Crew vs. Rotating Brand of New Jersey :: Eastern Conference Semi :: Leg 1 :: 4 Nov 2018

Which was the whole point. All 3G wanted was for us to buy Pipa 45-60 minutes. And we did.

NYRB generates their offense mostly off TOs & the press. Afful & Valenzuela did not just 'come alive' when Pipa entered, they were given more license to go forward. First half we stayed more compact and it confused them. It threw our offense a bit out of sorts, but ditto their gameplan. They started to figure it out the last 10 minutes.

3G countered with Pipa at half. Do not know if thatcwas the plan or reaction to the last 10 minutes, but I thought he would come on aroubd 60th. Armas probably did too. We were front foot again tocstart the half.

Gamble worked. But it was one he had to take. Pipa's legs needed the rest and NYRB was the fresher side. Now Pipa, Santos, Sauro, & Hansen may all be fresher than their counterparts. Plus, if we score 1, they need 3.

 

It was a master level of managing by GGG. NYRB has a chance without our playmaker and...whatever you want to call Santos....on the field. They fail to score.

Second half starts up, and he introduces the guys back on, and we get a goal and keep the clean sheet. We now go to Red Bulls with our guys rested and NYRB knowing they missed their chance at taking advantage of our tired legs with the week off.

And now Mullins gets some needed competitive minutes in case we need to call on him later on in the game to get us a winning goal. It also gives us some morale knowing we could afford to only play our best player for 45 minutes and still get a result against statistically the best team in MLS history.

 

Just stop replying to them. You are wasting your time. If they are too stupid to realize what's going on then you aren't going to change their mind.

 

So...wizard.

 

To be fair, this is probably the best advice I've read about this.

 

LOL -- That was going to be my exact comment. Even if he doesn't have superhuman speed, the legal tackle was beyond belief and could only be done by someone with wizarding abilities.

 

Steffen stepped up. Big time. He is a big game player. Mensah, Higs, Zardes, Trapp - they have stepped up their games so far in this playoff run. Sometimes when these sort of guys step up, then this momentum helps lift others to step up.

Please push Meram.

Can we get a GoFundMe started to bring Meram's family to New Jersey? He seems to perform better with them in the stands. I am not sure what is wrong with that guy, but something is completely off. Can we send him some playoff Valentines?

Oh and on the romance note, I have a new Crew hat. My husband missed being in the Nordecke for the Zardes goal. He was off getting himself a beer. I had two kids, one in each arm, celebrating like there was no tomorrow. When a Crew goal is scored, I tend to look for Tim. Well I quickly remembered he likes to walk clear across the stadium for his stadium beers of choice. So I had my two kids.

After the kids and I cheered his reappearance (and I handed off Markus to him), we had a "did you see Zardes' goal?!?!" moment. Well, he had heard the goal (the stadium's reaction) and then caught it on replay. At that point he pulled a "For Columbus" stocking hat out of his pocket. Brand new. Last week, I had looked (and failed) to find one online for me. Geeg and Tim both owned one, and those goofy-looking stocking hats had really grown on me.

Where did he get it? "They are still selling the hats in the stadium, Chels. I saw it after Zardes scored that goal, on the way back to the section. I thought you would want it."

 

Agree. But not me.

 

I'm getting beyond fed up with Meram. I watched him a lot off the ball and I have the same comment as last game. He just won't (or can't) expend more than minimal effort for most of the game. There was a play in the 2nd half where he just stopped rather than make an effort on a short, low to medium speed pass that was slightly off. Dude just stopped and watched it roll out of bounds. It was entirely gettable. I looked for it on TV when I got home to see if I saw what I couldn't believe I saw live. He just quit on it. The ball was 100% reachable by someone willing to run half speed. He wasn't.

There were many examples, but on another play I saw him jogging next to Murillo and as the play developed I knew that A) Murillo was going to make a run for a through ball and B) Meram would make no effort to chase him because he waits to see if the ball will be played before he's willing to expend effort. Sure enough Murillo did and Meram didn't and they played Murillo through on a dangerous ball with Meram uselessly trailing the play.

I'd rather start Argudo and Pedro. Whatever the problem is, Meram needs to be benched until the problem is fixed or he's rested or recovered from whatever is ailing him.

I remember thinking when he was subbed out that we were finally benefitting from him slow jogging it around the park and that it wasn't fair for the ref to expect him to move any faster than he had during the game.

 

Dead weight?

 

I was surprised how slowly Robles was doing things early in the game, I was yelling against Minn “YOU IDIOTS CAN’T STALL FOR 85 MINUTES!!!”

I wonder if they’ve just been ahead so many games, he’s grown accustomed to that sort of pace.

 

If not for two highlight reel saves, Santos would have a goal in each of the last two games. Hardly dead weight and not the team's biggest area of concern on the wings.

He's had an off year for sure, but I think Pedro is going to come up big vs Red Bull. Despite low production during the regular season, he remains one of our more skillful players, plays a good deal of defense, and wins us free kicks. Not that he'd be a stat leader from the regular season, but with a more reasonable finishing rate, rather than the league's most wasteful team, he'd easily have 6+ assists.

His play wasn't commensurate to his salary, but that hardly matters now. At this point, we are trying to win games not a best bang for the buck trophy.

 

Who are these people?

 

He managed 7 assists this year, so actually with a more reasonable finishing rate he would have 10+ assists.

 

We ought to include the first home playoff game in the season ticket package since there isn't much time to sell them. We used to do that. At various times, my season ticket packages includes Open Cup tickets, friendlies vs European teams, and the first playoff game.

 

Not a bad idea.

 

Well, they changed that because there were some years that we did not qualify for the playoffs and fans did not like the other options--a winter friendly just to account for the ticket or a refund. Both were logistically a pain.

 

Thanks - I didn't have his stats in front of me and meant 6 or more additional assists

 

Zack Says No

 

https://streamable.com/sqgko

 

Then just have season ticket holders sign up for pay as they play playoff tickets at the beginning of the season. Card doesn’t get charged until the game is guaranteed.

 

Um, that's pretty much the way it is now....

 

I feel like he's not a great fit for the league, with so many teams that play a very physical game. That said, there are teams that he can excel against, he tracks back tirelessly, and I really hope he can come up big.

 

I'm just here for when Santos scores the game winner in the MLS cup.

 

We'll nickname him Pando.