Well that was a fun night a Werner Park! There is a lot to digest in this one so let’s dive in.
1) JP Scearce scores his first 2021 goal (FINALLY)
Let’s start with a grim stat. For the 4th time in the last 5 home games, we scored a 1st half goal and gave up a 2nd half goal. But this time, the only time out of those 4 games, we scored a second; thank you JP!
So yes, this was an “important” goal for the team, and it must have felt great for JP to finally get his first on the year. But at #datadump we love it because it removed JP from his spot of distinction on the “bad” list.
For me, the “bad” list is players with the lowest number on the G-xG list. JP was first in the league for 2021 on this metric and 7th all time in league history. He is currently 9th on the season and 32nd overall in league history.
JP has had terrible luck this year when it comes to scoring, but not for lack of trying. A few months ago, I asked my friends at the Media Empire if there was a place I could bet on individual goal scorers in League One, because we all knew this goal was coming. I was told it wasn’t a thing and therefore missed out on a massive payday.
2) 5 in the back
There was a little chatter online about us playing five in the back. Obviously, these folks missed the games at Tucson and my coverage of the phenomena. But, I did not, so I grabbed this pic of us playing 5 at the back for the last 10 minutes of the match.
3) Goals at the Berm End
This one is for Luke, Andrew, AND Sean who all asked me about this.
So, this was the week to do this. In part, because we’ve played 8 games at home in 2021, same as we did in 2020, in part because this game was the 3rd time I was asked for the data. So I did the research, and…it’s actually pretty interesting.
Findings
- We’ve attacked the Berm End in the first half in 11 of 16 matches.
- There have been 32 goals scored at Werner Park in 16 matches.
- 21 have been scored by Union Omaha (11 by our opponents).
- 12 first half goals, 9 second half goals for Union Omaha. 4 first half goals, 7 second half goals for our opponents. (I don’t like this stat).
- 16 first half and 16 second half goals.
- 16 goals have been scored at the Berm End. 10 by Union Omaha, 6 by our opponents.
No real advantages, end of story right? Not so fast, here is where it gets interesting.
- 2020: 5 of 14 goals were scored at the Berm End, 3 of the 9 goals UO scored were at the Berm End.
- 2021: 11 of 18 goals were scored at the Berm End, 7 of the 12 goals UO scored were at the Berm End.
What does it mean?! I’m always going to answer: soccer is random. But I think there is something in there. I’d love to hear what conclusions you draw from this. I’m going to keep tracking and will update again at the end of the year.
Who Gives A Hoot? 