Atlanta United FC vs. Sporting Kansas City Mercedes-Benz Stadium - Atlanta May 9 - 7:30 pm ET Fox SportSouth MLSsoccer.com preview here. AJC.com notes here. (Preview not yet posted) A midweek special that is, in fact, special! SKC takes their Atlanta bow Wednesday night in a contest that pits the top team from each conference. Is it too early to pull the "Possible MLS Cup preview" talk? (Answer: Yes.) The AJC offers it best: Atlanta United has scored 93 goals since its inaugural game against New York Red Bulls on March 5, 2017. That is more than any other MLS team. They are averaging 2.16 goals per game and are one of just two teams averaging more than two goals per game. Toronto is the other (2.02 per game). ... But stopping teams is just as important as scoring. Since the start of the 2017 season, Sporting KC has allowed 41 goals, the fewest of any team. Led by Ike Opara and Matt Besler, they are allowing 0.93 goals per game and are the only team in the league averaging less than one goal against per game. Sporting KC has been a model franchise for the league ever since their new venue and rebranding gave the team and its fans the ultimate sports do-over. Head Coach Peter Vermes, who has re-upped as the team looks to keep him from taking the USMNT job, has installed a system and found players that execute said system well. It's not always pretty for the neutral but it does demonstrate how to play effective defense and keep your team in games: Within that same time frame (last season plus this year-to-date) SKC's few losses have all been by 1 point except for a pair of 2-0 losses! *insert immovable object vs unstoppable force here* For Atlanta the timing offers additional intrigue. Not only are the Five Stripes coming off a tough road win in Chicago but they'll have to turn around and prepare for another road trip to 3rd-in-the-East Orlando 4 days later. For those keeping score Atlanta has played a lot of home games thus far, so the travel dates could take a toll later and thus the home games now carry added weight. For Atlanta Franco Escobar is (as of Tuesday) not expected to play Wednesday following his collision with Brad Guzan late Saturday night. McCann would be the presumed fill-in but his own fitness may remain a doubt if the hamstring is still tender, so it's likely we'll see Ambrose or Zizzo make an appearance on outside defense. Alternate option would be to move Larentowicz into a back three and give Robinson or Wheeler-Omiunu another run. The options up top are more favorable and essentially unchanged from last weekend, with Vasquez the only notable name available. Whether or not Tata is ready to move Villalba back into the starting rotation or decides to change the shape is anyone's guess. Breakaway speed will not be as critical in this game as opposed to ball control, patience, and cutting verve, so in lieu of adding a defensive player Atlanta could load the offense and play all-out attack. (Doubtful, but you have to admit it would be fun to watch!) Tactically SKC will employ their own style of defense-first ball control. They're not a classic counter-attacking team in that they're happy to retain possession and prefer to play in the opposing third, with a surprisingly deft press that tends to choke teams' Plan A approach. They excel at clamping down on opposing ball handlers and limiting ground passes into the box, so teams tend to grow desperate and try more aerial assaults or shots from distance. This gets even tighter if SKC take the lead, because SKC have a veteran-laden team (Zusi, Opara, Besler, Shelton...) that is not easily rattled. This is one where I'd ask Atlanta to not be afraid to shoot but be sure to follow the shots and keep them on target. SKC specializes in limiting opportunities, so Atlanta needs to take every one offered an keep the game moving back at SKC quickly at every turn. Look for Martinez to make the effort to come back to the ball more and invite the wings to run ahead, as well as making more horizontal runs to draw players away from Almiron and co. Gressel may have a tougher time on his usual right side (though he has been off the past 2 games, comparably speaking) so when he is in he and Nagbe will be more critical to their support of Miggy in the central part of the field. I do think a 2-1 win is there for the taking, but 1-1 or 1-0 (W) feels more likely. The last month has shown the team has the grit to pull a tough game out but the trick will be the defensive solidity.
My interesting matchup is Atlanta's left sided attack against KC's right side of defense. Almiron and Garza against Zusi. I know KC is sound defensively but Atlanta should be able to exploit Zusi with all of the pace available on the left side.
I have an intense dislike for Mark Geiger. United will be going into Orlando and their offense starting a fourth-string keeper. Awesome.
People are blind if they don't think that was straight red. I don't understand last night's tactics. After the red card, Atlanta abandoned the left side of the field which was wide open....unless Barco was there. But Garza had acres of space to provide width and they rarely used it.
