The Football Forge Power Rankings: Week 5The top two keep rolling
Running a tad late with these this week; it’s been a busy time. Also a bit odd given that Week 6 already began last night (with a weird game worth watching the replay for). Anyway, we had planned to introduce the Forge Factor into the rankings this week, but a total of 5 teams were on byes, so the results would have been skewed. Here, then, are our totally accurate and not all debatable week 5 power rankings:
| Rank | Team | Previous | Change | Record | Notes |
| 1 | Colorado Springs Switchbacks | 1 | 0 | 5-0-0 | Maintained their perfect record in Las Vegas, but had to come from behind to do it. And Cameron Lindley’s winning goal should probably have been called off; it deflected in off Elvis Amoh who appeared to be offside. |
| 2 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | 2 | 0 | 4-0-1 | The 4-3 win in Tulsa was not quite as close as the score suggests. One Tulsa score was a ridiculous own goal, and even with that the Hounds were leading by 3 late only to let the foot off the brake and allow 2 late goals. |
| 3 | Louisville City | 4 | +1 | 4-0-2 | Lou City’s 2-0 win in Virginia was a breeze, and could have been more lopsided. Brian Ownby’s loang-range chip shot goal was just rude. |
| 4 | San Diego Loyal | 3 | -1 | 5-1-0 | Made easy work of the Charleston Battery to win 4-1 and go top of the West on tiebreakers. They now also have a lofty +7 goal differential. |
| 5 | Phoenix Rising | 7 | +2 | 3-2-0 | Two straight wins now for the Rising, who romped to a 3-1 result against LA at Wild Horse Pass. Look to be back in form after an erratic start. |
| 6 | San Antonio | 5 | -1 | 4-1-0 | Heavily outpossessed and outshot in Orange County, San Antonio got back in the win column thanks to a blooper goal (it was probably intended as a cross) and heroic goalkeeping by Jordan Farr. |
| 7 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 6 | -1 | 2-1-3 | Only 2 of Tampa’s 15 shots were on target, and easily handled. As a result, they lost the home leg of the Florida derby 0-1 and have had a very slow start by their own standards. |
| 8 | Sacramento Republic | 8 | 0 | 3-1-0 | Sacramento were on a bye this week. |
| 9 | New Mexico United | 9 | 0 | 2-0-2 | New Mexico were on a bye this week. |
| 10 | FC Tulsa | 10 | 0 | 3-3-0 | Lost 3-4 to Pitsburgh in a goalfest, coming back late to make the ending interesting, but were the weaker team on the day. JJ Williams scored again. |
| 11 | Detroit City | 14 | +3 | 2-1-2 | Detroit had an enjoyable trip south, winning 4-0 in Atlanta (scoring all 4 before Atlanta’s 2 red cards). DCFC have now had 4 solid results since the opening week loss. |
| 12 | Las Vegas Lights | 13 | +1 | 3-3-0 | Outshot by the Switchbacks, but held on and even led for a while and were unlucky not to get a point out of the game. They did benefit from an own goal though. |
| 13 | Orange County | 11 | -2 | 1-2-1 | Coming off a bye week, Orange County were probably the better team on the day but couldn’t get it done against San Antonio’s defense. |
| 14 | Birmingham Legion | 17 | +3 | 1-2-2 | The Legion finally got their first win thanks to a stoppage time goal by Anderson Asiedu, but look to have found attacking flair at last. The trip to Detroit this week will be interesting. |
| 15 | Memphis 901 | 15 | 0 | 2-1-1 | Memphis were on a bye this week. |
| 16 | The Miami FC | 16 | 0 | 2-2-1 | Miami were not entirely convincing in the 1-0 win in Tampa, benefitting from a lackluster Rowdies performance as much as from their own play. |
| 17 | Loudoun United | 12 | -5 | 2-2-1 | Loudoun’s early fast start has slowed to a crawl. A draw against Miami followed by losses to Pittsburgh and now Louisville have brought reality crashing down. |
| 18 | Indy Eleven | 24 | +6 | 1-2-2 | The Eleven didn’t need Solomon Asante to beat RGV in Texas. With him on board and their firtunes looking slightly better already, things may have turned around for this team. |
| 19 | El Paso Locomotive | 27 | +8 | 1-4-0 | The Locomotive finally got their first win, 5-0 against Monterey. Their attack is as potent as ever, and their leaky defense got a break thanks to a toothless Union side. |
| 20 | Hartford Athletic | 19 | -1 | 0-3-1 | Hartford probably thought they were escaping Birmingham with a point, only to lose it late. They were badly outplayed in the first half before edging back into it. Next up: Miami in Miami. |
| 21 | Atlanta United 2 | 18 | -3 | 2-4-0 | Twonited looked utterly helpless against newcomers Detroit, adding 2 red cards to the 4 goals they allowed. They also had 0 shots on target. |
| 22 | Rio Grande Valley Toros | 20 | -2 | 1-4-0 | Four straight losses for the Toros, and not always against high-powered opposition. The 1-2 loss to Indy this week highlights the problems this team now faces. |
| 23 | LA Galaxy II | 21 | -2 | 1-3-1 | Los Dos were never really in the game in the game in Phoenix, looking rather disorganized and were completely outplayed in the 1-3 loss. |
| 24 | Oakland Roots | 22 | -2 | 0-3-2 | Oakland were on a bye this week. |
| 25 | New York Red Bulls II | 25 | 0 | 1-4-0 | The Baby Bulls were on a bye this week. |
| 26 | Charleston Battery | 26 | 0 | 1-4-0 | The Battery’s losing streak extends to 4 after getting thumped 1-4 in San Diego. Poor Joe Kuzminsky was credited with a GK own goal when the ball rebounded off the post and hit the back of this leg. |
| 27 | Monterey Bay | 23 | -4 | 1-4-0 | Two shots, neither on target is not going to get the job done. Especially against a team that can score in spades like El Paso. The 0-5 drubbing was embarrassing. |
