Orlando, despite being a man down for most of the game, almost matched us in shots (13 vs. 14); matched us in "duels won";, and beat us in time of possession; passes; passing accuracy; crosses; and tackles won. The one point we took from the match was an undeserved gift. Had Mattocks been successful in either of his two chances and we came away with a win, it would nonetheless have been a shockingly inept performance.
Serie A - including Milan vs Inter = and what was left of serie B (most games are played on saturday) stopped and did not play today. Even a serie B game that was supposed to be played tomorrow night has been postponed. I am happy to belong to the culture of "the show must NOT go on"
What is really disappointing is that Orlando had 5 major players missing in their lineup AND they were a man down. They were still able to dominate stretches of the game making it look like they were the team with a man up.
I noticed the throw-ins also and made a comment to my friends while we were watching the game. I was surprised we didn't get called for a couple of foul throws.
I kind of agree with this and also with whom wrote about the fatigue (and also the stress of not knowing exactly when you will fly, I would add). In the first half yesterday, we looked like we could kill them when we wanted (unfortunately we didn't), it was like playing cat and mouse; in the second half Orlando came back strong but it also looked like we did let them play and only try to limit the damage, we never press them - they were constantly in our half. We have seen this before, with other players on the field, so obviously it can't be always the players fault. Gentlemen, this tactic of trying to defend the lone goal is what we have seen for years now, and it hasn't really brought much. This tactic has a responible with a name and a last name: BEN OLSEN.
The difference in quality between this game and the Toronto Columbus game was breathtaking. At least OC was missing 5 players and was a man down. This ref sure likes a rough game. Funny enough I called both of the VAR items that were overturned, the handball and the red card. The handball seemed iffy at first but if you put your arms out there like that you are just asking for trouble if the ref can see it. The red card was obvious. The game just does not allow striking the head. Again, if its seen you will be gone. VAR has reduced the chances these incidents are not caught by the ref because they were obstructed or didn't have a good line of sight.
By the way, no problems at all with Spirit, both flights were fine and departed on time and arrived early. To compensate, Orlando airport is as disorganized as I have only seen in Casablanca, it took me almost 45 minutes to clear security this morning, and they were letting people's bags go under the X rays with everything inside, laptop, liquids etc. I didn't even have to take my shoes away. I noticed the same thing coming back from Fort Lauderdale a few years ago, so I' m wondering if it is a Florida thing. Also, it make me wonder if taking out of the bag laptop, liquids shoes elsewhere is an exageration, or if in Orlando they value security differently and not so "secure".
Both VAR calls were good. I can see orlando fans upset by the handball, but the arm to the head has to get out of the game.
Florida is a real estate scam "passing" as a "state" so nothing that happens there surprises me. If I were you, buy property in Orlando, within 10 years it will be Atlantic beachfront property. Good riddance to bad rubbish.
The throw ins have been a problem for years. I used to count joe many we lost and we were routinely in he 65-70% range in ‘16 and ‘17 I stopped because it sucks. Dumb luck should put you at 50% but we generally take too long to set up and don’t ever have our top skill guy come short. If you play quick and have a skill guy (Acosta) come short you should maintain possession most of the time. We almost always play long forward throws after allowing the defense to set up. I never see Acosta come short to get the ball.
I couldn't really tell about the penalty, but PC's stroke with the hand in the air is totally intentional, 100%. These players need to wake up, because with VAR there's almost no chance to escape from a yellow or red card.
No they were not both good. That was not a handball. The arm was in a natural position, he did not move it and it was ball to hand. The second call was right, arm to the head is a directive the refs have been given. The handball however was wrong.
I guess you could argue that - and you did - but the hand came up to hit the ball, it was a handball ......... in real time it looked ball to hand (which by the way can still be legit called a handball) - but slo-mo clearly shows the hand move out first and that's what the ball hit. The ball wold not have hit it had it stayed tight to the body. To make up for the possibly bad call, we muffed the shot to keep it even.
All I will say is that in no replay I saw did the arm move. If you saw it fine but I did not so that is why I took this stance I took on the call. I doubt I would have called it if I had the whistle.
Here’s the thing for me. In other countries VAR is working because it is only used in cases where a call is obvious and the official quickly moves to review the play. What has happened in MLS is play continues, then randomly stops and a call that is at best 50/50 is reviewed for too long before a decision is made. I guarantee you we will face a call through VAR that bones us, and we might as well get mad about it now. The rule for applying VAR should be only for those times when the VAR official views what he or she believes was indisputable evidence of overturning a play. This would be the reverse of NFL football rules where any close play can be reviewed and indisputable evidence must be observed to overturn a rule.
The only thing I would add to support Bazakos's behavior Saturday was that the stadium was very loud and it was apparent that he was having trouble hearing transmissions through his ear piece. It may have been that the VAR response was prompt, but Bazakos just didn't hear him at first.
When it comes to hands or elbows to the head, maybe VAR will finally curtail it some. If that's ALL it ever does, it's worth it.
Bazakos is just a inconsistent ref plain and simple. Hearing may have delayed the call but he is all over the place with his calls.
Per Goff, that was Ben's idea. He hasn't yet settled on a captain, so Birnbaum was Captain for a Day.
It’s easy to forget that Birnbaum is actually almost 28. His lack of international caps and the struggles of this team make me think he’s younger.