did stretch the time limit with Nate last Saturday and I am pleased with how his body responded.  I believe he still several weeks away from a USL-1 match start but he could contribute as a substitute.

IMS:
What do you expect from Cleveland and who are some key players? Of course Hunter Gilstrap in goal, who was named to the USL-1 Team of the week for week-5.

Gramenz:
I expect to see a 4-5-1. I believe Kljestan and Kanu are key central midfield players.  Aguilera and Pierre-Louis can be dangerous on the counter attack.  Gilstrap is their new defensive leader.  I expect Cleveland to defend with all 11 players and try to counter when they win the ball.

IMS:
Will Otieno be back from S. Africa for this game?

Gramenz:
I don’t believe so.

IMS:
In the Vancouver game it was clear that some of the Thunder players were tired towards the end of the game.  Dale Weiler in particular wasn’t having a lot of success on the wing. Vancouver made some substitutions but we didn’t. What was your motivation to not make any subs in that game?

Gramenz:
I thought we were playing well enough to win.  I have made substitutions in the past (last year) by taking out players in different situations, for example, being up a goal, down a goal, and a tie game. Some decisions worked and some did not.  My motivation was to have the 11 play and get a positive result.

IMS:
Last week, in the scrimmage you chose to mainly play reserve players even though the team has yet to really gel in the midfield and has struggled a bit on defense. That has to be a tough decision for you to make. Do you give some players who have been seeing an awful lot of bench time some minutes or do you put on your best team, against a supposedly weaker opponent and develop some success? Could you share with me your thoughts on that decision?

Gramenz:
I thought it was important to give guys time that haven’t had the opportunity to show what they could bring to the team, whether if it was to consider them for a roster spot (top 18) or a starting spot.  Some of them haven’t had a competitive match against a friendly foe since April 4th.  Every time our team steps onto the field I expect success, however there are other factors that affect the success.  I was definitely not happy with our team’s performance and professionalism.  To me, and like I have told our players, a true professional performs consistently every game even if it’s an exhibition match.  I want to see our players love to compete and play the game of soccer with passion that inspires those that are watching within a team concept.  For example, how we performed for the last 8 games of the 2008 season.  I have only seen glimpses of that this year.

IMS:
Any other comments about the team or the game on Saturday night?

Gramenz:
It’s important for our team to get 3 points even if it is not pretty.  I want to see all 11 players (and substitutions, if made) play collectively and selflessly on offense and defense.  Each player needs to walk off the field at the end of the night with pride because of the way they fulfilled their role on the team.  I want the youth players to leave the National Sports Center inspired to be a future Thunder player!  And, our supporters and fans deserve to be entertained and have a reason to return.

IMS thanks Coach Gramenz for taking the time from his busy schedule and answering some tough IMS questions.