Atlanta (Home) - Postmatch

[Kenny]

I went with 2 friends from work-- it was their first NYCFC game. One is an avid premier league fan who has started to follow NYCFC a bit this year (because of me I think) and the other, not much of a soccer fan (other than USWNT haha) but an avid sports fan otherwise, especially Yanks, and he goes to Yankee games all the time. They had a blast! I asked the Yankee fan how the atmosphere compared, and he said it was quieter/fewer people obviously, but a different vibe and he liked it.

 

[Gotham Gator]

I was among the many who left, though I wish I could have stayed. I thought it was the best NYCFC night at Yankee Stadium maybe ever. I'm not even sure what competes. We won 1 playoff round ever, at home last year, and it felt disappointing that we even had to play that round because of how the season ended. The 11 against 9 derby tie last year was great, but in the end just a draw at home when we needed a win. The Historic Home Opener was up there, but Game 2 of a season -- even a first ever home game -- can't compete with a potential clinch. I had nervous energy as soon as I left my office last night and it never dropped.

Maybe the 3-2 win over New Jersey when Villa got the hat trick?

 

[moogoo]

and he said it was quieter/fewer people obviously, but a different vibe and he liked it.

i've never been to a yankee game as i'm not interested in baseball at all. but i'm surprised to hear that it's quieter. different vibe and fewer people, sure. that I understand, but quieter surprises me.

Glad they both enjoyed it though! I really think the whole experience needs to be shared with more in NY. People are missing out for sure for sheer lack of knowing NYCFC actually exists. When we have our own home, it'll be even better.

 

[Jock]

I still think Frank Lampard day, the 3-2 win v DC (?) where we equalized, went ahead, conceded again, then went ahead, all in the last 15 mins, was one of the best nights we had.

 

[mgarbowski]

Maybe the 3-2 win over New Jersey when Villa got the hat trick?

Not for me, though I wouldn't argue with anyone who said it was big for them. To me, a game that moved us up to third place in August can be exciting, but I need the extra kicker of importance in the standings or playoffs to really push it up.

 

[Kenny]

i've never been to a yankee game as i'm not interested in baseball at all. but i'm surprised to hear that it's quieter. different vibe and fewer people, sure. that I understand, but quieter surprises me.

Glad they both enjoyed it though! I really think the whole experience needs to be shared with more in NY. People are missing out for sure for sheer lack of knowing NYCFC actually exists. When we have our own home, it'll be even better.

I was surprised too actually, based on my (limited) experience going to baseball games. But I think he sits in the bleachers, and with the Yanks playing well now, maybe the atmosphere is rowdier than I remember

 

[Brooklyn Blue]

Maybe the 3-2 win over New Jersey when Villa got the hat trick?

Add the Lampard stoppage time winner against D.C. and that is a good list.

 

[mgarbowski]

Add the Lampard stoppage time winner against D.C. and that is a good list.

Agreed. I think the ones I mentioned plus the Villa and Lampard games probably round up the contenders. And I know we've done this exercise before.

 

[Gotham Gator]

Add the Lampard stoppage time winner against D.C. and that is a good list.

That one is among the very best for me for sure.

As for the Red Bull game - when we were down 2-1, and the Red Bull fans were chanting "who's your daddy" - well, that provided all the intensity I needed. It made the comeback all the sweeter.

I will give an honorable mention to the 5-3 win over Orlando in Pirlo's debut. Kaka bouncing a free kick off the post in stoppage time, and the ball going right back the other way for a Mix tap in.

 

[SoupInNYC]

I thought Chapman had a great game tonight. He had some iffy calls, but for the most part it was very good. In the first half he dictated tempo, and there was a part where Taty fell easy and he let it go, and then right after an ATL fell easy and he let it go. Consistent refereeing is great.

Agreed, I was a bit upset when he let the Taty fall go (though, as Ian Joy pointed out, even though we both thought that was a foul, it was likely not called due to Taty's reputation). But then he let a very similar foul go on the other end. Can't be too disappointed when its at least consistent.

 

[SoupInNYC]

• Somebody give me Héber abusing LGP and Guzan on a loop.

Obviously, what Heber did to Guzan was incredible, but he just absolutely out-hustled LGP to win the ball.

 

[moogoo]

i forgot to mention this in my earlier posts but did anybody else notice Taty after Mitri's second goal? Taty made the sprint into the box looking for the cross, but Mitri decided to cut in and do his thing. AFter the goal, Taty raises his arms in, what seemed to me, was frustration and maybe a bit of annoyance. Instead of going to celebrate, he walks into the net to get the ball.

