FT. Golarza almost gets the winner at the death from the top of the box, but its saved. 1-1. Good on Atlanta for saving the point, but this team needs three. We'll do this again on Tuesday in the Open Cup. Mach1's echo chamber was brought to you by Ubernostrum. It takes the pain away.
I'm at a family reunion at a campground, so I'll have to watch the game tomorrow. Fortune saved us from giving Orlando their first clean sheet all season!
Appreciate the commentary, Mach! I was checking on occasion while trying to observe the match from the other side of a sports bar. (I hadn't counted on them showing the match, so I didn't ask to sit anywhere in particular.) I also listened to 92.9 for about the first 20 minutes, including Orlando's goal, and the lads were making quite the fuss about some refereeing decisions. Wasn't building my hopes, even if they offered bits of hope sprinkled there about. After watching the official highlights and other snippets, it did appear the team grew more into the match after some subs and restoration of the team's shape. As if Tata's first attempt to resolve Sanchez' absence was a fail, but they adjusted as the match wore on. Case evidence #4,582 that the roster is too thin and mismatched. Props to Jai for his effort and another goal. Lot of outline pundits singing his praises, to the point where one wonders when and how Miggy will see the pitch again.
Well done. I wonder if he is being shopped right now by the FO. If he performs well at the World Cup, maybe some team back home in Paraguay or even Brazil picks him up from us over the summer? Latte Lath did not get selected for his WC squad, and Miranchuk's team is banned. Do we have any other World Cup players? Casemiro is available, and his agent is trying to get him to Miami. If our agitators can raise enough fuss about Miami's continued flouting of the roster rules maybe we can get him to Atlanta.
Finally getting around to the replay this afternoon. Orlando's goal was mostly on Jacob. Mihaj failed to close down Orlando's player at the top of the box, and Jacob tried to cover from the wrong side. Meanwhile, Jacob's man (now unmarked) makes the world's simplest overlapping run and outruns both Mihaj and Jacob to the ball (which nutmegged Mihaj en route). Mihaj, while late getting into position, does end up in the correct position eventually and wastes it by getting megged. Berrocal and Hoyos combine to let the goalscorer run straight down the middle of the pitch for the tap-in. Muyumba and Baez nowhere to be seen on the play.
True for the first half, at least, and especially our center backs. I have been impressed with the speed of referee Tori Penso, though. On a couple of fast breaks, she's kept pace with the players on the sprint. At halftime, I think Penso has called a pretty decent game. I thought Muyumba should have gotten the yellow instead of Reilly for cleaning out the purple player, but it was definitely a foul. Reilly just happened to be standing in the wrong place at the time and impeded the Orlando player from falling over directly forward. Reilly had a decent first half. Nothing spectacular, but he did his job. Galarza should have scored at the end of the half on a shross by Fortune, but both of them looked lively all half, as have Miranchuk and Saba.
That was crazy. He held the ball for 9 seconds. One second longer than the rule allows. A corner kick is also a really strange outcome for that infraction. IFAB has got to revise that rule. Adding too much complexity to a very simple game.
Miranchuk looked pretty good as a striker, and when he slotted back into the midfield he also looked good. Tata has figured out how to get him involved positively, it seems. Really should have had a goal. Latte Lath didn't provide much, and neither did Picault or Togashi. At least Picault and Togashi do basic striker stuff, though. Make runs, occupy defenders, create space even if you're not scoring. Galarza continues to impress. High work rate, and snappy passes. Muyumba was a mixed bag as usual. Some great plays, some boneheaded ones. He always tries to play forward instead of backward, which I appreciate. Edwards turns out to be the super sub. Really fine assist on the goal (plus Gregersen staying forward from the corner kick to get the hockey assist!). Fortune had a great game. Several should-have-been assists, and then the game winner in the 86th minute. MOTM for sure.