3 things we learned about Gotham FC in the dominant win over Utah Royals FC

On a hot Friday night, NJ/NY Gotham FC found themselves in Utah to take on Utah Royals FC.  The Bats were looking to end their winless streak and rebound after their loss to the Kansas City Current.  This was a road match that the team easily could have won, and was expected to do so.  In the end, they did, beating the Royals 3-0.

The struggles in the NWSL as of late did not make sense.  Sure, this season was not expected to be like the last due to all of the changes and some of the injuries.  However, the Bats should be playing better and be higher up the table.  One of the issues was the lack of goals over the last few league matches.

Thankfully, goals were not lacking in the Utah game.  Jaelin Howell finally scored her first for Gotham while Esther González had her fourth brace of the season.  Additionally, the NJ/NY side was arguably the better side until Jess Carter was sent off with a red card.  Overall, it was a good performance with some ugliness at the end.

There is plenty to discuss.  Here are three things we learned from Gotham FC’s win against Utah Royals FC.

3 things we learned from Gotham FC’s win over Utah

3. Jaelin Howell finally scored for Gotham

One of the big questions surrounding the team was this: When was Howell going to score for Gotham FC?  The midfielder has arguably been a decent player and might be the odd woman out once Rose Lavelle is completely healthy.  Yet, it was felt that she should have scored already.

Nevertheless, it took her until June 13 to score for the Bats.  In stoppage time in the first half, the midfielder feasibly ran into the left side of the box, and nobody was putting in the effort to stop her.  As such, she swept the ball between the post and Utah’s goalkeeper, Mandy McGlynn.  It was poor defending by the home team, but Howell did a good job of sticking with her run and taking her shot. As a result, she scored her first goal for the team and her first in the NWSL regular season.

Sadly, it was not all sunshine and rainbows, for the midfielder was sent off with a red card after she earned her second yellow at the end of the match.  Therefore, Howell will not get a chance to score her second next week, for her and Carter will be out due to their red cards.

At the very least, some weight has been lifted off the Gotham FC player’s shoulders.  She finally scored her first goal for the club.

2. Too bad Gotham cannot play in Utah more often

The Utah Royals are only in their second year in their return to the NWSL.  However, Gotham FC has played extremely well when they are in Utah.  Last year, they beat the Royals 4-1, ending the regular season on the road in style.

Now, they won 3-0, securing the clean sheet despite playing part of the first half down a player or more due to red cards and an injury.  This means that the Bats have scored seven goals in the Royals’ home over the last two matches.  Whether this trend will continue is yet to be seen, but it is a shame Gotham cannot play more matches there.  Clearly, the NJ/NY side knows how to play well in Sandy.

1. Concerns surround Gotham FC

Gotham FC will next play Bay FC at home.  Sadly, they will now be without Carter and Howell due to their red cards.  Then, it is questionable whether any of the injured players will be back for the final game before the summer break. 

In addition, Ann-Katrin Berger came out of the game due to an injury.  Head Coach Juan Carlos Amorós said in the postgame press conference that it was precautionary.  Still, the goalkeeper never leaves a game despite constantly receiving treatment during matches throughout the year.  This is slightly concerning, but at least Ryan Campbell made her NWSL debut. 

While the Bats won against a team at the bottom of the table, Bay FC will be a more difficult opponent.  As such, losing players when the depth was already thin due to other injuries is very concerning.  Gotham FC needs to win that final match, for they have already lost out on too many points when they should not have.  The team is better than their record.