Battle of the Birds, Part Duex

Ibises and Flamingos, together at last.

It's another Battle of the Birds tonight as the Ibises of South Georgia take on the Flamingos of Forward Madison in Wisconsin. It's the second of a three-game road trip for Tormenta, who defeated Union Omaha 2-1 this past Friday and play in the final group stage round of the Jagermeister Cup Saturday night in Miami. 

Let's go to the tale of the tape:

Flamingo: Height: 3.9-4.7 feet; Weight: 4.6-9 pounds; 37 mph flight speed

Ibis: Height: 1.9-2.3 feet; Weight: 2.2 pounds; 30 mph flight speed.

On paper, things don't look good for South Georgia. Madison has a decided height, weight and speed advantage all which could spell doom for Tormenta. They'll have to play smart, not make any mistakes and take advantage of their opportunities if they hope to come away with a victory.

Wait, I'm being told that they're going to just let the human players play the game and efforts to train birds to play soccer have been never actually been the plan, which is good because it was a lot harder to find Ibis and Flamingo related stats than I was hoping and I'm not sure how much research I was going to have to put into a bit that isn't all that funny to begin with. 

That said, I think Bolt could take down Madison mascot Strut on the pitch if it came down to that.

As for the game itself, we've got a guest post from Rob Chappell, host of the wonderful Talkin' Flock podcast with a look at Madison this year. The Mingos have struggled and are currently at the bottom of the table with a 2-5-7 record. Despite that, they only have a -4 goal differential, which is better than Tormenta's -8 as they sit with a 4-8-3 record at the midpoint of the season. Take it away Rob:

When Tormenta takes the field and Breese Stevens Field against the last-place Mingos of Madison, fans shouldn’t necessarily expect a last-place-caliber team.

Injuries have seriously hindered Madison's ability to follow up on its best-ever third place finish in 2024. Tormenta will not have to deal with 6’3”, talented and tenacious centerback Mitch Osmond, who’s out indefinitely with what head coach Matt Glaeser calls “a significant injury.” It’s also unlikely that they’ll have to deal with holding midfielder Jose Carrera Garcia or perpetual pest Devin Boyce, both of whom are still on the mend.

What the Ibises will see is a defensively minded team that prioritizes possession, but struggles in the final third.

Glaeser will likely align them in a 3-4-3 (or more accurately a 3-4-2-1) which will flow into a 5-4-1 when Tormenta has the ball. Real Salt Lake Academy product Christopher Garcia will look to create some havoc on the left wing. One of our listeners referred to him as “the most ‘try something’ guy we have.” He’s pacey and aggressive and has forged a solid connection with Birmingham Legion loanee Lucca Dourado, who has earned the position as our starting 9. On the other wing you’ll see either Ferrety Sousa or Nico Brown, who will take on more defensive responsibilities while still looking to get forward when possible. Look for a dual 10 situation supporting Dourado, with Nazeem Bartman, Derek Gebhard, Garrett McLaughlin and Juan Galindrez all available to take on those two roles.

Generally speaking Madison will probe the wide areas, pull back and switch fields, looking for numerical mismatches or spaces to open up. They’ll try to patiently draw defenders and midfielders out, and switch the point of attack until they can find space. For much of the season they’ve been reluctant to take on defenders one-v-one, but some of the guys – especially Aiden Mesias, Garcia and Gebhard – have been more bold in that regard recently. That means it’s often long spells of knocking the ball back and forth more or less laterally. Defenders and midfielders who can stay disciplined in a midblock will make life difficult for the Mingos. But if Tormenta midfielders bite at the opportunity to drift higher or press, Dourado, Gebhard and Garcia have all proven capable of getting in behind in a hurry.

Defensively, Madison is stalwart for about 89 and a half minutes every game. The center backs and wingers are very disciplined in their positioning and solid one-on-one. Our midfielders and forwards have no qualms getting back and defending, and the formation allows for us to get guys into a good defensive shape quickly. We don’t have a lot of size – none of our center backs is taller than 6’1 – but we usually can still snuff out crosses with good awareness and technique.

That said, like most teams at this level, we are guaranteed one or two lapses at the back – a missed header, a moment of ball-watching, a failure to switch on a mark, whatever. There will be moments that Tormenta get good looks – the question is whether they can convert those chances.

The other thing to note is that it’s going to be a hot one. Madison always turns out a good crowd, but if the game time temp is above 85 degrees or so, the Flock End isn’t exactly rockin. And tomorrow night, the heat index could still be in triple digits for the 7 pm local time kickoff. I imagine South Georgia guys are more used to those conditions, but it’ll still be pretty miserable for everyone.

Thank you Rob, and I don't think anyone ever gets used to triple digit heat indices. That heat just drains energy from you. I, for one, will enjoy the game from the comfort of my air conditioned home. Please follow Rob on Bluesky and check out the Talkin' Flock podcast for a recap of the game from a Madison perspective.

I'm not sure why Rob neglected the most important part of his preview. Tonight is Bark in the Park night so go see all the good dogs if you're able to make it out to the game. 

As for Tormenta, it'll be interesting to see who plays and who rests as they have their final Jagermeister Cup game Saturday. Technically they're still alive to win the group, but their path to winning it quite narrow. We'll get to all the details on that on Friday.

Kickoff is set for tonight at 8 p.m. eastern (7 p.m. Madison time) on ESPN+. 

News and Notes:

Yaniv Bazini was named to the League One Team of the Week following his two-goal performance against Omaha

Alex Ashton of League One Updater has his latest power rankings out. He has Tormenta 10th, which seems about right.

Tormenta is also 10th in the USL Power Rankings this week.

John Morrissey takes a look at Tormenta's defensive performance against Omaha and despite them allowing 19 shots, he came away mostly impressed with what he saw.

Ashton also had a look at the potential expansion sides for USL League One this week. There could be 21 teams in the league next season!