Away - 03/08 Orlando City SC
- Thread starter NYCFC_Dan
- Start date
And to lose due to our manager. I love JK. But he fucked it all up.
I was watching the game at Nevada Smith's so I don't have a clear analysis yet, gonna rewatch today or tomorrow. I thought we were strong in the middle but weak on the wings. Also, it felt like an earthquake after Mix scored in Nevada Smith's, it was awesome.
Villa kind of sucked tonight. Sorry to say. He hogged the ball when he got it (which was rare), but there were more than a couple of times he had better options he didn't take so he could go alone. It was disappointing.
As I've said the whole damn time, even before we signed him, Mix is our most important player. He proved it again tonight.
Kreis fucked up. Should have def taken off a striker. Shit happens. Yada yada yada.
I agree. His substitutions made no sense save for Ballouchy but that was just correcting a prior mistake because he should never of started to begin with.
Mix is a star and pure class. I saw more of Mix than anyone. He was always on the ball and always moving. Great athleticism. He is a DP quality player for sure and will only get better in time.
Indeed, Mix would have been essential for us to keep possession. If anything Grabavoy should have come off because he was struggling mightily through out the game.
It is the Orlando City Swim Club (they like to dive).
A fair result to be honest. Worst player was Nemec. He was just awful. Should have scored at least once. JK should have gone 451 in the last 10 mins. However I think the team panicked a little. Shelton did ok when he came on. Some of our passing in the first half was rubbish.
Mix was walking with a slight limp when he came off. That might have had something to do with it.
Really though, Orlando just won the lottery on the luckiest of tips on a free kick. I don't really blame Kreis for that.
I'm really curious as to where Tony Taylor was. I'd have loved to see him today. Shelton did great but Tony is a vet and might have done even better. Any word on where he was? Sick? Injured?
Player ratings
Saunders - 7
Hard to see how he could endear himself to the supporters any more. Pretty heroic stuff for the first game - am genuinely surprised he stayed in the game after that first collision, let alone when the cut to his read re-opened. Made a great save down low to his left second half, otherwise did what was expected of him. Looked very strong coming out to punch away corners, but his goal kicks were erratic at times. Would like to see him play it short so we could play it out of defense a little more often, but I don't think he could really trust his full backs.
Williams - 6
Quiet game overall, kept track of Shea pretty well, but didn't get forward too much.
Hernandez - 7
Shaky start, but really grew into the game. Can't ask for more in terms of commitment, made plenty of last-ditch tackles and put his body on the line during set-pieces.
Wingert - 6
Quiet game overall, but used the ball well.
Brovsky - 5
Oh dear - something of a bombscare in the second half when he was diving into tackles all over the place. We're incredibly fortunate that the ref wasn't intimidated by the occasion today, because he was just asking to give away a penalty and/or a red card today. Doesn't look overly confident on the ball either and gave it away too often.
Grabavoy - 6
Offered next to no width in the diamond formation, which hurt us throughout the game. But on the ball he was excellent, playing simple passes and keeping things ticking over. Feel like he can be a crucial player this season, and most of the good portions of play we had came through him, but we're hamstrung as long as he's forced out wide.
Diskerud - 9 (MOTM)
What more did you want from this guy? The best player on the pitch by a mile - ran himself into the ground, created chances, kept possession, hassled the opposition midfield, and scored a beautiful, beautiful goal. (Can someone gif that badge-kissing celebration?) Not surprised he had to come off, he must have covered more ground than any other player - this guy is going to absolutely run the show this year.
Jacobson - 7
Is he being payed by the backheel or something? Nah, seriously, he had a good game. Offered the steel we needed in the middle of the park, and worked hard to track back when needed. Loved it when he got in Shea's face during that first dive.
Bellouchy - 5
Showed a bit of quality when he was on the ball, but just didn't make himself available enough. Failed to create space out on the wing, and ended up being a bit of a passenger as a result. As the only player offering any kind of width, was disappointing that he didn't try to take on the full back. Became obvious how little impact he was having on the game when Khiry came on.
