I think Nick touched it slightly to even get it onto the post in the first place. Not just you; it isn't even really close.
Rusnak blew that attack, and turned it over to start the sequence on which Atlanta scored that screamer. He had first Plata and then Savarino running open into space and went with neither, dropping the ball back instead to Kyle who was good and covered.
I had hoped we'd get Luke some minutes, and in a game where we've essentially lost with 30 minutes left (can't come back when we generate zero offense), this seems a good occasion for it.
I'd like to see him return as a late sub at home where we're winning. Should have been versus Minnesota but we couldn't manage to pull away from them.
I don’t know if you could see it on TV but after the game nearly every ATL player came to shake hands with Rimando, including coach Tata Martino. We all cheered him.
This. ATL has a much better roster and a terrific home advantage. I was happy with Petke’s decision to play them straight up and not park the bus. I was a bit surprised at how anemic our attack was. I think our strikers all were a bit selfish and missed opportunities to distribute to teammates in dangerous positions. The ATL playmaker, Almiron certainly is talented but came across as a c*** in my opinion.
I watched the whole game. Pretty much. RSL is getting to be a little frustrating. They seemingly have the talent to be a playoff team and possibly a team good enough to earn a bye but they also have the ability to be a team that plays themselves right out of the playoffs. I think some of this is talent obviously. One or two quality players at needed positions like a 9 and someone to fill or take Kyles shoes would/could go a long way to RSL being a contender moving forward. That being said if they could play like they did against Houston, CRapids and LA even in the slightest they would be near or at the top of the table in the west. So it could be argued they have the talent already but ifs and buts. If that's the case then maybe it's coaching? Tough to say. Is RSL playing above or below their talent level and is Petke the reason that they are playing above their talent level? Or is he the reason they are not playing up to their potential? If you ask me I think the answer is more talent. I think that with the RSL team as put together Mike is getting about as much out of them as anyone else not coaching in the EPL or other "top" flight league. There certainly is room for improvement on both sides though. I think that better coaching could help RSL be a little more consistent but it must be tough with amount of youth on the this team. Would better coaching help to eliminate the selfishness that kills this team on offense time and time again? Do they just need to make them watch Atlanta game tapes to show them what unselfishness, and talent of course, can do to make teams dangerous at all times? I don't know but pass the damn ball Sava. Plata has sucked the last two games.
As an aside, am I missing something big with Herrera? I have absolutely no clue why he keeps playing at left back. Is he secretly great and I'm just not seeing it? I thought he was the worst player on the field in this one but I fully expect him to start against SKC as well.
Who the hell else is going to play LB? Acosta seems to have killed Petke's dog and Demar Phillips isn't in the gameday 18 ever... I see some upside with Herrera, I just wish he was on the right side so his inability to play with his left foot wasn't so damn painful to watch. His athleticism, alone, is something we just don't have much of in this squad and is what he uses to bail himself out of poor soccer decisions.
Yeah I'd definitely rather have Herrera as a backup RB than Barry or Henley, or whoever else we can dig out of a European lower league. He's not bad. But it was only like 8 months ago that Danny was being called into the national team, and people were talking him up like he's one of the best left backs in the league. If it's just an issue between Acosta and Petke, then I'm just really tired of Petke's personal beefs hurting the team.
We didn't lose by 5+ goals, which is a success in my books given the opponent Which, this might have been the most complete team I've ever watched play in MLS. ATL is confident in EVERY aspect of the game/pitch. They have a legitimate top GK, a defense that is sound with the ball at their feet and can cover ground quickly, a midfield that will make you chase and chase and chase until you run out of breath, and an offense that will take a half chance and bury it at a frequency that is absurd. ATL showed why having a 9 is so vital to a team in this one. While Martinez didn't end up on the scoresheet, he certainly kept our backline busy and created loads of space and opportunities for the players behind him. In fact, the first goal is created by a terrific run by Martinez to open up the entire back half of the box. We simply don't have that kind of player in our system and desperately need it in order to have any chance at competing in this league. ******** this 9 by committee approach, it's not going to work against the top teams in the league. Rimando looked like old Rimando in this one. That was nice. I'm happy to hear ATL fans appreciated it and got to see it. The difference between Besler and MSilva is quite stark. I was happy Marcelo was back. With Besler, we probably give up another goal or two in this one. Lennon showed the downside of playing him in this one. He should be tracked back on the first ATL goal. While I don't think he likely gets to Almiron, he should be MUCH closer. To then say "I think it went out of bounds" when it was in by almost an entire yard... yeah, that shows just how out of position he was. This game also highlighted how important Sunny is, again. Petke's hesitation to play him earlier in the year is an understated thing that likely had a lot more to do with our slow start than people will give it credit for. Though, why the hell did Petke not sub Sunny!? The dude was asking for the second yellow from the 50th min on. While I agree our front four are "selfish" I don't think that is what is the biggest problem. The lack of a 9 to connect with is. It's creating selfish play. It's encouraging selfish play. Not having a consistent guy to play into has created a setup where the front 4 don't look confident in finding a guy in front of them. This was perfectly on display in the first half when Savarino had the ball, running at their backline, and Rusnak made a great run. Instead of playing him through on a first or second touch, Savarino held onto the ball and Rusnak's run eventually led him to an offside position. Savarino finally released the ball, but too late. You see this a lot with the front four and it gets chalked up to selfish play. Which, don't get me wrong, is certainly part of it. But these guys show a willingness to combine in the middle third a lot. It's the final third that becomes a mess and I think not having a point man is showing. I don't have much hope for Sunday's match in KC. If we play like we did here, we'll keep it close. Maybe we can somehow steal a point, but that is best case scenario, IMO The good news is that PDX and SEA both dropped points most (myself included) thought they would pickup. So this loss, while certainly expected, didn't actually do much damage. Kudos to ATL on a great game. Certainly the better team
Perhaps combining responses from a couple of threads - the talent gap was about $3.0 million wide. At the end of the day, I do think that Petke is getting as much as can be expected where RSL has too many young, inexperienced, and "round peg in square hole" players. It is turning out to be a pretty good developmental year IMHO.