"The boys are back in town..." A 7 PM Saturday night kick off in Bobby Dodd Stadium (@ HGF) as AU starts their first ever back-to-back home stand! I'm sure the notion of not getting onto a plane next week will feel weird and possibly disorienting. Martinez remains out and from the sounds of the latest reports he's not even formally training with the side on the pitch, so expect 2-3 more weeks of musical chairs up front. Peterson also remains out but as of Friday morning the possibility that Garza could return is still on the table. Look for him to make the 18 but possibly start on the bench, pending Tata's gameplan. Houston comes in after having played a mid-week special in Philly, losing 3-0 to the surging Union, but the Dynamo remain near the top of the Western Division leaderboard and tied for the league lead in goals scored this season. Hopefully they'll come in a little jet-lagged and taken aback from the loss where their defense looked highly suspect. To me this game screams speed on the pitch, so I'd start with the same line-up as we saw last week. (ie: No Jones in the 1st 11) Might consider Ambrose for the start this week and expect Kratz to come one sooner if they feel the need to keep the pressure high throughout. Carmona will also need to do a better job staying home and not leaving Jeff on a defensive island because Houston will seek a lot of quick counter strikes. 3-1 to the good guys, I say. Tito gets back into form and the crowd/setting drives the team on. Time to really get back onto the self-belief bandwagon.
Various press wonks have implied he might be on the bench, so it's possible. For now, though, I can't see him playing in a match where the points are in doubt.
Might be rainy this evening. Bring a poncho. Hopefully Houston will be tired and travel-weary and we can put together a defensive effort like last time. I'm guessing 2-1 for the good guys.
Rough start with the delay, but eventually the weather was pretty good and much more pleasant than the 3PM game a few weeks ago. The result was obviously great, but I don't think we played all that well. We have lost games were we have created more chances than today. Houston was awful though, no attack whatsoever.
If by "good guys" you meant Almiron all by himself, then you were right. Really, though, the first three were all great team efforts. The second one especially with Gressel saving the ball off the end line to start the sequence. Well done all around. Bad luck on the Houston PK. Really shouldn't have gone to ground there, but when you're up big at the end and trying to save a shutout I'll give you a freebie.
I saw this one on TV, but the (televised) atmosphere at Bobby Dodd is consistently on par with anything I've seen on average, and a large enough crowd to be worthy of any league anywhere. But I'm starting to be concerned that it won't translate as well to the Benz.
Curious to hear your further thoughts on this, because from my perspective I thought AU played very well. Defensive midfield has been a persistent issue for the team and Saturday they did a much better job in that regard, which is partly why Houston's attack was as anemic as you said. United was almost playing 3 in the back, with Parkhurst pushing out wide right while Mears went forward, while Carmona and Larentowicz took turns practically man-marking key Houston ball handlers. Cubo Torres was often left without options when he got the ball, so their breakaways rarely yielded a decent shot attempt. I also loved how Almiron stayed central. This was much more in line with what I presume to be Tata's vision because it made him a more productive option for all facets of the attack. Granted, Houston was able to/trying to lock him down because of it and that's why the wings were open with regularity. That the likes of Villalba (who seems on a down streak), Garza and Asad had their struggles was as much due to Houston defense as anything, I feel. Houston is not a bad team, after all. Offensively United has been more productive but given how inconsistent the ref was with regard to physical play it's easy to see why the boys might've struggled, because a lot of 50-50 balls and efforts to bypass a defender were lost due to physical play that sometimes drew the whistle and sometimes didn't. Without seeing the replay there was one foul I thought should've seen a Dynamo player sent off because a lot of arms were being thrown, and when that happens the side looking to possess the ball tends to get skittish. Yeah, that was a bummer. Not sure if Jeff slipped due to field conditions or what but c'est la vie. As you said, at that point a little leeway is warranted. Why do you feel this way, and what do you think we could do to prevent a drop in atmosphere? Personally I think the new venue will help, pending the resulting acoustic conditions. Bobby Dodd has a cumbersome delay in the echo that has lead to many chants dying quickly or struggling to get off the ground. I also know it will help to not be in the stifling heat and sun during the day games. Big time! Lot of folks said the 3 PM kick off left a lot of people feeling drained and everyone seems to prefer the night time setting, so hopefully the climate controlled venue with the overhanging roof will provide a more balanced atmosphere that let's us concentrate on the game and not possible sun stroke.
Bobby Dodd is not an acoustically engineered stadium. It's open air, has open ends, is not cohesive. It's not even a really great venue to watch a game, as the lower level can't see sidelines. But it's our home for now and I like it. MBS should be phenomenally better.
I'm glad we took care of business this match. It wasn't a complete performance, as our backline still game up some chest-clinching chances, but overall, we were solid going forward. Good to see us finally producing goals again!
Upper deck can't see the near sideline, either. It was designed for watching a game on a 53 & 1/3 yard wide field. The Atlanta United sideline is about 10 yards closer to the stands on each side. It's not ideal, but I'd rather watch the game with 45,000 of my closest friends than somewhere that only holds 12-15,000 folks. Mercedes-Benz Stadium is being designed for both types of football, so hopefully we'll get a better view in the new venue.
I hope that works out in our favor compared to BD, which doesn't hold sound. I've seen a couple of WUSA matches there and a DCI event that wasn't nearly as loud as it could have been. I guess I'm being a bit paranoid because the Benz is larger. I foresee attendance of the sort that'll require opening the upper deck (Bottom level will hold 40K per Wiki, and we'll stay above that), but not quite sellout attendance. I expect to see a rise, maybe 55-60K, but those days when the deck is open and only 50K or so show up, it'll seem cavernous. You make an excellent point about the heat, but I'm actually wishing against hope for a smaller stadium of our own someday, about 50K. A "Baby Bernabeu". Okay, didn't know this. Absolutely. 12-15K is a joke. My town's municipal stadium holds 12K and it was standing room only every Friday night when I was in HS. I'm wondering how many other MLS clubs lack our atmosphere because their SSS can't hold everyone who wants to see them. I'm sure we will.
The team has indicated that they're not going to open the upper deck except for special circumstances when they know it will mostly sell out. Reason being is it makes no sense to make the space physically accessible and then provide the additional security and concessionaires for just a few thousand folks, especially considering the impact that would have on ticket demand vs. keeping the fixed, smaller capacity. Better to have 42k sell outs at higher ticket prices then to have 50k games with plenty of extra seats depressing demand.
Couldn't agree more. As a season ticket holder I'd rather keep a high value for my tickets. Not that I plan on selling any, but there will be a few times I just have to. Unless we can guarantee a full sell out, I'd always rather keep it at the 42k lower bowl.
Agreed. That would keep the atmosphere high, as well, which I think will be critical these next few years. Sustain that through a few more trials and I'll feel more confident that we can pull it off regardless of on-field performance, a la Seattle. We'll make the game an event to see simply by virtue of the happenings in the stands.
Indeed. Maybe just go for sell outs against Orlando. Would have been nice to do that this year but maybe next year. If both teams market it properly and Orlando maybe helps bus in some fans, I'd think they could get at least 10k up here considering how well they are doing at home games. I now I'm going to try and get to away games down there most every year.
I think MBS will sell out that opening game on 9/10 and we'll probably see a near sellout for the final game, although that's the same day as the Falcons-Pats rematch in Boston (kick at 8:30 for NBC). If we keep the capacity at 40,000 and sell that out every time, I have no issues. The stadium will be great. I can see us selling out season openers, holiday matches and "big-name" matches (i.e. Orlando, DC, LA). Right now, BDS is a great home. It's not ideal, but we're creating traditions and an atmosphere from scratch.