Nemec - 5
Feel like I'm being generous to the guy here, but he did at least hold the ball up well on occasion, and offered us an aerial outlet up front, which gave us some breathing room when we weren't able to keep it on the floor. Unfortunately that was about it - his job was to be the target man and bring Villa into the game, and he failed at that miserably. Didn't work the keeper when he was given the chance to shoot, and that lack of control when he was literally presented the ball on the edge of the area by their defender was criminal. Could have won us the game and didn't.
Villa - 6
OK, now THIS is what I call generous. Can't honestly remember a single contribution he made in the first half. Was double-teamed most of the game, and just couldn't make an impact - if this doesn't change then we're in serious trouble. Didn't exactly get great service from the wingers or his strike partner, but that doesn't excuse his selfishness on the couple of occasions when he did get the ball in a decent position - there were at least two chances when he should have laid it off, rather than try and do things himself. I'll put that down to frustration, but he does get credit for having the intelligence to take that short corner that ultimately led to our goal - more of that please.
Shelton - 7
Breath of fresh air when he came on, ran at players and generally made a nuisance of himself. Very unlucky not to have scored, but with his work rate, pace and skill on the ball, he will make plenty of more chances for himself and his teammates (which is more than can be said for Bellouchy)
Velasquez/Calle - not enough time to make an impact
The opposition - 6
Nothing special really. Lack of discipline was pretty surprising - the diving was embarrassing by the end of the game, and the red card tackle was a horrorshow. As expected, everything went through Kaka, but he didn't look like he had the class to really take control of the game. Was impressed with Shea and the RB (can't remember his name), and their ability to get forward, but they were very lucky to have got anything from the game and they must know it.
Fair play to their fans for making a bit of noise and colour as well - couldn't really tell from watching on TV, but hopefully we can follow suit next weekend. Was watching in Nevada Smiths which was strangely subdued until the second half (I think the Third Rail were all camped upstairs out of earshot, so don't know if they were making much noise), but great to see so many people out.
Saunders - 7
Hard to see how he could endear himself to the supporters any more. Pretty heroic stuff for the first game - am genuinely surprised he stayed in the game after that first collision, let alone when the cut to his read re-opened. Made a great save down low to his left second half, otherwise did what was expected of him. Looked very strong coming out to punch away corners, but his goal kicks were erratic at times. Would like to see him play it short so we could play it out of defense a little more often, but I don't think he could really trust his full backs.
Williams - 6
Quiet game overall, kept track of Shea pretty well, but didn't get forward too much.
Hernandez - 7
Shaky start, but really grew into the game. Can't ask for more in terms of commitment, made plenty of last-ditch tackles and put his body on the line during set-pieces.
Wingert - 6
Quiet game overall, but used the ball well.
Brovsky - 5
Oh dear - something of a bombscare in the second half when he was diving into tackles all over the place. We're incredibly fortunate that the ref wasn't intimidated by the occasion today, because he was just asking to give away a penalty and/or a red card today. Doesn't look overly confident on the ball either and gave it away too often.
Grabavoy - 6
Offered next to no width in the diamond formation, which hurt us throughout the game. But on the ball he was excellent, playing simple passes and keeping things ticking over. Feel like he can be a crucial player this season, and most of the good portions of play we had came through him, but we're hamstrung as long as he's forced out wide.
Diskerud - 9 (MOTM)
What more did you want from this guy? The best player on the pitch by a mile - ran himself into the ground, created chances, kept possession, hassled the opposition midfield, and scored a beautiful, beautiful goal. (Can someone gif that badge-kissing celebration?) Not surprised he had to come off, he must have covered more ground than any other player - this guy is going to absolutely run the show this year.
Jacobson - 7
Is he being payed by the backheel or something? Nah, seriously, he had a good game. Offered the steel we needed in the middle of the park, and worked hard to track back when needed. Loved it when he got in Shea's face during that first dive.
Bellouchy - 5
Showed a bit of quality when he was on the ball, but just didn't make himself available enough. Failed to create space out on the wing, and ended up being a bit of a passenger as a result. As the only player offering any kind of width, was disappointing that he didn't try to take on the full back. Became obvious how little impact he was having on the game when Khiry came on.
