Atlanta United vs. D.C. United Mercedes-Benz Stadium – Atlanta July 21 – 4:00 PM ET ESPN MLSsoccer.com preview here. ATLUTD.com preview here. AJC.com United page here. Sorry for the late posting. I was out late socializing at a friends 60th, remembering that it sucks being single, and embarrassing my children while we all sang on the back deck. Oh yeah, and Happy Anniversary to NASA on that whole moon-walk thing! Meanwhile, back on this rock our own local heroes take on DCU with an eye toward revenge from the opening day loss at Audi Field. DC entered the year as a strong candidate for the eastern conference crown however Acosta and Arriola's form is not as sharp as it was last season and as a result they've not been quite as high flying. Factor in a bit of the league adapting to Rooney, as well, plus if their fan base is to be believed the traditional notion that Ben Olson is an average-to-poor coach so this is what you get. DC's form has been slightly better than Atlanta's f late but they come in with one day's less rest, having won at Cincy on Thursday. Their play often mirrors Houston (the 11-man version) in that they like to use the wings and find ways to create space for Rooney up front. Sir Shrek isn't the swiftest on the field but he's very creative with the ball and works as well as a distributor as an actual striker. And while Acosta and others aren't their 2018 selves they're still very potent, especially if their defense is being effective in quickly moving the ball forward. What DC does not want to do is spend the match in their own half; They can counter well on occasion but are prone to worse man marking when under constant pressure. Atlanta comes in with the usual array of bodies on the bench and in recovery. Depending on the source Barco is in the 18 today and we may or may not see the side in a 3-5-2 while they ride out all the injuries on defense. The good news is Wednesday's game shouldn't have burnt out too many legs, so look for the lads to run hard and try to wear down a travel weary DC side. Josef is running hot and connecting better with Pity and Meram now that the group has had a month to actually play together. As Meram settles into the side the rest of the attackers should better learn how to read runs and passes off one another, which could be a factor today as like Houston DC is susceptible to attacking runs from outside and up the middle. If Atlanta can get the momentum going Josef could have a field day. Or at least a pair of goals. Key matchups will be Atlanta's outside backs as they have to work hard in covering DC's attackers while contributing to the Stripe's own assault. I'm counting on momentum for Atlanta and fatigue for DC. 3-1 to the home side.
If it weren't for Josef Martinez you'd be the team MVP. I am interested to see how you line them up. 3-5-2 again?
Interesting that Doug Roberson doesn't have Franco Escobar in the starting 11. Does he know something we do not?
'That whole moon walk thing'? You act like it was Michael Jackson walking backwards while facing frontwards. Probably the highest point in human history and it has been all downhill from there. A Josef Martinez hat trip will today will reverse humanities downward slide.
Until last week I didn't realize there was a Campeones Cup. Can't we just politely say "no thank you, we can't be bothered"?
The MLS site has Escobar in the 11 along with Ambrose. Is Mikey even healthy? Those interns at MLSSoccer.com should probably watch a game or at least scout an injury report.
Oh I loves me some true space stuff! We watched one replay of the events yesterday (Science Channel?) and it was hard to break away from that and join the party. We celebrated that more this week than my father's birthday! Just finished reading "Voyage" by Stephen Baxter, an alternate history piece about NASA aiming for Mars instead of doing the shuttles. Arguably as good as The Martian and very insightful about the technology at the time.
I'm not a betting man on this stuff but if I had to I'd guess their site has been wrong regarding questionable players greater than 50% of the time. I mainly use those pages to see about suspensions and recent team form.
It is amazing, they will put people in the starting 11 that didn't even make it on to the plane. I hope Mikey Ambrose is healthy. I also hope we don't see him on the pitch today.
That lineup is, um, interesting. Escobar on the left? No Pity once again, but Hyndman gets a nod? BTW, for those that haven't looked at the upcoming month of matches for AUFC... today is a MUST WIN. Playoff positioning will be decided in August.
I’m recording the game, so I won’t post until I finish... But I like the line-up. I’m excited to see what Escobar can do on the left.
HT: 0-0 DCU with the best opportunity on a breakaway that was saved by Guzan. Atlanta with a penalty shout near the end if the half. 3-5-2 formation yielding the expected results: More attacking possession but some misreads on the defensive end. Having Remedi essentially behind Nagbe has potential provided Hyndman or someone else does their part to help in the middle of the pitch. Josef has had to come back too deep to get the ball sometime and (stop me if you've heard thus before) we're losing too many passes in transition. Flow of the game suggests Atlanta favorites to get the winner. Need more polish in the final third.
Big win yesterday. Considering the next 7 games Atlanta needed these three points and the momentum. LGP had a brain lapse moment and I wasn't thrilled to see him and Guzan jawing at each other in the first half, but he also had a brilliant recovery in the 2nd half and played very well otherwise. Robinson was also in peak form, so clearly the resolute display was crucial to them. I thought Remedi had one of his better games for the side and I like him better behind Nagbe. (So far, anyway.) His instinct to run served him well in leading a speedy transition so long as he got rid of the ball quickly. Gressel, Hyndman, and Meram were all solid. Meram was highly effective getting past his defender and feeding balls into the middle. In all I counted 27 attempted crosses into the box, which if the norm will make Martinez happy. Nagbe was again subtly outstanding. A couple unusual errors for him but he steadied the ship and his effort lead to the first goal. Pity, meanwhile, worthy of MOTM even with a mere 25' display. Felt proud for him. Let's hope it builds into some more of the same. Vasquez... Man that first touch is just killing his potential. Love his work rate and ideas but execution remains a work in progress.
Atlanta looked the better team than DC all night. I'm glad they finally put it away in the end. Also, while I was at Army summer camp, the boys THWACKED Houston, which is always nice since I entered the league as a Dallas fan.