FT: 1-2 Pardon me while I scream into the pillow first. It feels weird. On one hand I think Atlanta deserved (as if that truly matters) better, but I can't fault LA for the approach they took. I'd be curious to see if they admit it was their strategy to make Atlanta run out of steam and then send on their big guns, cause Atlanta sure looked gassed at the end. We never got a replay of the first disallowed goal in the stadium, so I didn't see it until once while riding home. I get making the call, but he let a lot of others go for someone allegedly going by the book. Especially when it came to awarding cards. The bottom line for me, tho, was another match where Atlanta's offense wasn't good enough to let the defense get away with anything less than perfection. It wasn't their worst offensive showing in terms of creation, but in terms of consistency and quality of chances, the Stripes just lacked the polish and killer instinct. In the first half, as the lads attacked the supporter's end, you could see various players get frustrated when crosses went away, runs weren't made to the spot expected, etc. I think a lot changed when the subs happened, too. Not only did it seemingly give LA the higher quality players, but Atlanta lost their defensive composure, as well. Dead legs? Tired minds? Who knows, but those last 20 minutes Atlanta was second best. You can win the first 4 rounds on the scorecard, but that doesn't matter if you get knocked out in the 5th. LA isn't a bad team, but this feels bad since it kills the Stripes' momentum and given the Galaxy's personnel issues on the day this was an opportunity lost. Atlanta still a bottom-half-of-the-table team, so work remains.
Okay. Just watched the replay of the first disallowed goal. Final verdict: Bulls*** call. Galarza was no more impeding the keeper than any conventional aspect of the game allows people to body up their opponent. Arguably less so. Keepers aren't so special as to be treated like defenseless receivers in the NFL, so cry me a river if you have to work to reach the ball.
I feel like we have improved to the point where we are not competing for the wooden spoon, but we are definitely not competing for a playoff spot. So just regular bad instead of really bad.
I think this team, if they continue to improve (and they have undoubtedly improved since the start of the season), can compete for a playoff spot. Especially if the right moves are made over the summer window. We can't fix everything in one window, but we can make some improvements.
I feel like we need an effective striker to compete for a playoff spot, whether it is Latte or a transfer. I think the troubles there cascade to make everything else more difficult.