Maybe it was just me. But I hope there isn't any drama going on there. Taty put in a shift for sure. Worked really hard and deserved a goal. He's become a valuable part of our attack and hope it was just a striker being a striker, wanting to score vs any real drama.

 

[Ulrich]

Obviously, what Heber did to Guzan was incredible, but he just absolutely out-hustled LGP to win the ball.

It was sheer arrogance of FdB to think Pirez and Pogba could defend as the outside backs. Both are slow and clumsy and couldn’t turn their bodies fast enough when through balls were played. At best, both are CBs that rely on tugging and fouling to mark, and when not served hometown refs, they can’t compensate.

 

[mgarbowski]

Obviously, what Heber did to Guzan was incredible, but he just absolutely out-hustled LGP to win the ball.

Absolutely. He earned the goal by legally steamrolling a player who is taller and probably has 20-30 pounds on him. I don't think LGP or Guzan thought that was possible.

 

[Fantazma]

i forgot to mention this in my earlier posts but did anybody else notice Taty after Mitri's second goal? Taty made the sprint into the box looking for the cross, but Mitri decided to cut in and do his thing. AFter the goal, Taty raises his arms in, what seemed to me, was frustration and maybe a bit of annoyance. Instead of going to celebrate, he walks into the net to get the ball.

Maybe it was just me. But I hope there isn't any drama going on there. Taty put in a shift for sure. Worked really hard and deserved a goal. He's become a valuable part of our attack and hope it was just a striker being a striker, wanting to score vs any real drama.

Hes fine, hes a hot head but hes fine, remember the yelling back and forth with Callens after the cincy game ( i think it was that one) and the botched free kick.

 

[LIexpat]

I went with 2 friends from work-- it was their first NYCFC game. One is an avid premier league fan who has started to follow NYCFC a bit this year (because of me I think) and the other, not much of a soccer fan (other than USWNT haha) but an avid sports fan otherwise, especially Yanks, and he goes to Yankee games all the time. They had a blast! I asked the Yankee fan how the atmosphere compared, and he said it was quieter/fewer people obviously, but a different vibe and he liked it.

I brought along a friend who was a former BBC sports reporter who went to Russia and reported on all the WC games who just happened to be in town for some UN related business

He had a great time , was impressed with the quality of play and thought Matarrita was great , I didn’t have the heart to tell him Wed was a one off in terms of crowd attendance recently , goals and Mata performance

 

[Schwallacus]

i forgot to mention this in my earlier posts but did anybody else notice Taty after Mitri's second goal? Taty made the sprint into the box looking for the cross, but Mitri decided to cut in and do his thing. AFter the goal, Taty raises his arms in, what seemed to me, was frustration and maybe a bit of annoyance. Instead of going to celebrate, he walks into the net to get the ball.

Maybe it was just me. But I hope there isn't any drama going on there. Taty put in a shift for sure. Worked really hard and deserved a goal. He's become a valuable part of our attack and hope it was just a striker being a striker, wanting to score vs any real drama.

I think it's just an attacking player being mad that he was passed up at a potentially better chance/angle to get a goal. If you look you'll see it happens a lot (especially after a missed shot) where the other players in or around the box will hold there hands in front of them in a "why didn't you feed it to me??" type motion. It also happened later in the game when Maxi/Mata?* tried to essentially pass the ball into the net and it ended up going out for a goal kick. ITS was standing on the right side of the box with no one around him begging for Maxi/Mata to have passed to him instead of running at the defense. Probably would've ended up in a goal as the entire ATL defense collapsed towards the left to cover Maxi. I believe this was a few moments before Heber's goal, so the score was still 3-1.

*Not sure if it was Mata, Heber, or Taty, but a few close 1-2's were played with Maxi but it ended in a corner/goal kick.

 

[Kenny]

I'm sure it was just reflex, as pointed out above players do it all the time when it's not a goal. Taty was also first to give him a big hug in the corner after his first goal. I'm not worried.

 

[Gotham Gator]

Really nice writeup from our friends down south about the game. Worth checking out. I caught this on the Twitter from NYCFC Tactics, so credit to them.

Talking Tactics: How NYCFC Shredded Atlanta United

Frank de Boer stuck with his usual system despite missing a couple of key attackers. Things didn’t go well.

www.dirtysouthsoccer.com

 

[Gotham Gator]

I have also forgotten to mention how good Maxi's runs off the ball were on Mitri's first goal. Check out the GIF below again.

First, Maxi runs up the middle of the field, drawing Perez to the center and leaving acres of space for Mitri to receive Isi's pass. Then, Maxi runs across the top of the penalty area, drawing the other two defenders laterally past Mitri and giving him the opening to shoot. It was so clever.