2017 U.S. Open Cup

Nice try FCC. You were cruising along but...

 

Hooray!

Was it just me, or when we got up 3-2 did the ref just tilt his decisions to FCC....fouls, corners called and not, Cincy with 3 pretty blatant handballs. It's like he had a mandate to help FCC when they went down.

Happy they really didn't possess the ball in our box...figured a dodgy PK was coming.

 

His decisions on possession were bad in both directions, and he mostly just didn't make marginal decisions. He wasn't good, but I didn't think he was biased for either side to an appreciable degree.

Plus, he added less than 2 minutes for all our time-wasting in the second half of extra time, so there's no real room to complain on balance.

 

LOL...so it wasn't just me.

We are in a final....lions and tigers and bears oh my!

 

The most unlikely magical journey through the open cup continues!

On the to the finals!

 

Probably.....I just started seeing what I wanted to. I thought he was bad in general but he missed two clear corners and three handballs by them after we went up. Argh. Replays confirmed three of those and two they didn't replay, but they looked damn clear.

As you said....breathe.

 

That's pretty much how I saw it.

To Zoidberg's point, I think it's just at the end (the last 40 minutes or so) they were dead mentally and physically, which leads to more desperation and less remembering to pull your hand out of the way and so on so there was just more FCC stuff not to call later in the game.

 

Frankly, the only real potential game changer was the NYRB player that was tackled in the box late in regulation.

 

Here's the final 2017 update of my ever popular* league ELO rankings.

*not at all true

Some basic info, for those who want it:
1. These rankings use all USOC games since 1996 to determine the relative strengths of the leagues. The names used below just represent the current names of leagues at that level. In reality the leagues have changed around a lot, and what is now NASL used to be USL D-1, and the A League before it. Similarly for all the other levels.
2. There are bound to be mistakes back in the history, but the beauty of ELO rankings is that they are self-correcting over time, so the "actual strengths" probably aren't too far off from this right now, even with errors in older competitions.
3. The actual results used are as follows:
a. Game finishes in regulation with a result: goals scored
b. Game finishes after extra time with a result: goals scored
c. Game goes to penalty kicks: goals scored before the penalty kicks. The game is "recorded" as a tie.
4. A home team has its rating raised by 100, and the change in ratings for each of the teams is calculated based on the result of the game, and the relative difference between the two ratings. This means that currently, we would expect an NASL team hosting an MLS team to be slightly in favor of the MLS team, but not significantly so.
5. The average change in score for any individual game is about 7. This means that one league goes up by 7, and the other down by 7.
6. There is no way to account for the fact that many MLS teams play 'B' or 'C' sides in the first few rounds they participate. I can only base it on the teams fielded.

2017 Note: Based on earlier discussions, I will keep NASL and USL separate for this year. Once we see how sanctioning for these leagues goes, a final decision about their future representation in these numbers will be made.

Round	MLS	NASL	USL	PDL	NPSL	USASA/etc
2016	1798	1609	1575	1371	1289	1358
2017 R1	1798	1609	1575	1365	1298	1354
2017 R2	1798	1603	1608	1363	1284	1344
2017 R3	1798	1623	1606	1341	1284	1348
2017 R4	1787	1632	1609	1341	1284	1347
2017 R5	1781	1640	1607	1341	1284	1347
2017 QF	1781	1630	1617	1341	1284	1347
2017 Final	1787	1630	1610	1341	1284	1347

Cincinnati put up a good fight, but couldn't hold it together in the end.

A reminder to everyone that it is the relative ratings which matter for this, not the absolute scores. While it may look like relatively minor changes, NASL and USL both closed a decent gap with MLS this year. Don't get me wrong, the gap between MLS and those two leagues is still huge, especially since MLS teams don't field their 1st team for the first couple rounds they participate in. It's just nice to see there be a bit more competition between the leagues than we've had the last couple tournaments.

 

You clearly haven't see Portland play this season.

 

well, I did see the TFC-Portland beatdown last Sat...

 

Came up short but what a ride. Questionable subbing but hey, you play teams with 20 times your team salary and you're living on a knifes edge. Good game NyRB. Almost had it

 

Full credit to Cincinnati, but it's also worth noting just how much they lived on the edge all the way to the semifinal. They allowed 30+ shots in every game against MLS opposition; going in the other direction, I believe Meara was the only MLS keeper to make a save against them in their entire Open Cup run. Gutsy, yes, but they also rode quite a bit of luck.

 

That's one of the keys to success for a weaker team in a single elimination tournament: luck. Do all you can to minimize how much you need, but it's going to be true for any lower division team.

 

And it's not like they're storming their way to a USL title. They're a mid-table team with a goal difference of 0.

 

I won't deny it was heartbreaking to be up 2-0 and lose 2-3, but I really feel is pride. I have loved this sport for so long and I never thought Cincinnati would embrace it this way. Our players gave everything against a quality opposition and simply ran out of gas. I have no complaints about the result, New York, or officiating. Sometimes you can do all you can and come up short.

 

Haven't seen one post or article yet where someone proclaims that this proves that the USL is just as good as MLS. We used to get those like all of the time.....growth around the country?

Oh wait....it wasn't an NASL team. No one in USL needs to resort to cheap propaganda in USL.

 

Hats off to @fccincinnati. One hell of a game in one of the best environments I have ever experienced! Top class! 👏🏼👏🏼

— Connor Lade (@clade5) August 16, 2017

Nothing but respect for the red bulls fans players and staff. Took a lap around the field post game applauding the crowd.

2-0 leads and soccer....ughhh

 

👏 @DieInnenstadt, @ThePrideCincy, @QueenCityFirm, @BaileyBastards, @TheDenFCC 👏 https://t.co/yXlGdeTq5B

— New York Red Bulls (@NewYorkRedBulls) August 16, 2017

 

The depth of my analysis is:

That was a hell of a lot of fun to watch. Kudos to the crowd in Cincinnati and the team for fighting their way to a 2-0 lead, and kudos to the Red Bulls for putting on their big boy pants and storming back.

What a shame this game wasn't on national TV. There's no way KC - Red Bulls is going to be as much fun

 

This tournament (and the games in Cincinnati, in particular) have solidified my opinion that the lower division team should always host.

 

If it had been, the game would have been garbage.

 

That's a great idea - not only for atmosphere but it's a great cash infusion for them

 

Metrobulls better not tank the USOC Final....