First ever game, lads, and I'm stuck at Army summer camp. But I have an internet feed and a laptop, so I'll be there in spirit. Whoever got my tickets, godspeed. This thread is for pre-game, in-game, and post-game. If there's a need, we can split those up for later matches, but attendance in the BS Atlanta forum has been relatively sparse. Starting eleven has already been posted: GK: Kann D: Garza, Gonzalez-Pirez, Parkhurst, Mears M: Carmona, Gressel, Almiron F: Asad, Martinez, Villaba
In a way. He looked good in preseason but he is still just a kid and this is a moment where maybe we want more experience in all phases to make sure tonight is the best possible result. I was more surprised to see Gressel in the 11. In a good way though, it shows we are not afraid to put someone out there if we think they are ready to contribute.
A good show for 90 minutes. Sucks to give up the lead like that, but RBNY is a really good team and has been for quite a while. I'll be looking for more as this team gels over the course of the season. Defensive and goalkeeping errors look like the weakness going forward, but counter-attacking looks like a major strength.
Well if you didn't already know, you do now, Mark Geiger is a joke. How he allowed Felipe to go un-cautioned that entire game is unbelievable. Felipe is a thug and he showed it well tonight. Geiger's inability to control the game and especially Felipe allowed it to get to the point where Carmona feels it necessary to Felipe know his antics were noted. The goals were all on us for conceding and not finishing the game off when we had the chance 2vthe keeper, but the chippy play certainly was an aspect of it and that is all down to the lack of control from Mark Geiger.
Really disappointing. I am happy to be a season ticket holder but I dont want to support that sh-- from carmona. Just not they way I want to see my team play. And please supporters don't start that crap goal kick chant. Leave that for Mexico. The attack is fun to watch, but the defense always looked just a little disjointed. Will need to really tighten up at abou 25m out to have a shot at playoffs.
Just got home from the stadium. We looked great for 75 minutes and then it was an epic collapse. Seeing New York celebrate with their traveling fans was not fun. What a frustrating start to the year.
Some good things, some bad things from opening day: The Good 55,000+ for a soccer game Almost everyone stood the entire game The team is very offensive minded and overall fun to watch The Bad I know it's a temporary thing, but Bobby Dodd is a horrible stadium. From bad site lines to abysmal concessions. ******** on goal kicks. It needs to stop and stop now. Throwing things on the field. Again, it's got to stop. I'll put this more down to "not knowing any better" For much of the game, this team was the aggressor and the pink cows looked to be the expansion team. It is going to be an exciting year and the team should be in the thick of things. All in all, a good time and looking forward to the next game.
I agree. There were a few people who were the "ringleaders," so to speak, that were leading the chant. And the cup thrown on the field wasn't even from the supporters section. Stupid, nevertheless.
Sorry if it came across that way but not blaming the supporters group(s) for the trash on the field. I hope this is more of an issue of people not knowing how to behave yet and thinking that it's acceptable. Saw the same thing happen in Columbus for the first Bluejackets preseason hockey game. It takes the people around to stop that from happening again.
My seat is in 121 and the site line is horrible from that area. You could not see anything left of the far goal. I really felt bad for the family of four beside me because their kids really couldn't see a thing. I ended up spending the second half at the railing above the section and at least could see everything. I think I'll be spending the next six games there and not even bothering with my actual seat. Anyway, enough with the negatives. That was a fun match overall other than the final score.
Thank you, Arthur, for giving us this team. Thank you to the team for giving their all. Thank you to the fans for giving their all, as well. Loved how they responded with chants of "A-T-L! A-T-L!" after each NY goal trying to rally the troops. My throat is sore, my hands are sore, and I hate that they lost but still what a great night for Atlanta. Defensive midfield really struggled. I'll give part of that to playing a good NYRB team but the goals were still very preventable. Defense needs to simply clear the ball sooner, and it might be worth reconsidering the aerial attack given they're a comparably short team. Martinez got caught off sides too much for a main striker. That 2nd half chip that Almiron (frustratingly) missed... It would've helped if Josef fell back to present the option for a pass as Robles came out of his goal. Would've made for a much more different game. Still, I didn't assume they'd go 16-0 at home. Still need to learn to crawl, first. Keep in mind it wasn't built for this. It was designed for a narrower field and for events where people aren't crushing the concessions at only 2 points in time. Agreed, and we were VERY disappointed to see this. Fortunately it appeared to be at a minimum and caught early by the stewards, as I saw one person being escorted away. Hopefully it won't be an issue going forward, but there is that reality that with larger crowds there's a greater chance of some morons in the group. No fan base is perfect, alas.
