Vancouver Postgame

[Lasker]

There is something about Villa. My lowest point as a fan last year was the home game against Chicago when RJ Allen gave up a PK and a red card to put us down 2-0 in something like the 20th minute. And it wasn't just the score. Chicago was an awful, awful, team last year and they were playing us off the field. We were garbage. That was coming off a humiliating loss after being a man up at RBA. I was sure we were going to roll over and and lose 6-0. I didn't know it was even possible to be as bad as we looked at that moment. But Villa put in a fantastic performance, huge effort on offense and defense and led the team to an improbable draw.

Yesterday wasn't as dramatic as that for me because as bad as that first goal was, I never really doubted that this year's team was one that could fight back from behind. And Villa has much more help now. But it still had something of the same flavor. I think people overrate emotions in sports. You don't score goals with your feelings. And there are clearly times when Villa's emotions have hurt us. But they have a positive side too and I think he showed that yesterday.

On a more mundane note, Villa is extraordinarily good at making the right pass in a counterattack. If he had someone faster than TMac or a better finisher than Shelton or Mendoza (or if either of them find a groove) to set up I could see us scoring a lot of goals on the counter this year.

 

[Gene]

On a more mundane note, Villa is extraordinarily good at making the right pass in a counterattack. If he had someone faster than TMac or a better finisher than Shelton or Mendoza (or if either of them find a groove) to set up I could see us scoring a lot of goals on the counter this year.

Agree. There was one particular play in the 1st half where he made a helluva back heel pass to send TMac on his way. If that pass went to anyone with more speed it was going to be a dangerous attack on goal, but.......

 

[Ulrich]

Agree. There was one particular play in the 1st half where he made a helluva back heel pass to send TMac on his way. If that pass went to anyone with more speed it was going to be a dangerous attack on goal, but.......

Yeah, the crowd let out a collective gasp when he did it - the defender was left more high & dry than a tourist on Bleeker Street testing their luck at Three Card Monty.

 

[FootyLovin]

There is something about Villa. My lowest point as a fan last year was the home game against Chicago when RJ Allen gave up a PK and a red card to put us down 2-0 in something like the 20th minute.

Interesting point. That game was also possibly the high point of the season. After the PK the entire stadium knew we had no chance. 100% guaranteed loss. Villa's goal right before the half was fantastic and gave a glimmer of hope. Then Shelton's equalizer at the death was more than anyone dared to believe would happen.

What I find a remarkable contrast is that yesterday, when Saunders let in that goal at 36 seconds, my response was total calm. (For the record, I was sitting next to Midas Mulligan who did not share this response.) I immediately thought, "36 seconds. Excellent. We all knew it would happen. Now we can take a deep breath and get on with the game knowing it isn't coming in extra time like last game."

At the same time I had an odd confidence that we could and would come back. FWIW, this team has me believing they are better than their record and will produce good results given time. Last year was more of a wing and a prayer.

 

[Midas Mulligan]

Interesting point. That game was also possibly the high point of the season. After the PK the entire stadium knew we had no chance. 100% guaranteed loss. Villa's goal right before the half was fantastic and gave a glimmer of hope. Then Shelton's equalizer at the death was more than anyone dared to believe would happen.

What I find a remarkable contrast is that yesterday, when Saunders let in that goal at 36 seconds, my response was total calm. (For the record, I was sitting next to Midas Mulligan who did not share this response.) I immediately thought, "36 seconds. Excellent. We all knew it would happen. Now we can take a deep breath and get on with the game knowing it isn't coming in extra time like last game."

At the same time I had an odd confidence that we could and would come back. FWIW, this team has me believing they are better than their record and will produce good results given time. Last year was more of a wing and a prayer.

It's the expecting it that led me to be infuriated by it occurring. It all seems so avoidable.

 

[Ulrich]

It's the expecting it that led me to be infuriated by it occurring. It all seems so avoidable.

Exactly. Any one of us could have had a conversation with team brass and told them a hot potato goal was going to take place very soon. For them to not be concerned about it is baffling.

If the players on the team were market tradable entities, I would short the hell out of Saunders - I swear he's just like the tech & housing bubbles where all of the signs were there to the few analysts that looked, but nobody else wanted to pay attention.

