It's Atlanta's turn to host the Battle for the South (or whatever this thing is called). Last time around, Atlanta played very poorly but left Orlando with three points. This time, Atlanta will again be without Josef Martinez, but with the first time welcoming OCSC to Atlanta and the final match at Bobby Dodd, I expect the team to be ready to make up for his absence. Orlando was so shell-shocked by the loss at home, the almost immediately went to sign Dom Dwyer, a man who has scored five times in 15 games for another MLS team. Kreis' team has struggled to score goals during the summer, being shut out three times since June, scoring six goals in seven matches. Atlanta's home form has been pretty darn good since an embarrassing loss to DCU on North Ave. The Five Stripes have won five in a row in their temporary home, averaging 2.625 goals at home this season. Will that pace be enough to outscore Orlando and their new toy? From MLS: Atlanta United Suspended: NONE Int’l Duty: NONE Injury Report: OUT: F - Kenwyne Jones (knee inflammation); GK - Alec Kann (left quad injury); D - Mark Bloom (lower back injury); QUESTIONABLE: F - Jacob Peterson (right lower leg injury); ALSO: F - Josef Martinez (foot injury) Orlando City Suspended: NONE Int’l Duty: NONE Injury Report: OUT: D - Rafael Ramos (hamstring strain); D - PC (adductor injury); D - Kevin Alston (hamstring injury) Will you miss Bobby Dodd? Will the close up shop in style?
Wish the last one at Bobby Dodd was another night game. Need extra sunscreen for this one, and will likely be forced to buy some extra water. I'll endure happily provided we win! Sucks Martinez isn't confirmed to go as his absence last time out proved a factor. Tito gave us a wonderful goal but he's not a 90' lead striker. Guzan gets to make his home debut. Hopefully he's on form like last week or, better yet, isn't needed as dramatically. AU will need to do much better retaining possession on the wings this time around, and be prepared for a full 90' of Larin. I'm guessing 2-1 good guys, at the moment. Would love more, as I do enjoy cheap burritos, but 3 points is the most important part.
I just looked at the remainder of the schedule. Two things: We're backloaded a bunch of home games- nine of the remaining 14 are at the Benz. That can only work in our favor. Can somebody tell me EXACTLY how this schedule is set up- and why? I can't seem to find the info I'm looking for anywhere. Maybe it's me. I was under the impression that we played everybody in our division twice and everybody in the West once, plus three matches to bring the total to 34. But I see that we get DC a third time. What's the rationale for not having a simple v. division twice and v. West once for a total of 31 matches? The additional three matches screw up what would (and should) be a balanced schedule.
Well a couple of those weekday matches were due to the delayed opening of the Benz. They were supposed to be in August, but with the construction delays, they were rescheduled to September. Also, you may recall us being on he road basically all of April due to GT's spring football. with each club playing 17 matches at home, 17 on the road, it would follow that a month of matches on the road would produce a similar timeframe of matches at home. I can't explain other MLS decisions.
Oh, I completely understand the reason behind the "Why do we play here/there now/then?". It's the matchups themselves I don't get. As it stands, we're not all playing the same teams the same # of times. That's just wrong, and it's even wronger because it could be made right so simply. No prob. Thanks all the same. I hope somebody chimes in eventually with some help for me.
My musings: Loving the "lion tamer" moniker being applied to Villalba after back to back heroics against Orlando. We need a proper right back. Mears was showing his miles early this year and now Walkes is showing limitations in his conversion from central defense. Not faulting Anton as he's playing out of position but he simply doesn't have the instinct/training to play in this role. He's game, he's good in the box defensively, but he's a bit lost moving forward. Especially when building out of the back I feel bad for the fans Orlando. They have to be the floppingist team in history. Their strategy of hoofing long balls and falling down for free kicks had to be a drag for the people that actually give a damn about the beautiful game. Related, when you have refs that reward that behavior it's frustrating beyond belief Is it time to call up Romario Williams from Charleston? If Martinez continues to be unavailable I'd like to bring up Williams for a spell. He performed well for Jamaica at the Gold Cup and we can use the cover as we approach the busy season. With no Josef and no Kenwyn we're a bit thin up top with only Tito and Vazquez
Walkes was very, very poor in possession this match. Not bad defensively, but lost the ball a whole lot and just doesn't add ANYTHING to the attack. This is the only real priority we have on the roster. We need to find a legit RB in the offseason.
Anton's passing was poor this match. Either poorly weighted or poorly directed. Bit of an "off" match for him but he's certainly not the finished article. This is to be expected though. He's young and inexperienced as well as playing a position that isn't his preferred ( according to many ). Not worried too much, though we need to be working on a viable permanent option.