It was nice to see DC be the team to score a man down -- I feel like we get scored on in Toronto's position somewhat consistently? My memory's in pre-season form, though, so I could be wrong. Still, 80 minutes of hot garbage and a couple of class plays towards the end. The Revolution may tear us a new one, but if we can beat MTL, we could get out of the group?
I don't even know what formation we're supposed to be playing here. 4-2-3-1 looked like the worst possible way to run those 10 guys out in front of Hamid.. There was no speed on the outside, there was no one to carry the ball through the midfield and make a pass. I think Filipe was our most creative player on the field for most of the game and thats not saying much. Junior Moreno ... I don't even know where to start. He made like 3 plays all morning and each one of them was a card worthy play. He should have been gone on the 2nd tackle he made. He was f---ing garbage. As much as I question Oneill Fisher's skill, at 72k he's got blazing speed and we need some. He's going to need to get forward in the next game and make some crosses. Our CBs looked awful in spite of combining for the goal. I don't think 2 DMs & Flores works necessarily. He's the only creative player we've got and there's no help for him. Granted, its a small sample, but Asad looks a shadow of the guy we failed to buy from Velez Sarsfield 2 years ago. I have to wonder if the year off let him go stale. I remember Gressell getting subbed, but I have no memory of him doing anything while he was on the field. We need another creator in the middle and more speed on the wing. I guess that's our 2021 shopping list. I wonder if you start Higuin to combine with Flores and get what you can from him before dropping back into a defensive shell. Boy oh boy did a lot of poeple drop from the watch party. I am glad we stuck it out.
Good points. Maybe he played Higuain as the 10, then gives Flores a free role, off the right and have Fisher overlapping to provide width. Maybe Asad just need game time to get sharp. Play him on the left or Yow. Please just something
We can't expect late-game brilliance to bail us out every time. The first half was as uninspiring as I can remember. It had all the hallmarks of an Olsen game plan - defend, defend, counter, but we didn't have the right horses. Goals are hard to come by in soccer, and it you wait to go into attack mode until late in the second half you lose. Let's see some commitment to the attack early on against NE.
Nice that the tying goal came from the guys who gave up easy goals to the opposition. And two assists from the guy who should have had a red card...
The funny thing is that I didn't know what time the game was, woke up late and turned on the game roughly in the 75th minute. All I saw were 2 goals scored with a man down. I'm confused. I'm used to DCU being scored on while a man up.
I don't feel like Toronto ever really threatened the DC goal the entire second half other than the looping header Hamid had to make a great save on in stoppage time.
Probably because it was hot AF and they thought they could conserve energy and ride it out. They didn't want to push and kill the game off though that would've been the better tactic until the 60 minute mark. I believe they self destructed the same way in a Concacaf second leg a few years ago.
I think we took a more defensive posture coming out for the 2nd down a man. The more I think about it, we need a second creator in the midfield. Last year we had Lucho and Titi as well as Rooney’s presence relieving pressure on everyone by a little bit. Now we’ve got Flores and no one else to really create and obviously no giant threat like Rooney to but everyone that half step of extra time. I’d said that I was willing to buy Flores as a Lucho replacement and Gressell is a good player, but he’s not the same kind of player as Titi, neither is Asad. And good lord, I need to see something from Kamara, but without some midfield service we will never know if he’s any good. He’s not like Rooney who will drop back pick up the ball in our half and create something for the others on the field.
Brillant somehow made MLS's Best XI for Round 1. Round 1's best. 🌟 // @Audi pic.twitter.com/Lp9EvXxPGn— Major League Soccer (@MLS) July 14, 2020
Well thought out, but I disagree. If you look at skillsets, not transfer fees, Flores is a Titi replacement, not a replacement for Lucho. The nearest thing to a Lucho replacement is Pipa. There is no Rooney replacement as his positional replacement was Kamara who is a classic #9. Gressell is a good player, but I fear showed better than he is because of Atlanta's system and roster. In Atlanta he was playing with at least two of Barco, Pity or Josef Martinez. On DCU, at best, Flores has a little of Barco or Pity, Pipa has some, but he's 35, and Kamara is no Josef Martinez -- but few are. After watching yesterday, the best lineup is Kamara up top flanked by two of Flores, Gressell or Asad. Pipa in the middle with Felipe and Canouse behind him. The CBs are Birnbaum and Brillant (although Pines should get a run out) with the flanks covered by Mora and Fisher. That's the best XI for DCU. Problem is that Pipa isn't a 90 minute player yet -- and probably isn't anymore at 35. I also would throw Paredes into the mix sooner rather than later, that kid has real promise. Problem is without Arriola and with the Estonian Messi as the only backup for Kamara, DCU really doesn't have much to scare other teams.