Montreal - Postmatch

[Midas Mulligan]

Also, compare Mata putting one on Lewis’s head to his shot and tell me he wasn’t going for goal. I think it was just a crafty as hell finish.

Mata can strike a ball. For all the complaints over the past couple of years, surely you all have seen that technical deficiencies is the least of his concerns. He’s a very skilled player.

And what, all of the sudden his luck turned for him? Mata doesn’t miss wide open crosses that badly. I think it was a shot full of guile and gracefulness.

 

[Midas Mulligan]

That was what it looked like to me

Great day for all round for football today and the busker in the subway was playing Flower of Scotland on the bagpipes. What a time to be alive!

Some good stuff in our play, some slightly less good stuff. Ben Sweat continues to be a baller, Alex Ring is tying to make me fall in love with him or something, Callens Good, overall style good, lots of confidence, nice interplay. Lack of striker a little weird (but understandable, given the circumstances).

My own personal highlight of the match was mis-calling every goal:

"have a shot, have a shot.... aaah, he's left it too late." *goal*
"have a shot Mata! aaaw, that looks like a scuff" *goal*
"ping it in Mata! aaw no, not like that" *goal*

I will continue my pessimism in the hope it leads to more goals.

I like when you post. I love your attitude.

I generally find your analysis counter-factual.

 

[Ulrich]

Ugh. That’s just some bullshit unlucky thing that happens. And no, no sweat shot was ever going in directly. It wasn’t close. And Medina was 3 yards offside.

Why are you guys trying to make this hate Medina thing happen? The guy is pretty fucking good. Stop wasting energy there and focus on getting dead weight (no pun intended ) like U3 out.

Medina is a damn fine player who will get better. I don’t know wtf U3 is.

I don’t hate Medina, I hate Medina as a DP.

 

[Midas Mulligan]

I don’t hate Medina, I hate Medina as a DP.

But that should be fixed soon. One way or the other. He’ll change your mind or his contract will be changed.

He’s not someone I see as a problem.

I wish we’d spent more. But I think at his heart and mind and technical skill, Medina is a really, really good player.

Stop making me be positive. I said I thought he was weak and taking advantage of a lack of athleticism in his pre-signing highlights. So I definitely see what people don’t like. But I agree with the scouting reports that signed him after watching him this year. He has a lot
of qualities we lacked. He can polish up quickly, because it’s just a mental thing I think.

He’s just a good player. I want him to continue playing a ton of minutes. I think he’s a very high ceiling guy. But he’s also an obviously lower floor than someone like Almiron.

He’s going to be a pro for a long time. I hope it’s for us and at an elevated level.

His movement is super smart and skill is top notch for MLS.

 

[NickA]

I don’t hate Medina, I hate Medina as a DP.

My thoughts exactly. I don't dislike him...he is not a DP level player. A DP should be someone that can take over or change a game. Medina is not that guy. No hate and the DP pressure is not his fault...but let's be honest here...he's an average winger in this league. That can change though and probably will get better as the season continues.

 

[Kjbert]

Maybe Matarrita isn't a LB after all?

Callens was my Man Of The Match. He's the best CB in MLS. I'm with Midas Mulligan on this one. You call him Virgil Van Dijk. I call him a competent John Stones.

Maxi was very good playing deeper again. Medina played well. McNamara stinks. Was that a dive? Wallace is useless. Ring was a little sloppy but solid. Ofori was quietly good tonight. Sweat looked really good on both ends. Tinnerholm has been quiet but he's at his best when he gets up the pitch. He was able to do that tonight. Ibeagha had two fantastic recoveries in the second half that stood out.

Lewis certainly injects energy. I didn't like his work ethic though later in the match. Guys like Medina we're still pressing and Lewis was kind of hanging around. Chase. The. Fucking. Ball. Until. The. Final. Whistle. I can't stand that. Villa would scissor kicked him.

Nice to see James Sands make the bench.

 

[413Blue]

You can tell Mata goal was so important to him. He has had a miserable year of constant injuries, probably holding back his club level and ultimately missing the World Cup. The kid has to be emotionally devastated. He, and the team, reacted to his goal like it was a 90' game winner.

 

[Vallos]

 

[Shwafta]

You can tell Mata goal was so important to him. He has had a miserable year of constant injuries, probably holding back his club level and ultimately missing the World Cup. The kid has to be emotionally devastated. He, and the team, reacted to his goal like it was a 90' game winner.

The way he ran over to the benches, and then ran to the supporter section and did the bowing thing... Really showed how important it was to him, and frankly the way he played yesterday, truly deserves it. Man's incredible!

 

[NYCFC_Dan]

Posting this here with the understanding that it should be moved (LionNYC )

My postmatch thoughts:
U3 had one of his best games ever for us. And he absolutely solidified the idea that he has no place in this team

Ben Sweat has improved exponentially in the last 2 games. It’s like someone taught him how to think like a fullback.

I’m comfortable with my initial assessment that Dome is an upgrade over PV.

Jonathan Lewis is pure electricity. The difference of him on and U3 off should remove any doubts. The #calmdown crowd can #suckit. Kid is a baller. He has an ability to create a chance out of absolutely nothing. Reminds me a little bit of Mane or Zaha or Pulisic with his pace and willingness to take a man on. If you have that, it’s a weapon, even if you lose half your takeons. It makes the whole defense shift to you.

As you hear every former defender turned analyst say, nothing defenders hate more than an attacker who takes the ball and runs right at them. It’s impossible not to react nervously. Lewis puts the whole defense on their heels. I freaking love this guy. #PVOutLewisIn #4life.

Thanks for setting up. Was under the weather last night and the medicine got the best of me at half time.