Mod note: I'm obviously going to be at most/all the home games, so there will be a lag afterward for the near 2 hours it takes me to make the 65 miles home. As with all threads, please keep game threads civil and be respectful of other teams, their fans, and even the ref. They're all people and imperfect, too. Thanks.
My concessions comment was pretty much full game. There just isn't enough concessions for the sidelines away from the benches. Before the game the line literally was the length of the stadium. I heard people saying after halftime it took them over a half hour to get food. In terms if sitelines, I will agree about the wider field making the problem worse. I really felt bad for the families of the many small kids in my area. I'd really think hard about coming back until the new stadium if I were in their shoes.
When i saw Geiger was the ref I told my sons, We're in for a long night. All night long he missed much of the game. I think he was on Facebook or something. The least thing you can ask for from a Ref, if you can't have immaculate decision making, is consistency. He was inconsistent all night long.
The Good: Greg Garza and Mears both looked to get forward, with good effect. Parkhurst did a solid job organizing the back, and looked to keep the ball and facilitate the attack. Almiron has a remarkable knack for getting out of trouble. The speed of play Atl were capable of, especially on the counter. The fact that we outplayed an MLS powerhouse for 75 minutes of the game. The supporters! The Bad: The epic collapse - was it due to subs? Lost cohesion in a new team? Marsch's tactical switch? The undignified lack of composure we showed when there was ten minutes left in the game Kann in goal. I've watched him with great trepidation in all the games so far and he's been error prone in all of them. That routine spill that led to the goal scoring corner is rec league stuff. The Ugly: Geiger exemplifies everything that's awful about MLS referees: inconsistent, absent minded, inability to make the reasonable decisions, allowing too many fouls to go unpunished. That being said, Carmona deserved the red. Poor play, man. The homophobic Keeper Chant that just will NOT go away. Jeezus! C'mon, guys. The cry-baby actions of some of the fans throwing shit on the pitch. Having to listen to the New Jersey fans chant: "Beat the Traffic!"
Can't disagree with any of that. Like I've said before: Brad Guzan cannot get here soon enough. We are going to drop so many points this year because of Kann.
A few counterpoints: - Kann made a couple great saves, too. Yes, the first goal was off of keeper error but during that stretch NY was getting way too much time on the ball and too many decent chances at goal. The defense was simply gassed and/or out of sync by that point. - Ref was below average but it's early for them, too, and at least he was consistently poor. He's obviously one bent on letting them play. What was unacceptable IMO was the linesman on the far side from the TV cameras, who missed 3 balls clearly out of bounds, 1 handball and 1 other aggressive tackle by Garza. He didn't cost AUFC the game or anything last night, but that was simply some very weak refereeing at this level.
Kann is error prone and that will hurt us in tight games, but I agree that NYRB was getting too much of the ball. On the other hand, if Almiron scores that goal he tried to be cheeky with, the momentum shifts again. Geiger is infamous, whether it's preseason or not. Although the linesmen were too far away for us to see, it was clear from the reaction of the fans that they were making some dubious calls. Curious as to how we rate Carmona and Gressel - minus the red card. In the first half they were quick to snuff out the Jersey boys. In the second half they looked less reliable. I didn't care much for Lankswercwotz
I have been to tons of games at BDS over the years. This was the worst I have ever seen the concessions and, while GT football only typically sells out a game or two a season, the stadium typically handles big crowds much better than it did last night. I believe the issue was due to under staffing. I know the concession stand I visited had 3 registers but was only utilizing one. Also, maybe some concession stands were not open. Hopefully it will be something that is addressed for the next game.