New England Revolution vs Atlanta United Gillette Stadium — Foxborough, MA May 30 - 7:30 pm ET Fox SportSouth(?) MLSsoccer.com preview here. AJC.com preview here. Three Questions here. Short and simple this morning. New England is 2-2-2 in their last six and has played some decent ball under first year coach Brad Friedel. Their rep is one of adjusting tactics to match specifically against each opponent, often with one player man-marking the other team's playmaker. They have tried to play a pocket-pressing style with aggressive pressure up high and in the defending third, but often get caught without the numders to effectively close opponents down. (Essentially the difference in effectiveness between they and NYRB.) Their strikers in Bunbury and Penilla have been solid enough that the Revs are a fair threat on attack, but it's midfielders Caicedo and Fagundez who drive this ship. Larentowicz and Company will need to make sure Atlanta's attacking midfielders do their part of keep those two at bay and to make sure the Stirpes hold the ball well when building their own attacks. For Atlanta Garza is out due to both injury and red card suspension while LGP misses today's match due to accumulation. Good news is that both McCann and Escobar are back and listed healthy enough to play. Better still, NER played a weekend match at Vancouver and may be a little fatigued by comparison. Atlanta needs a complete performance tonight and at least 1 point as they look to right the ship. Hopefully the layoff provided rest and perspective following their 2 recent losses.
The back line looked much more stable with Escobar back there. In fact, the defense looked pretty good against a decent attack all game. If we could find the back of the net, this game should have been 4-1. Kratz had a brain fart and failed to clear the ball that led to the PK, but I think the Revs deserved a goal in that game. They played well and bossed possession for some stretches. On the other hand, Barco and Almiron each had multiple clear opportunities to find a second goal for King Peach and failed to put them home.
I don't think the Revs "deserved" a goal. Apart from the last 10 minutes they were at best holding serve with Atlanta and we're definitely the weaker team on the whole. Alas Atlanta gaffed 3 solid chances and killed other prime build up play. 2 pts lost in my book.
From the 1st half, I'd think Atlanta has some serious problems. They could not clear the ball and retain possession. Anytime the ball worked its way backwards, it turned into an immediate turnover. Atlanta is a short team, and they were consistently outjumped in the midfield. The problem seems to be the offensive 3 are moving forward too soon and the midfield 4 are too close to the defense, resulting in a 40+ yard pass. Atlanta just wasn't clean enough on the long passes, and the press discouraged them from trying the short passes. It changed a bit in the second half, when NER backed off their press a bit. If the PK against Atlanta was a PK, then the earlier no-call against New England (on Ambrose at 51') was also a PK. It would probably have been better for both to be no-calls. Neither time did the referee even appear to consider a review. Consistency isn't something associated with MLS refereeing. I wonder if that's a priority for them?
Atlanta screwed the pooch and there’s nothing else to say about it. No reason we should ever not beat the Revolution, but our fault is we are the most one dimensional team in the league. We are going to swarm the ball, counter, and hope one of the big three can wiggle their way around oppposing defenders into the goal. Once teams figure this strategy out, it’s like rewatching USA-Spain Confed Cup 2009, except we’re Spain. Josef Martinez is too short to be an aerial threat. He needs help. And, by the way, we do happen to have this 6’3 extremely promising American forward that Tata refuses to play in favor of iron foot Romario Williams.
Next game, who I’d like to see: ——-Martinez—Villalba———- Barco——Almiron———Gressel ——-Nagbe——Larentowicz—— —-LGP——Parky——Miles——- —————-Guzan——————- Bench: Kann, Escobar, McCann, Kratz, Williams, Carleton, Vasquez Subs: Vasquez (Villalba) 60 Carleton (Gressel) 75 McCann (Larentowicz) 75
In his defense he's scored a good number of headers for the club because a) he can jump like he's on springs, and b) he can clear space for himself from his marking defender. But, yeah, most of those come when he's essentially 1v1 in the box to receive those crosses. Well if you're referring to Vasquez he's been out injured most of the season, and it's not like Williams is piss poor. I wouldn't mind seeing him start a game or two to provide a different dimension to the attack, letting the other speedy players orbit him as they probe channels in the defense.
The problem with Martinez isn't in the box. Like you said, he's got an ability to get free from a defender and can score with any part of his body he can get on the ball, The problem is in the midfield. He isn't out jumping any of the taller defenders in the league and on a high ball from Guzan, there's no angles for him to exploit. I think starting someone else might be a good idea, too. It gives the backup players a bit more experience, the regulars a bit of a breather and opponents something else to think about. Williams could be good, alongside Villalba and Carleton. McCann and Kratz probably deserve to start in the midfield on occasion. Dictating how the opponent lined up depending on our game-time roster could really mess with opposing coaches. Does any team in the MLS have the same depth of talent as Atlanta? I haven't seen it yet.
McCann has been awful in the midfield whenever he has played there. I think he has found a home in defense and will probably take over at left wingback with Garza out and LGP returning from suspension. I do think Tata needs to rotate more. More specifically, I think he needs to find a way to get Villalba on the field more often. Tito can play any of the points of the trident (basically anywhere but Almiron's spot) and he adds a speed aspect that will open up the other players. Edit: I see Tito has been hurt yet again. I guess it isn't all Tata's fault Tito isn't playing.