 

[mgarbowski]

Montreal played the first hour hoping to get a 0-0 draw. Once Medina scored, they started pressing us near our goal and they brought more bodies forward when they had the ball. For the first time all game we had to work to get the ball out of our end and be careful to avoid a turnover in dangerous areas. But it also led directly to the second and third goals which came in transition moments that did not happen in the first hour because Montreal left so many men back.

Matarrita's goal celebration was as joyous as everyone is saying. In contrast, Medina's goal reaction was almost painful to watch. It was one of abject relief. I did not realize how hard the burden of his goal drought has been on the kid.

That was a penalty on McNamara. If he dragged or slowed down it wasn't much and he was dinged for being big and slow. Players who weigh 140 -155 and scoot around the field do exactly what he did and get that call every day and twice on Sunday.

If we did get a penalty there, who takes it? I'm guessing Maxi takes it, but I might prefer Medina. But really, I didn't see a lot of options who gave me confidence.

 

[Gotham Gator]

Thanks for setting up. Was under the weather last night and the medicine got the best of me at half time.

I figured you were just sleeping off your post-game celebration from the afternoon.

 

[Gotham Gator]

Montreal played the first hour hoping to get a 0-0 draw. Once Medina scored, they started pressing us in our end and they brought more bodies forward when they had the ball. For the first time all game we had to work to get the ball out of our end and be careful to avoid a turnover in dangerous areas. But it also led directly to the second and third goals which came in transition moments did not happen in the first hour because Montreal left so many men back.

Exactly. You could tell Montreal knew they couldn’t keep up with us when Evan Bush began engaging in time wasting midway through the first half. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before.

Montreal were totally outclassed. Parity is fading away in MLS. Last night, a league leader boat raced a mid-table team - the difference in quality completely evident after 20 minutes. That’s the kind of thing you see in La Liga - not MLS. It leaves me wondering whether that’s good for the league.

It was an especially good result given all the people who are missing. I thought Tommy put in a good shift; he made dangerous runs, was active on defense, and nearly netted our first goal. Unlike Midas, I think he showed he deserves a spot on the team, but maybe Midas would agree with me that it’s a limited one as a backup. He’s got quite a few people ahead of him at forward (one of whom should be Lewis), but we have three guys hurt at that position, and so we needed him, and he came through with a good shift. That’s his role.

Maxi was terrific. What a work rate. Callens was also. Ring did not have his best game. On Medina’s goal, it was clear he was looking for an opening to shoot. I am embarrassed that in that moment I forgot all the pre-season videos showing how lethal he can be with his left foot. When Bush didn’t move, I assume the shot was going wide, but it nearly tore the back out of the net.

 

[Shwafta]

That’s the kind of thing you see in La Liga - not MLS. It leaves me wondering whether that’s good for the league.

The thing is that with all the money rules, I feel like it shifts back and forth because at some point the "worse" team's ownerships go in and say "if we don't perform there's going to be consequences...". Since there is no pro/rel, a team doing badly will not be penalized with leaving the league... The fact that DC United, with the worst record in the league right now, can sign Rooney, and Chicago last year signed Schweinsteiger shows that the parity is not yet gone.

 

[JayH]

We now have so many chess pieces up front for Dome to mix and match based upon opponent, tactic and formation. The biggest difference between PV and Dome is that PV would experiment, but Dome has the vision and experience to execute a well orchestrated plan (both before and during a match).

 

[adam]

#1 this man is a tactical savant! When he explains the switch at the half to play two false 9s side by side after his 3 forward approach didn’t work in the first half and why, it’s somethng special.

#2 he finally explains why Jonah doesn’t start. Apparently he has issues defending deep. But they are working on it with him. Holy shit! We got an actual explanation about why a player isn’t getting the playing time we would expect based on performance!!!! I hope the club doesn’t pull him aside and tell him to stop being so forthcoming with information for the fan base. This man is a godsend. Bless the rains.

 

[Midas Mulligan]

Jonathan Lewis is the wave.

I would like this, but I’m not sure I understand it.

 

[Midas Mulligan]

Was that a dive?

Oh man. That was so early I forgot but at the time it happened I immediately began writing a 3 paragraph rant in my mind.

That was an absolute disgrace. Not even that he took a dive, but it was a literal disgrace in its clumsiness and obviousness. He was a full foot shy of getting to the keeper and goes down. Just don’t break stride until you at least get there, man. He is super frustrating to watch. Glad I kept my promise and watched on tv rather than attend (I swore off watching U3 start in person after USOC). I don’t need that sort of unnecessary frustration in my life.

 

[Fantazma]

And y'all wanted to bench Medina smh

I've said it before, kid is adjusting to the leagues physicality. For NT in South America it's rough but I don't know if the league in Paraguay is

For real about the stadium? To what extent?

nothing much different ( i havent read the article in NYT) i guess from what is known since they were quoting the article. though they did say that whomever is buying the property will rent the land to nycfc ownership group to build the stadium.

 

[Vallos]

#1 this man is a tactical savant! When he explains the switch at the half to play two false 9s side by side after his 3 forward approach didn’t work in the first half and why, it’s somethng special.

#2 he finally explains why Jonah doesn’t start. Apparently he has issues defending deep. But they are working on it with him. Holy shit! We got an actual explanation about why a player isn’t getting the playing time we would expect based on performance!!!! I hope the club doesn’t pull him aside and tell him to stop being so forthcoming with information for the fan base. This man is a godsend. Bless the rains.

Yes... I am learning a lot more in the four games with him at the helm, than with PV in his 2.5 years. That is not an indictment on PV, but more that I appreciate Dome's approach.