Atlanta United vs. New England Revolution 3:30 Mercedes Benz Stadium Spanish TV special! (34 locally) Busy day today so I'm literally phoning this one in. And given what happened the last time I didn't do a match thread... The Brad Freidel experiment rolls into town with the Revs still technically fighting for a playoff berth, though for most players and coaches it's likely more about next season. Their offense has been average and that's cost them some pts, but when you're relying on Burnbury and Fagundez (sp?) there's only so much you can do. The Revs have played well at home but are a comparably poor road team and seeing DCU peak has likely killed their enthusiasm. But today is all about Atlanta and how they respond to last week's abysmal display in New Jersey. Articles have hinted that the lads got the message: They can't just show up and win without any effort. So we'll see if they play with a little more giddy up today. I'll be looking for the defense, especially, to show up strong. Shutting out NER may not be a momentous feat but it's critical the team reassert themselves not just for their own belief but the send a message to other teams as we head to the playoffs. Martinez is also likely anxious to break out. Since breaking the scoring record he's been rather stifled. Talks of 35 goals have died down and now it's simply about affirming his degree of threat. Meanwhile the rest of the attack needs to show they can still create chances and influence a match better than seen at Red Bulls and San Jose. Distractions a plenty hit the camp this weekend and it's surely hard for the boys to focus on the final stretch. Here's hoping the experience in the locker room have tried to right that ship. 2-0 today, Martinez and one other.
FT: ATL 2-1 NER Bello starts and gets his first goal early, which forced NER to open up. Almiron subs out in the 30' due to an injury that we're all hoping isn't a hammy. Barco came on in his stead and did well but he's not a central player. Gressel gets the 2nd early in half #2, off a sweet lay off by Tito. From there each team traded possessions and attacks but nothing comes of it til the Rev's consolation goal in extra time. Martinez looked okay. Had a couple threatening runs but his 1st or 2nd touch was failing him today. LGP was solid today. All in all a good showing on the heels of last week. 2 more to go. Hope Miggy won't be out for long. Thank goodness for the international break and the bye in the playoffs.
Glad to see the team rebound, but I’m still worried we leave too much to chance considering we still only beat New England by one goal.
We had something like 75% possession in the first half, and actually "scored" a couple of goals that were called offside. I was in the upper deck at an angle, so I'll be really interested to see the replays on those. Martinez looked very dangerous the whole first half and much of the second. He got unlucky a couple of times, and was offside a couple of more. No worry at all about his form. When Almiron came off, our attacks slowed down considerably. But then, Tata subbed off Villalba and put on Escobar, and that was about it for offense. At that point, the only attacking playmaker we have on the field is Martinez. Barco's fine, but he doesn't connect attacking passes very well. If Almiron can't come back, we should still win the Supporters' Shield, but we'll be in bad shape for the playoffs.