 

[JayH]

Exactly. Any one of us could have had a conversation with team brass and told them a hot potato goal was going to take place very soon. For them to not be concerned about it is baffling.

If the players on the team were market tradable entities, I would short the hell out of Saunders - I swear he's just like the tech & housing bubbles where all of the signs were there to the few analysts that looked, but nobody else wanted to pay attention.

You? 4 to 6 pm attended game. 7 to 9 pm watched back game. 9 to 11 pm watched the Big Short.

 

[21Architect]

Seeing as villa can carry us all by himself, He should be able to pout all he wants

If you watched that game and you honestly feel like Villa carries this team all by himself I feel sorry for you.

Anyway, Shelton ultimately had a real nice match but he had a couple of AWFUL first touches early on.

Saunders. What else is there to say about this guy? Unreal, man.

 

[JayH]

^^^^^ Can we leave the unnecessary personal barbs for the Facebook page.

 

[ktdNYCFC]

Not sure if this was mentioned yet, but my favorite part of the match was probably when Mendoza ran up and hugged Vieira after his goal. It seems so simple on the surface, but I don't think we ever saw one of our guys run up and hug Kreis. I'm sure Grabavoy did at some point, but that's just what couples do.

 

[Viewfrom226]

Here are my thoughts on the game, some of which has been covered:

- I'm not sure if I think Bravo is really good, or was just so desperate for someone playing that role, but either way, his presence makes me so happy. In addition to the defensive stuff, he had a very good first pass to Mataritta to start the play that led to the third goal.

- I'm not sure why, but Matarrita's defensive angles seemed to be off, particularly late in the game. Could be fatigue, or perhaps he was underestimating the speed Vancouver brought, but a few times it felt like the offensive player turned the corner on him in a way that I haven't seen previously.

- I was glad to see White start in place of Iraola, not so much because I think he is particularly good, but because the choice showed that Vieira is valuing defensive solidity in a way that, perhaps, he didn't earlier in the season. That statement may sound ironic in retrospect given that White gave away in the penalty, but I'd rather see him play than Iraola at this point. I wanted Iraola to come good for so long, but I'm ready to turn the page.

- I personally put zero stock in Vieira's post-game comments supporting Saunders. 99% of the time he is going to publicly support him and he will keep doing so until the day he actually puts Eirik in, and even then he will talk about Saunders' past contributions to the club, etc, etc. That is just how media savvy managers speak. I would not view those comments as reflecting, in any way, how near or far EJ is to getting a start in any way. Most of what he says is generally either banal or intended to serve a purpose that doesn't necessarily have anything to do with what he actually things, which is the right management strategy even if it is frustrating to watch

- After feeling a bit silly for touting Mendoza so aggressively when he first joined the team, I'm starting to feel better about it, and not just because he happened to score the winning goal. That's three strong performances in a row.

- I love the Mikey Lopez energy and aggressiveness (at least until he gets red carded), but I think he is too offensively limited to be a long-term starter in that role. We are missing out on chances because he is the soccer version of a "ball stopper" in basketball. I'd much rather see him coming on there to help kill off games if we are winning. Mix has had a tough time of it shooting since the opening day goal, but Lopez doesn't even get those shots in the first place.

- In addition to all the highlight reel plays, I loved Villa drawing at least three if not four fouls at the end of the match. Dark arts.

 

[Rimil]

^^^^^ Can we leave the unnecessary personal barbs for the Facebook page.

Seeing more and more of these. Some people more so then others. I'm not a PC person by any means but if you want this forum to be 10 pages of attacks for people opinions that's what your gonna get soon enough if its not stopped (and/or people walking away).

 

[JayH]

- I'm not sure why, but Matarrita's defensive angles seemed to be off, particularly late in the game. Could be fatigue, or perhaps he was underestimating the speed Vancouver brought, but a few times it felt like the offensive player turned the corner on him in a way that I haven't seen previously.

