Second post about the match. Again, sorry for the length (that’s what he said).
Johnson saved our asses. Hamid did the same for DC.
I think a draw was a fair result for both sides. If you are of the mindset that DCU is a contender in the East (most of MLS believes that) and that NYCFC has taken a step back, then getting a point is a good result. But it’s sad that we’re so far behind already that a 0-0 result at home is a good one. Yuk.
I was ok with the formation. The Medina start is a glaring issue for me. He had one nice throughball. He was invisible otherwise. That’s going to become an ugly issue with the supporters sooner or later. He will get booed and deservedly so.
I don’t know what other formation we could play but without a Striker, were a mess. Maybe it’s. 3-5-2 with Mitrita in a hole underneath two wingers? Is that even a thing?
Johnson was terrific.
Sweat was fine. That’s probably his ceiling and I still want more out of that position.
Chanot was just ok. He makes some mental lapses still.
Callens, to me, is the best CB in MLS. He should be playing in Europe. He does everything a ball dominant side would want and he’s left footed. And his pace? Were very lucky.
Tinnerholm was fine. He covers for the lapses by Chanot. He had some decent crosses. You could tell that he and Medina/ITS had absolutely no connection though. Too bad.
Ring was good. I see Dome using him as an 8 here. He really didn’t sit in the hole at all. Even Maxi spent more time building from the back. I’m ok with this because I don’t think he’s a very good distributor of the ball.
Sands was better than last week. If this year is going to be a struggle anyway, I’m ok with more of Sands. I think he actually got better and more confident as the game went on. He moved the ball and protected his back line. I don’t think he was great or even very good. But he was somewhere between competent and good. And for his second start, that’s not bad.
Maxi was awful today. And he was bad last week. We go as Maxi goes. Today he looked confused and uncomfortable. I’m sure the pitch didn’t help. But he has regressed tonthe guy who doesn’t know where to hit the next ball too. Our #10 absolutely has to know where the ball goes next. Maxi doesn’t look up. He doesn’t see runners. He doesn’t reverse field. He dribbles it backwards. There was a moment late in the match where Maxi took good possession of the ball about 30 yards from goal down the right side. We had worked hard to get it there. He dribbled the ball backwards 40 yards and then passed it to Johnson. I grumbled loudly.
Medina was terrible. At this point, you can’t tell me that he should play over Lewis or Taty or ITS. Or GMS when that happens. I don’t know what he is but he can’t play at this level. He’s a bust.
Taty has an interesting game. He’s active. He makes runs. He was ok on the ball. Give me Taty on whatever he’s making as a spot starter, bench player over Medina. But he can’t be your starting Striker either.
Mitrita was fine. I said earlier in the season this could be a year where you hope it’s 0-0 and he does something amazing. Well, he had three amazing shots stopped by Hamid. Maybe 5 goalkeepers in MLS keep all of his shots out. Is that good? I don’t know. What happens when they start man marking him out of the game (DCU did a little of that today). I get that people aren’t happy with his lack of tracking back and him hogging the ball, but frankly, what the hell else is he supposed to do? Medina was a ghost. Maxi is a midget that is out of form. And Taty ? Who knows. I’m ok with him playing hero ball right now because that gives us the best chance to win.
Tajouri-Shradi and Lewis provided nothing off the bench. Sorry. But they probably create more per 90 minutes than Taty and Medina at the moment.
We used two subs. Why no Parks for Sands after 80 minutes? Dome was playing for a draw.
DC did bunker down and sit behind the ball. But if your offense is predicated on possession, than why is that a problem?
I’m so sick of us passing those little touches around our own half. Someone needs to drive the ball. It’s boring to watch.
One other though. Johnson is now legitimately skilled at hitting that intermediate ball to a fullback. That’s a big deal when you’re not playing in a Mickey Mouse pitch and I hope Berhalter is watching.
Still #DomeOut but I don’t think he was a disaster today. At least if you think DCU is much better and a draw is a good result. I think a draw is probably a good result next weekend too but LAFC is better than us. I think we’ll be lucky to have 3 points heading to Toronto the last Friday in March.
So I am not losing my mind just yet. But I don’t see where the points are coming before Montreal on my birthday.