MLS Talking Points: Morris' finishing must get better
- by Paul Kennedy @pkedit, Aug 25, 2016
But the Sounders could have had three points and a spot above the red line heading into Portland on Sunday but
for Jordan Morris' miss on a breakaway, the latest in a series of failed opportunities for the rookie.
Lodeiro sent Morris, who had come on as a substitute in the second half, in alone on Joe Willis in the 71st minute, but the Dynamo keeper
stopped the breakaway.
Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer said the game was there for the taking when he subbed in Morris, one of five players who started the last three games and
began Wednesday's game on the bench. (Of those five, only Chad Marshall and Clint Dempsey didn't come on as subs.)
"It was 0-0," Schmetzer said. "One goal maybe gives us all
three points. He had his chance. He’s got to make that happen. He has to have that mindset of when I get my one chance, I’m going to put it away. So that’s just the learning curve
that he’s going through."
Schmetzer said Morris, who's tied with Dempsey for the team lead with eight goals, would put his next chance away.
"Give him that chance
another time, he’ll put it away," said Schmetzer, who remained unbeaten as interim coach at 3--0-2. "Three chances, he’ll put away two. Seven, he’ll put six of them away. We’ll
just keep building him up, building him up, because obviously the kid is a big part of our team. So we’ll need him.”
Morris was the first ti admit he needed to do better on a
chance like he got on the breakaway.
"Like I’ve been saying for the last few weeks," he said, "I need to get better with my finishing, I’ll be the first one to say it. It is
frustrating. I want to score to help the team win. [Willis] came out, I just tried to lift it over and I didn’t get the contact that I wanted. I just have to do better with that one.”
Are we putting too much pressure on him with our expectations. It's hard for any striker when they hit a slump. It has to be doubly difficult for him.
I don't think so Ginger and here's my thinking on it. Strikers, forwards, finishers are selfish and a bit of a head case. To the rest of the field players they are infuriating. It concerns me a little when he states I want to help the team win. Goal scorers want to score first and foremost. Even when the team wins and he doesn't score its not as satisfying. Don't know what sorts of finishing drills he's getting, but its mostly a mindset. If he isn't expecting much more of himself than John Q Public then perhaps he won't become the star some of us believe he is capable of. I hope he can develop the mentality, we need him.