Angel City shows its limitations in all areas in loss to San Diego Wave

Angel City FC displayed the hollowness of its moral victory in a 0-1 defeat to San Diego Wave FC on Saturday night. Half the players collapsed to the SnapDragon Stadium pitch, now four points adrift of the final playoff position with only three games to play. 

They created more than San Diego, outperforming their Southern California rivals in expected goals 1.35 to 0.61, a rarity for Angel City this season. But City needed a result against the Wave, and nearly secured one in the second half. A poorly taken penalty by Savannah McCaskill was Angel City's best chance to level the score, underscoring the side's inability to break down San Diego's low block. 

Angel City has not acquitted itself well offensively in its debut season. The loss of Christen Press may be an easy place to point the finger, but City's expected goals for (xGF) per game of 1.18 in her eight regular season games left them seventh in the league. Since her departure, City has drifted to 1.08 xGF per game while the rest of the league has passed the expansion side by. Angel City is ninth in the league in xGF per game. 

That is not the only area where City has struggled both on the field and in the training room. The addition of Vanessa Gilles and Sydney Leroux were welcome but short lived. Gilles played just seven matches for City before picking up a knock while playing for Canada during the CONCACAF Gold Cup; Leroux has played only 200 minutes for her new side after joining from Orlando City. 

Gilles, when she played, stabilized a defensive unit that is one of the worst in the league. Angel City allows 1.47 expected goals against (xGA) per match, the fourth-worst in the league. Using a makeshift backline has become a staple of City starting lineups, with Jasmyne Spencer the opening day starting left back and Tyler Lussi frequently starting at right back. Both players are natural forwards, and while Spencer has grown into her role, Lussi has been a disaster. She has completed only 59 percent of her passes, far below the likes of teammates Ali Riley (72.6) and Megan Reid (77.3). 

Poor play from the back, which includes the likes of Spencer, Lussi and goalkeeper DiDi Haračić, stymied City's ability to create in transition. But the lack of a clinical striker nearly made such limitations moot. Head coach Freya Coombe tried all manner of combinations at the top of the pitch, but Simone Charley has long been the great hope in the striker position. Her expected goals of 3.86 leads the team but belies her lack of production. She has score just one goal in 998 minutes and leads the league in the ignominious stat of goals-xG with a -2.86. 

There are numerous areas where Angel City looks desperate for overhaul. The team needs a striker. It needs a pair of fullbacks. It could use another midfielder. It could user a goalkeeper that is more comfortable building out from the back. It needs to get healthy, perhaps most importantly. The playoffs look increasingly out of reach despite the enormous sum of money poured into the project during the buildup to its first season which, make no mistake, should be considered a failure as its chief rival sits top of the table. 

Coombe and company have plenty of questions to answer over its first offseason. Now we'll see what they come back with. 

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