Noticed that there are Cup games tomorrow and there are several USL squads in action. It appears as if AUFC2 is not on the guest list. I see Nashville, also a fresh squad, in the tourney so it can't be a seniority thing. Curious if anyone knows the reason or did I miss a qualifier where we laid an egg? Is the invite standings driven for the USL? I know the mini-stripes aren't faring too well so that would make sense. While the mind may be inquiring I'm too damned lazy to go look it up myself
While U-23 squads and the like in the PDL are allowed to participate, teams like Atlanta United 2, Red Bull 2, etc. are excluded from competition.
The Battery are unbeaten in 11 matches and we'll be playing a B team. Anyone worried? AUFC2 is not exactly tearing things up these days
Will probably be a close game. But our B squad is better than the USL squad. Certainly will be interesting to see who he puts out there. I'd imagine Miggy and Barco will come off the bench in the last 10-15 if absolutely necessary.
Definitely won't be our starting lineup. Our big guns have played two games in less than a week with a road trip thrown in. I'd love to see the entire bench from Saturday get the start (Zizzo, Ambrose, Kann, Williams, Vazquez, Kratz, Carleton) plus Robinson and a few others. Have the whole bench be starters ready to sub in if things don't look good. --------Vazquez--Williams-------- Kratz--Carleton--McCann--?? Ambrose--Hernandez--Robinson--Zizzo ------------------------Kann--------------- A 1-0 win would be more than sufficient.
Well, we got a few more starters on the pitch than I would have liked, but you can't argue with the result. I thought Carleton had a great game, as did Robinson. I hope those guys get some meaningful MLS minutes soon. I'm disappointed we didn't get to see Ambrose; he looked good this weekend. Good job with the win, and we'll see tomorrow who we draw for the octofinals.
Garza is gone and McCann has a deep muscle injury. We'll be seeing plenty of Ambrose I have a feeling. I agree he is looking quality at that wing back position.
Yet another way that we're better off at this point than we were last season. I almost see this like a video game where you get some kind of recognition (a star, whatever) for your first win, your first shutout, your first hattrick, yada. This is our first win in an elimination match.
Appears they reswizzled the geos for next round and we avoid the Loins of Central Florida. Looks like another home match, this time with the Chicago Fire: EAST REGION DC United vs. Orlando City SC Philadelphia Union vs. New York Red Bulls MIDEAST REGION Atlanta United vs. Chicago Fire Louisville City FC vs. Nashville SC MIDWEST REGION Houston Dynamo vs. Minnesota United Sporting Kansas City vs. FC Dallas WEST REGION LAFC vs. Sacramento Republic Portland Timbers vs. LA Galaxy
Okay. ATL vs Charleston I was quite surprised at the ability of the mostly-B-side to pull away the way they did in the second half. Especially as the Battery began to play more physical. I thought Williams did exceptionally well, as did Robinson. (No one really played badly) I did think having Barco and Carelton on the pitch at the same time made for an interesting dynamic, seeing as they're essentially looking to play the same role. Barco plays more all over while Andrew stays central, but they're both looking to play around a larger, central striker. As a result the attack seemed weighted to the right side last night, and cross from Gressel and Vasquez basically had to find Williams or hope the smaller lads could pick up the clearance. Vasquez worked hard but I can see why Gressel gets the start over him. Each time Brandon would work inside he would struggle to find the right pass or move to the right space opposite his offensive partner. Everyone else played fine considering the hodge-podge lineup. Glad Kann didn't have to do too much work. Onward to the Chicago match. Color me glad to not see Orlando next if only because of the drama they've created in the social media.
I kind of expect the starters (maybe with Williams and/or Carleton and/or Kann) today against the Fire. As a season ticket holder, I'll be in the stands. Any chance we actually get 40,000+?
Looking at the ticketmaster site there is a real chance at 40K+. As far as the lineup is concerned I hope Martinez gets the night off. No need to hurry back from a broken nose. With the limits on "foreign" players in this competition it'll be interesting to see the mix tonight. I'd expect we'll get 90 minutes from Robinson and hopefully get a full helping of Carleton as well.
Indeed, the lineup will be the biggest curiosity of the night. Won't be there myself as I had a work obligation that kept me until just now, but my ticket is being used so I'm still doing my part for the full house. Fingers crossed for that, as I think it would do wonders to boost the event if more teams can be "all in" for this tournament.
They played like a group of guys who had never played together before. Vasquez played like his hasn't touched a ball in 2 years. Williams forgot how to make a good solid pass. Blah. They played like a team who didn't care about the competition they were in and the crowd felt the same way.
As soon as I saw the lineups, I told my kids we'd probably lose. We had a B lineup with Villalba and Almiron and LGP. Chicago brought the A side. Our passes in the attacking third were atrocious. Vasquez was invisible, and Williams had a stone foot. Our wing play was infuriating; they took too many touches every single time. I don't think there was an early cross the whole game. Villalba had a lot of touches, but not very many useful ones. The FO took the game seriously, opened up MBS for 40,000+ to come see the game, and then the coaching staff laid an absolute egg. You win this game, you're guaranteed to play a lower-division side in the next round (whereupon you can play the subs again). We had the easiest route to a trophy I've ever seen (Charleston, Chicago, Louisville, ?, ?), and we threw it away.
As I shared in the general MLS USOC thread.... I'm just pissed. Not because of the loss but because Atlanta looked pathetic. All the hype about depth proved baseless for this game as pretty much everyone played like a wimp. Williams and Vasquez can't play at the same time or else the attack moves way too slow. Yes, Almiron and Villalba were on, as well, but the combination with those players combined with the B-team defense made for a discombobulated attack. Williams was drifting too close to the D for the ball and not stretching the Fire defense, while Vasquez tried to play like Barco instead of his usual, stronger body self. Meanwhile, Ambrose, Zizzo and especially Wheeler-Omiunu were just punchibly weak. It didn't help that the defensive "leader" was wildcard LGP, who played well but can't direct traffic. Combined this group struggled mightily to spearhead a transition game, with (by my count) 6 unforced turnovers and lots of dribbling into traffic. I don't care about losing in this tournament as much as I hate playing poorly. It begs all sorts of questions about strategy and training, form and confidence, etc. Just frustrating as hell, especially knowing some of the better teams have already been eliminated. This was an opportunity wasted against a team Atlanta should beat with a degree of comfort. Alas, tonight they tried to sleep walk thru the affair and the Fire snuck the win. F***.
In hindsight I don't mind the adjusted lineup. There's a big league match on the weekend and we've often clamored for squad rotation and giving these guys a chance. If anything the players themselves have to be feeling regret that they blew their chance to shine and live to play again. Williams at times has played like he could start in this league, but last night he was basically Kenwyne Jones. Wheeler-O, meanwhile, was not a good bridge between the D and the offense. I'm gutted because the event was there for the taking. The NY teams are already out, Atlanta would've been guaranteed to host against a US side in the next round... The path to the semis was about as favorable as it could have been. The only consolation is that they aren't the first team to lay an egg in such circumstances and won't be the last. Yay. They win the MLS cup then all will be forgiven, but their depth has been exposed and now the pressure is on.