New York (sic) City FC vs. Atlanta United Yankee Stadium – Bronx September 25 – 7:00 PM ET Fox Sports South MLSsoccer.com preview here. AJC.com United page here. ATLUTD.com preview here. CFG:NY preview here. First and foremost, everything being reported so far confirms Atlanta will enter this match with no Josef and no Barco, so put aside the anger and simply accept the team needs to make the best with who's available. And if we're being completely honest we know that if Atlanta is to be a true contender there should be enough talent on the roster to at least make this game competitive. (Yes, that assumes they play relatively error free on defense. A guy can dream!) At the very least Atlanta wants to fight for every point because even if they were to lose Wednesday 2nd place is very possible, and THAT would mean playing round 2 of the playoffs at home instead of, say, in Philly. Just to add to this little bit of drama, let's have CFG:NY get their new hot Brazilian striker back from injury, and for NY they can clinch first in the east with a win, securing tiny-field advantage throughout the eastern playoffs. Oh, and it's fan appreciation night in the Bronx. (Free ketchup with all hot dogs for fans dressed as their favorite gang from The Warriors!) So, yeah, no pressure or anything. Time for some inspiration. CFG have been the best team in the east for the 2nd half of the season. Their last loss was against Atlanta, but that was at MBS. Since then they've taken 6 wins and 2 draws from 8 matches. They give up less than a goal per match at home, unsurprisingly, and seem to be finally playing complete football under coach Dome Torrent. Previously middling players like Alex Ring and Alex Mittritia have developed into solid players. A team that plays like more than the sum of its parts, CFG have mastered (at MLS calibre, anyway) the midfield press and aggressive vertical possession, putting players like Castellanos and Atlanta-killer Maxi Moralez into 1-on-1 positions to attack opposing goals. If they're not fatigued from their Sunday trip to Frisco they should be hungry to claim their first eastern #1 seed. Deposing the reigning MLS champs and previous eastern boogeyman would be icing on the celebratory cake. So it is into this match Atlanta now has to arrive on less-than-their-strongest footing and without key options in their attack. The simplest idea is to slot Villalba or Vasquez into Josef's striker role and hope for the best, maybe inviting Meram and Pity to spend a little more time in advanced positions. From a chemistry stand point that may not be unwise, especially with Tito as he at least has the speed and direct-attack nature to mimic Josef's impact. Go with Tito, though, and crosses from Meram and Julian are arguably less threatening. Go with Vasquez and the quick passing that sometimes opens up the defensive on penetrating runs may not happen. Another idea? Play both and drop Hyndman, using a 3-2-3-2 formation. In lieu of your fabled golden boot winner up front put 2 bona fide attackers into CFG's third, keep Gressel and Meram from chasing too far upfield, and keep the spine with Pity, Nagbe, and Remedi very tight. Restrict CFG to exclusively attacking from out wide. But you can't play wide in Yankee Stadium, you say. Exactly! It's an idea, anyway. Atlanta will be playing their 4th match of 5 in 15 days, and given the reliance on key starters fatigue is settling in. Hopefully the team will be inspired to step up. Win and 1st it's stil in play. The head says 2-1 to the home side. My heart? ...
They are good, and this is not going to be easy, but I'm-a hold out hope until there is no hope left. 1-2 good guys!
FWIW, I just read from someone on DSS who posted that if the Yankees make a long enough playoff run, NYC may have to play somewhere else. Don't know if true or not.
Well, I got the Tito AND Vazquez starting right, but they're playing for at the back tonight so no Meram but Pogba is starting.
Ugh... I wish NYCFC got kicked out of the league. I can’t believe Garber was so in love with getting this embarrassment. It’s like watching an entirely different sport.
Well, I don’t feel well, my internet is being slow for some reason, watching any games at NYCFC sucks, and Atlanta is down 3-0. I’m calling it early tonight.
HT: 3-0 Mittritia on a hat trick. Could be worse as Maxi Moralez missed a PK. Atlanta just woefully unprepared for a game in this pinball setting. Tito is simply looking like a 1-trick pony, defense has not been spaced properly, a situation made worse by LGP playing on the right, and Pity looks like he has no one able to help him possess the ball. Defensively Pogba has picked up where he left off on his last match, and Miles can't direct traffic against this manic opponent. At this point I'm all for playing scrubs and resting key players for Montreal.
Ugh. Let's just get off this mini-me pitch with no more injuries and get ready for the final two games. The postseason is a clean slate. Hoping for the best.
I missed this one for church, so I'm just now watching the replay. What in the world was LGP doing on that first goal? That looked like the rec league coach let the kid who's really a forward play defense because they were up five goals. That was awful. He just sort of stuck out a boot and flailed at it. The second goal was also 1v1 with LGP. Not nearly as bad as the first one, but he let the attacker get around him to the middle which is still textbook poor defending. Goal #3 was just poor communication between LGP and Robinson, probably from playing out of their normal positions. Heber's goal was also just lazy crap defending in a 1v1 situation for LGP. How is he still a starting defender in this league? The offense couldn't get anything going because the defense was so bad all game.