Chicago Postmatch

[Taurus]

Nice match. Great to see Villa back on form and surpassing his goal total from last season. Shelton now has had his best 4 weeks in his career in my opinion with 3 assists tonight.

Mendoza's goal was a beauty with Villa's assist and although I have been negative on Mena he had a good night tonight.

Hope we can stay on top of the table and can't wait for the playoffs!!!

 

[Seven]

The kid in the middle

 

[Ulrich]

1) that was awesome

2) goddamnit I wanted to see villa get a hat trick so badly

He could have had, should have had 2 or 3 more. How exactly did he take that one ball out of the net from 12" away? And what was the call on his header that was brought back, offsides?

 

[Ulrich]

View attachment 5805

The kid in the middle

He looks like he's 4' tall

 

[Taurus]

He could have had, should have had 2 or 3 more. How exactly did he take that one ball out of the net from 12" away? And what was the call on his header that was brought back, offsides?

Offsides.

 

[Ulrich]

Offsides.

Ah, couldn't see it from my angle. My entire section went crazy and could figure out if a fouls was committed or offsides.

 

[LionNYC]

I have to say after leaving Yankee Stadium, I was a bit disappointed. Sure we won, but we should have won by a lot more. We left a lot of goals on the table. Considering the goal differential that may come into play between us and Red Bulls for the 2nd playoff spot, we needed all the ones we missed. Jack's in the last minute, Khiry curling it wide and hitting it right at Sean Johnson, Villa missed one and another called offside, and that time the ref pointed to the spot in the final stages, or was pointing to the ball, which was exactly where the penalty spot is, WTF?!?. That's 9 goals.

Anyway, it was a great atmosphere tonight. I got to meet R2D2 and Porzingis. The taller one of the two was with MLS Digital and Susannah Collins (she's very attractive). Got to tell her I enjoy her work on the site with This Week in MLS and BTW (another video series, which is why she was with Porzingis tonight). Also told her I was the one that shouted out after the end of the Dallas match to her saying, "I LOVE THIS WEEK IN MLS!"

Despite that wild lineup that Vieira put out, it worked (though we were playing Chicago). Still, we looked better with McNamara in the midfield and Shelton and Harrison on the wings.

Mena had his Lord Kwame moment, a goal that none of us expected and were scratching our heads after he scored it. Mena scored? Really? Okay.

How did we score that second? There's the kickoff and then Villa is putting the ball into the net.

Still we had a lot of missed opportunities and when games come in which there aren't as many chances, we need to put those away. We have 9 shots on target, 6 off target, and 3 blocked.

Saunders though still shat the bed. I mean the ball hit off the post and then his head to out of bounds. And when he tried to be sweeper keeper and had to kick it up in the air, that was nearly a penalty. I told Eirik before the match, "Next year, you're number 1." #StartEirik

And since I didn't record the match and it was Star Wars night, I am watching Episode 4 on TNT.

I'd like to see Mendoza win Goal of the Week (though since that's a fan bracket, that surely isn't happening) but Villa (with a brace) and Shelton (with the assist hat trick) on Team of the Week.

 

[Midas Mulligan]

Josh Saunders: permanent turd in the punch bowl.

 

[Ulrich]

Josh Saunders: permanent turd in the punch bowl.

He just continues to amaze with creative new flopping and ball handling. He actually made 2-3 great saves, but that ball off the back of his head was painfully comical to watch. I almost wanted it to go in to be our most preposterous goal ever given up....

 

[adam]

Shelton (with the Gordie Howe hat trick) on Team of the Week.

I would assume the soccer version of a Gordiie Howe hat trick would be a goal, an assist and a red card.

 

[Midas Mulligan]

He just continues to amaze with creative new flopping and ball handling. He actually made 2-3 great saves, but that ball off the back of his head was painfully comical to watch. I almost wanted it to go in to be our most preposterous goal ever given up....

The best was his bobble. Then miss the kick. Then squib to top of box. All while some British guy was telling us Saunders wasn't that bad.

