Thoughts on the match. Close game, FCD was probably the better team. Didn't think many players played particularly well. Liked how Reynolds played. I always say Reynolds is Haji Wright-lite, just missing the overall consistency at this type of level that Haji had and some of the scoring touch, maybe not as athletic also, but similar player. I like Reynolds talent, we'll see where's he's at in a few years. Will Crain of Atlanta has impressed me. Very good defender, good on the ball, mobile. Wouldn't be a bad shout for the next U-17 camp. Toledo of FCD impressed me with his defending and passing, as well as the RB Almaguer who's a feisty player. Roberts had a few nice passes, not much else. Padilla was invisible, as was Brighton for Atlanta. Castro was bossed in midfield. Jones, its the tunnel vision Akinola approach. I really don't think that game works at higher levels. Bello was okay, a little better than last game, not as good as the QF. The tools are all there, he just needs to polish his game. He was the youngest player on the field though, so its not unexpected. Collodi was pretty bad. Bailed out by Reynolds on the Olimpico attempt, beat on two shots from distance. Ferreira was kind of quiet, although his free kick for Dallas only goal was nice, thought he should've went for goal on the free kick at the end of the game. Carleton was also kind of quiet, but took over for four minutes, and that was the game.
Nice to see a U.S. player with good ball striking/finishing ability. However, I'd like to put the brakes on a bit on the Carleton Express. His strength and acceleration are still a work in progress, and that's a reason why Martino will probably proceed cautiously. Contrast that with someone like Alphonso Davies, who already has a grown man's physique. Like all our young players we just don't know for sure how Carleton will turn out.
Generally agree. I don't really blame Collodi for the first goal. The only thing he's guilty of there is allowing a 4 foot tall player who didn't know how to jump to be a part of the wall. He definitely should've done better on the olympico attempt and should've at least dove on the second goal, tho I don't think he would've gotten it. Ferreira was a little disappointing. Aside from the set pieces, he was a non factor. He had one good run late and forced his way into a weak, bad angle shot when he should've dumped it to a wide open Padilla. A lot of people say this but game after game against the best competition in his age group, he performs. He definitely needs to work on being more consistent and physical, especially in the middle third. But his shooting ability can't be questioned. I actually think he looks best as a withdrawn forward so he can wander and get more opportunities to be creative
Really like the ambition that Dallas and Atlanta are showing with their academies. I know Atlanta just engulfed GA United, but they are checking all the right boxes right now. Fanbase, fun first team to watch, and a healthy academy.
Christian Cappis had the goal. He's been good. Also had another shot that just missed wide. Galaxy have dominated possession, Texans have had all the scoring chances
The turn from @uly_soccer7 to set up Efrain Alvarez for the Galaxy equalizer was fantastic. Efra's goal was a beaut too. pic.twitter.com/yCaog5E2dN— J.R. Eskilson (@JREskilson) July 17, 2017
If you made a drinking game out of how often the Galaxy pass the ball right at the Texans, you'd be hammered in 30 seconds. Go ahead. Try it.
I didn't realize Toledo was an '01, thought he was an '00. He should be a fixture with the '01 age group. Wasn't called in for the last tournament. And I do agree about Ferreira. I don't blame him, he's probably bored at this level, I know he can play better than he did (Carleton wasn't that great either), I've never thought Ferreira was the type to take over a game. I think he's very good, but I think his best attributes are not attributes that necessarily are conducive to running a football match. US fans are getting too picky, and I'm not referring to anyone in particular, just our fan base in general. For years we've heard that our players were athletes-only, and couldn't play soccer. Now we have a player who is very good in every attribute of the game, besides size and pure speed. So which is it, do people expect every player to be Pele, otherwise we gotta question them? Soccer is not like basketball, pure athleticism doesn't win out most of the time. Its a game where skill and smarts almost always wins. And Carleton is not some nothing athlete. He's not 5'0 and incredibly slow, he's just not a burner. Is every attacking mid playing for the top teams in the world a burner? No, absolutely not. Some are, some aren't. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. And people should also realize Carleton only just turned 17. What if he added some speed? He's probably like 5'6-5'7. If he had Pulisic's size and speed in another year, would he still be too small and slow? Should Carleton be playing with Atlanta's first team right now? Thats a completely different debate, there's arguments going both ways, but Carleton is not hype, he's been as advertised for years, and performs in the biggest games. Does anyone remember the CONCACAF U-17 final? He scored a very nice goal, and was dominant in that game, should've had a few assists if his teammates could finish. Now he scores two wonder-goals in the DA final. Doesn't mean we need to make such a big deal about it, he should be the best player at this level, but he at least deserves credit for producing as should be expected.
If Carleton had pulisic speed he'd be close to a player you create in FIFA lol. And I felt bad for Ferreira, I don't think he had great service in the game against atl but that game was choppy in general. The lag vs Texans game was more entertaining
You'd think MLS academies would snag a lot of the top players, but it looked like they missed some. A couple of those Texans players looked too good for college. Cappis and Richards specifically stood out I actually thought the first half of lag-Tex was equally bad to the FCD-atl game. Don't know who the genius is who decided to make the final 2 days after the semifinal, but it made for 2 games of substandard soccer.
I don't know, I can think of a number of reasons they might, even aside from randomness in a few games. There are a lot of players in Dallas and the best 15 year olds may not turn out to be the best 17 year olds. Maybe the Texans ended up with the best players. Maybe the Texan coach is a better coach in terms of game tactics. Maybe the pro DA's are focused on developing a few exceptional players who will be successful in the future while the non-pro DA's build teams to win now. I don't know that any of these things are true, but they seem plausible.
yeah, the lack of rest was unfortunate. I've watched a number of atl utd academy games this season but this was only my 2nd time watching the lag academy so that might have been why I enjoyed it more
I think its certainly possible that it could happen, given what I have watched of the DA, but with what a pro academy is offering players compared to a non-pro academy, the pro academies should be rendering the non-pro academies completely ineffective, just my opinion.
The Texans seemed very well coached, strong game plan. Kleiban teams will always play out of the back under pressure. So if you can put together a cohesive press on his teams, they will eventually make a couple mistakes that will lead to goal scoring chances.