No question about the red card. But I was at the Panama-Mexico debacle at the Georgia Dome a few years ago, and guess who was the referee of that one Mark Geiger. My larger issue is the application of law 11 in the Martinez offside. It was revised a few years ago, and in my biased opinion, the defender made a deliberate play at the ball, thus not offside. Great crowd for a Wed night match.
I think I had a bigger problem with the ARs last night. Two key moments were the Martinez offside call where I thought he was played on by the defender's touch and the 2nd KC goal where I thought he was offside by a country mile. Outside of Guzan's obvious red I thought we played admirably. Had several dangerous moments. Kratz is a wonder on free kicks. two great attempts on frame. Full marks to the KC keeper to handle those as well as several other dangerous chances. Not our night. Hoping we can right the ship for Orlando. Will need all the possession and goals we can muster with our 4th choice keeper starting
Yeah, I was there and thought the striker for the second KC goal was offside by a mile. Still haven't seen a good replay of it. And along those lines, I obviously have no idea what offside is anymore. I thought on Martinez's disallowed goal, the KC defender made a deliberate attempt to play the ball, and thus, the goal should've stood. Is that not the current rule?
As posted on the PBP thread... Okay, I’ve still obviously not had time to watch the TV version of the match so all of this is still based on my view from the endline. - Full credit to SKC. They’re a disciplined team and they took full advantage of the opportunity provided. Last night their keeper was on form and as a unit they did well with controlling the game once they went up a man. I completely understand and respect why they’re in typically in every game they play. (ie: When they lose they rarely lose by more than 1.) For now they appear the class of the western conference. - Guzan’s red. Earned and I have no idea what he was thinking. Yes, earlier laziness with the ball led to the turnover that shouldn’t have happened and fate was cruel to have the lead pass slip right under the defender’s legs, still the expectation from the keeper is to not go all-in to the point of being ejected. Better to allow the breakaway shot opportunity and risk going down a goal than to go down a man only 30’ in. Especially given your own team’s offensive potential. Stupid move on Guzan’s part, I say, and ultimately this is what cost Atlanta the game. I pin this loss squarely on Atlanta’s keeper. - Re: Coach Martino’s tactics: Villalba was back in the starting XI last night. Rotation was necessary given the upcoming weekend trip to Orlando and obviously there was some thinking that having all of Martinez, Barco, Almiron and Villalba on at the same time provided a lot of cutting speed to attack the SKC defense. However Tata inserted Villalba in place of Gressel, whereas most fans I spoke before the game assumed an attack formation would’ve added Villalba at the expense of Laretowicz. (Whether Gressel or Kratz rounds out that XI is another element of the debate.) This enigma was compounded when Villalba was the one subbed off after Guzan’s red card, reducing Atlanta’s speed and attacking options. While that’s conventional defensive thinking it also meant the slower Larentowicz was left on the field to do a whole lot of chasing while also sitting on an early yellow card. Jeff’s a very good defender for MLS levels but tactically I would’ve gone a different route, especially if Jeff, Parkurst and Pirez show signs of fatigue on Sunday. - If you couldn’t hear it I need to tip my cap to the Atlanta crowd, because after the SKC goal and as the Five Stripes looked to tie late in the game we got behind our team. The sustained attack Atlanta forged in the last 10 minutes (up to the 2nd goal) looked and felt like the players were feeding off our encouragement. I’m not saying the crowd was the best ever or anything, but last night had that kind of moment where we could’ve cut our losses and simply voiced frustration or spend our energy urging the team forward with hope, and we chose the latter. Loved every friggin moment of that! - The ref. Assuming every referee is competent enough to warrant their post all the fans and players ever ask beyond that is consistency, and last night Geiger was anything but. On three distinct occasions (2 for ATL and 1 for SKC) he would not call something at one end and then call it 30 seconds later on the opposite end. He routinely neglected attacks from behind, and until proven otherwise I’ll go to the grave believing he missed a handball and that the 2nd goal was offside. That he appeared to so quickly and adamantly brush off calls for a review after that goal I thought was unprofessional given the circumstances and how he handled the reversal of Martinez’ goal in the first half. I won’t say he determined the outcome of the game, but he did adversely affect how the players acted on the pitch and for that he needs to be called out. It wasn’t a single case of human error but a pattern of ineptitude. If that’s a one off game for him then so be it. S*** happens. If he’s like this more often than not then the league is doing itself, the teams and the fans a disservice with his employment.