I have been tempted to bring this up, to me this was glaring. He was getting burned repeatedly by speed on the outside. There were some very close calls with Saunders making the save, and some dangerous resulting fouls and corner kicks. Vancouver seemed to change their strategy in the second half and were essentially playing kick ball like a high school team would, indiscriminately kicking long balls over our D and letting their speed players run for it. This seemed to throw Mata off, as he wasn't positioning himself correctly to defend this tactic. PV and the staff should be able to address this with him.

 

[ktdNYCFC]

essentially playing kick ball like a high school team would, indiscriminately kicking long balls over our D and letting their speed players run for it.

Works for some teams

 

[Christopher Jee]

I have been tempted to bring this up, to me this was glaring. He was getting burned repeatedly by speed on the outside. There were some very close calls with Saunders making the save, and some dangerous resulting fouls and corner kicks. Vancouver seemed to change their strategy in the second half and were essentially playing kick ball like a high school team would, indiscriminately kicking long balls over our D and letting their speed players run for it. This seemed to throw Mata off, as he wasn't positioning himself correctly to defend this tactic. PV and the staff should be able to address this with him.

This is 100% due to him bleaching his hair. In all seriousness though, I only started noticing this after he came back from international duty and it has me wondering if the injury he got stretchered off for isn't hampering him a little bit.

 

[Vallos]

 

[srcarter]

He should. He is shit. And he gets paid for it.

He seems like a great guy. Doesn't make him immune to criticism.

He's possibly the worst keeper in league history. He's definitely the worst in the time I've followed the league (2010 or so). I can't really give an explanation.

Just remember it whenever people use the CFG knows what they are doing line, and then point out they gave him a raise and extension. I'm just a dumbass poster and I knew better than that.

You're actually kidding right?? If it wasn't for Saunders last season I'm not sure we would have won a game. He keeps it close in every game we play in while our defense is such trash it's hard to watch. He's reflexes are amazing, and he does a fairly good job of positioning as well. Yes, he gave up a stupid, shitty goal this weekend, but he is still by far one of the best keepers in the MLS. That's not even a question. I honestly don't know what games you guys are watching when you hate on Saunders so much.... smh.

 

[ktdNYCFC]

You're actually kidding right?? If it wasn't for Saunders last season I'm not sure we would have won a game. He keeps it close in every game we play in while our defense is such trash it's hard to watch. He's reflexes are amazing, and he does a fairly good job of positioning as well. Yes, he gave up a stupid, shitty goal this weekend, but he is still by far one of the best keepers in the MLS. That's not even a question. I honestly don't know what games you guys are watching when you hate on Saunders so much.... smh.

 

[The Toe]

You're actually kidding right?? If it wasn't for Saunders last season I'm not sure we would have won a game. He keeps it close in every game we play in while our defense is such trash it's hard to watch. He's reflexes are amazing, and he does a fairly good job of positioning as well. Yes, he gave up a stupid, shitty goal this weekend, but he is still by far one of the best keepers in the MLS. That's not even a question. I honestly don't know what games you guys are watching when you hate on Saunders so much.... smh.

I actually agree with you about last year, and do think Josh still has good shot-stopping abilities. He's saved our asses more times over the last two seasons than he cost us a game. That said, PV and his style has him trending downward. He's not Rimando, who's easily the best keeper with the ball at his feet in the league, but he still makes some great saves that have won us games. It's really a shame that he has to go through something that must be so uncomfortable for him, being force to use a part of his game that he's never been called upon to do. As many folks know, you don't just get those skills overnight, or even over the course of a year or two. I feel for Josh, but I don't think EJ is the answer either.

 

[George]

I think PV will stick with Saunders hoping that the more practise he gets the more he will improve with his distribution as his shot stopping is very good. To be fair to him although he gifted them a goal at the start he made up for it with a brilliant save at the end that i dont think EJ would have made. EJ made a mistake as well in preseason so its not like hes totally immune although i think he definately deserves a chance to atleast show what he can do.
I do notice in the pre-game and training videos that EJ often lets shots go in and makes no attempt to save it even though there is a chance he could get to them which seems a bit strange as when its Saunders' turn he always makes an attempt at saving it. Think im trying to read into it a bit too much but perhaps PV thinks that although EJ has much better distribution his shot stopping ability is not good enough and therefore goes with Saunders and hopes that with a few more games and experience with playing out from the back he won't make mistakes.