Nemec - 5
Feel like I'm being generous to the guy here, but he did at least hold the ball up well on occasion, and offered us an aerial outlet up front, which gave us some breathing room when we weren't able to keep it on the floor. Unfortunately that was about it - his job was to be the target man and bring Villa into the game, and he failed at that miserably. Didn't work the keeper when he was given the chance to shoot, and that lack of control when he was literally presented the ball on the edge of the area by their defender was criminal. Could have won us the game and didn't.
Villa - 6
OK, now THIS is what I call generous. Can't honestly remember a single contribution he made in the first half. Was double-teamed most of the game, and just couldn't make an impact - if this doesn't change then we're in serious trouble. Didn't exactly get great service from the wingers or his strike partner, but that doesn't excuse his selfishness on the couple of occasions when he did get the ball in a decent position - there were at least two chances when he should have laid it off, rather than try and do things himself. I'll put that down to frustration, but he does get credit for having the intelligence to take that short corner that ultimately led to our goal - more of that please.
Shelton - 7
Breath of fresh air when he came on, ran at players and generally made a nuisance of himself. Very unlucky not to have scored, but with his work rate, pace and skill on the ball, he will make plenty of more chances for himself and his teammates (which is more than can be said for Bellouchy)
Velasquez/Calle - not enough time to make an impact
The opposition - 6
Nothing special really. Lack of discipline was pretty surprising - the diving was embarrassing by the end of the game, and the red card tackle was a horrorshow. As expected, everything went through Kaka, but he didn't look like he had the class to really take control of the game. Was impressed with Shea and the RB (can't remember his name), and their ability to get forward, but they were very lucky to have got anything from the game and they must know it.
Fair play to their fans for making a bit of noise and colour as well - couldn't really tell from watching on TV, but hopefully we can follow suit next weekend. Was watching in Nevada Smiths which was strangely subdued until the second half (I think the Third Rail were all camped upstairs out of earshot, so don't know if they were making much noise), but great to see so many people out.
As far as I know, Tony just wasn't selected as part of the 18. Coach's decision; just like Mendoza and McNamara.
Extremely fair assessment. Villa was possibly the worst player on the pitch for us. Trade Nemec and Villa for Dempsey/Martins and we have 3-4 goals. I know Villa is class, but he really has to play with his head up more. Nemec may only have nubs for feet because his touches that aren't his head or chest definitely aren't first division quality. His passing is also hot poo.
Grabavoy and Ballouchy have got to get off the ball, and the same for Jacobson to a lesser extent. That is what makes Mix work. He plays 1-2 touches and is either otw forward or playing forward or lays it off. That's good football to me. He's just by far the class of our midfield.
I loathe Lampard, but he will help for 30
Minutes per game the 6-8 games he's here.
FYI, for those questioning why JK pulled Mix at the end, Mix seemed to tweak something and called for a substitution.
Diskerud is a stud, plain and simple. I expect a lot of goals and assists to come from him this season. Rough game for Villa, and Nemec is not good enough to start. Whether it be Shelton, Taylor, or Mullins someone else needs to be his partner.
Kreis's subs always are mysterious. However the end result was brilliant. It is only by the act of God and the soul Saunders sold to the Devil himself that Orlando wasn't up 2-0 or something at half.
I will happily take a draw in front of that crowd for the first match. I get it, we want to win everything now, but this was a positive result.
Imagine how Orlando looks now. Brovsky is their first time historical scorer!
I will happily take a draw in front of that crowd for the first match. I get it, we want to win everything now, but this was a positive result.
Imagine how Orlando looks now. Brovsky is their first time historical scorer!
Fair, in all honesty I did want to see more of Velasquez anyway but no excuse for keeping Nemec on..or Brovsky.
Kind of overlooked so far, but we need to give credit to the coaches and staff for taking Shelton in the draft, especially since most "experts" had us choosing Roldan. He's come in and impacted the team right away, which is all we could have hoped from the pick. He gives us speed that we are lacking in the midfield, at least with the starters. He's also versatile enough to play forward or in the midfield, which could be important during a long season.
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