Agreed, and this is the 2nd time for me because the same happened for NYC's 2nd goal. It's as if there's a lack of cameras or something because to me that was very obvious. So, apparently as a rule of thumb we can't let team's with blue jerseys attack the supporters end in the 2nd half or they'll get a bonus non-call goal opportunity!
My son was a player escort last night and walked out with KC's keeper. After the match, I jokingly told him I wished he would've walked out with Guzan, as he obviously gave the KC keeper some good luck!
I just shared emails with Doug Roberson, the United beat reporter for the AJC, according to him the 2nd goal was onside and he implied there was no handball. I'll disagree on the latter based on precedent seen elsewhere (ie: debate on "intent"), but if he says the 2nd goal was legit I'll take his word for it.
No, it was an ejection. One of the few calls I agreed with. But then we have the offsides, the handball, the foul calls... I'll admit I have a bias against Geiger. After the Gold Cup semi, I never want to see him referee a game in Atlanta again. He gets no benefit of the doubt with me. So of course MLS seems to keep assigning him to Atlanta's big games. Apparently Tata isn't that big of a fan either, since he said this to the Spanish press... The players looked exhausted after the game last night. With tired legs and a fourth-choice keeper, I'm not liking Atlanta's chances on Sunday against a surging Orlando. Prove me wrong boys.
The Post-game show on 92.9 were talking about he 2nd goal and they said there was a still photo where it showed the SKC player onside. The Beasler hand/no hand reminds me of the US vs Germany in 2002.
I've now seen a few tweets with video that seem to show Besler did NOT handle the ball. Looks like it hits him in the chest just under his armpit. Angle 2 seals it - zero contact with his arm. pic.twitter.com/kHSugEQpjX— Bails (@bigObails) May 10, 2018 Martinez's disallowed goal, however.....sheesh. There's currently a pretty lengthy discussion in the ref's forum here on BS about that call, and even they're split almost 50/50 as to whether the KC defender "played" the ball as required to negate the fact that Martinez was in an offside position and, thus, let the goal stand.
I thought Villalba would be the player sacrificed. 1. Villalba is not up to last season’s form yet. It seems like he’s still working up. I think it likely that Tata had planned a switch in the second half, bringing on someone to allow a tactical switch to a three-back. The mid-game tactical switch worked for him recently. And I always expected Villalba being subbed out to be part of that plan (unless perhaps we were up by multiple goals). 2. Tata couldn’t leave both Barco and Villalba on the field. Neither of them provide that much defensive support or cover on the outside - for different reasons. So which is more likely to pull off? The not-quite-in-season form player or the record breaking transfer he just signed? 3. There’s no way he pulls Larentowicz when down to 10 men unless he subs in another midfielder who will stay in the middle between the attack and backline. With all of our attacking midfield players free to make runs wherever and switch areas of the field pretty much at will, I think Tata now knows he needs 2 midfielders who will be disciplined in front of the backline. That’s been Larentowicz and Nagbe. Notice that Larentowicz doesn’t come out until Kratz comes in. He’s been our other midfielder to play in front of the backline with Nagbe and be one of the positionally disciplined midfielders. (Note that a few games ago when we were up a man(?) and chasing goals, Kratz and Nagbe both lost their positioning discipline in the desire to get/add goals and we’re making runs into and around the box. When that happened, we almost immediately gave up a goal or almost gave up several chances. They got back in their roles quickly after that.) Players like Almiron and Martinez have been good at getting back on occasion (M) or often (A) to challenge for and win balls. But they don’t do it such that you can rely on it in your set-up. It’s more of a press-to-counter approach for them. That’s not a criticism of them; it’s just the nature of the roles they’ve been given. We’ll likely only go away from having to midfielders in that stay-at-home role when we are chasing a goal later in games. I certainly wouldn’t expect to see it in the first half when we just went down to 10-men. 4. Most every time I’ve criticized a player this season for not being in form yet, they manage to have a great game the next time out! So here’s hoping that holds for Villalba!
Guzan is a dumb dumb. 36'? 11v11 down 1-0 is way better than 0-0 11v10. Hell, considering he knows we're down to a 4th string back up, and Orlando is next, I don't even want him taking a red after 80' in this game. That's something you do in the playoffs after ~75' when it tactically makes. These are things keepers and defenders should always have in the back of their mind, but rarely do because coaches don't cover it. Same for mids taking yellows, some times it is smart, many times it's not even tactically worth it. Most of Jeff's are smart, most of LGP's are insanely stupid. Sendoff* - no such thing as an ejection in the LOTG Offside* Let's at least pretend like we have some edumuhcated fans!