 

[Midas Mulligan]

I would assume the soccer version of a Gordiie Howe hat trick would be a goal, an assist and a red card.

John Terry hat trick is goal, own goal, red card. Just a reference point.

 

[Midas Mulligan]

John Terry hat trick is goal, own goal, red card. Just a reference point.

Golden sombrero if you can drunkenly insult grieving Americans.

 

[Gotham Gator]

Credit to PV for the set piece 1st goal off the corner. Love it when the designed play works. Villa with more goals than Giovinco like I have been saying since preaseason. Have to love Villas work rate and defensive pressure. So disruptive. So bummed i couldn't be there. So happy after 2 liters a 4-1 win and first place going into the weekend

Props to this post. Marsch's crazy antics on set pieces draw a lot of attention, but this (and other) set pieces are a work of art on a much grander scale.

 

[LionNYC]

I would assume the soccer version of a Gordiie Howe hat trick would be a goal, an assist and a red card.

Yeah, you're right about that, confused it with the three assist hat trick. Does that have a name?

 

[twsj91]

I didn't have the best week at work and admititly had many alcohols tonight but I feel like we didn't play well vs a bad Chicago team. A 4-1 win none the less.

 

[Ulrich]

The best was his bobble. Then miss the kick. Then squib to top of box. All while some British guy was telling us Saunders wasn't that bad.

Well compared to some English keepers, he may be appreciated more... England isn't exactly a GK pipeline like the US is - we have been spoiled by competent and calm goalkeeping from so many top tier keepers dating back to '94 that we expect them all to be better than Saunders has been.

 

[Midas Mulligan]

Well compared to some English keepers, he may be appreciated more... England isn't exactly a GK pipeline like the US is - we have been spoiled by competent and calm goalkeeping from so many top tier keepers dating back to '94 that we expect them all to be better than Saunders has been.

And yet, in city fashion, we end up with a guy literally no one would employ. That's the WTF of the decade.

 

[Gotham Gator]

I have to say after leaving Yankee Stadium, I was a bit disappointed. Sure we won, but we should have won by a lot more. We left a lot of goals on the table.

This is true, but the other side did too, a bit. In general, soccer is about (a) creating chances and (b) converting them. (a) is usually more important than (b), and we were better at both tonight.

Considering the goal differential that may come into play between us and Red Bulls for the 2nd playoff spot, we needed all the ones we missed.

Catching up with them was never going to happen - the time to do it was in that game, but the players gave up (so did the fans).

How did we score that second? There's the kickoff and then Villa is putting the ball into the net.

Entirely correct. How did that happen? You were at the stadium. I watched on national TV. Neither of us has a clue. But, Unimas had all the replays and all the angles, and I still don't know how Shelton ended up with the ball at that spot. I assume he nicked it, but who the fuck knows with the fuckwit Unimas assholes at the controls.

Still we had a lot of missed opportunities and when games come in which there aren't as many chances, we need to put those away. We have 9 shots on target, 6 off target, and 3 blocked.

Again, soccer is a game of chance - getting 50% on target and nearly that rate in the net is not bad, and the bigger challenge is getting 18 decent shots.

Saunders though still shat the bed. I mean the ball hit off the post and then his head to out of bounds. And when he tried to be sweeper keeper and had to kick it up in the air, that was nearly a penalty. I told Eirik before the match, "Next year, you're number 1." #StartEirik

He was pretty good tonight. He bailed out the defense more than once. That ball off his head is on the back line fucking up.

And since I didn't record the match and it was Star Wars night, I am watching Episode 4 on TNT.

Dude, that is awesome.

I'd like to see Mendoza win Goal of the Week (though since that's a fan bracket, that surely isn't happening) but Villa (with a brace) and Shelton (with the assist hat trick) on Team of the Week.

Mendoza deserves it for sure, but someone from Orlando will win it for a tap in.

 

[canchon]

What the hell was the ref doing when Villa got taken out in the penalty area at the end of the game? He pointed right at the spot for about 5 seconds and then play went on. Huh?