Not just any defender at that, it was Ashely Cole. We are lucky to have Harrison, so much talent for his age.
Galaxy Postmatch
- Thread starter NYCFC_Dan
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Not just any defender at that, it was Ashely Cole. We are lucky to have Harrison, so much talent for his age.
This isn't stupid. It's so you know it's authentic. So in this case at least, plasticity begets authenticity.
L Ron Mulligan says to tell you the last check bounced. We'll accept a danbucks transfer this time.The Church (all of them) repeat the same shit every week and some people find it enlightening.
maybeMidas Mulligan is some kind of spiritual figure that has not reached you yet
Lucky or good? Let's credit the fo with doin what it took. Probably with an assist from BAJ himself.
Villa was solid today. He did miss some chances, but he also got those chances in the first place. So much of what separates an elite goalscorer is not great finishing but being able to create lots of chances. He's always been very good at that, and he was great at it today.
Both teams missed some open chances. It could easily have been a 3-2 type of game. Thank goodness they weren't more clinical than us. That said, I thought our defense was really good today and deserve a lot of praise.
One thing about Saunders that deserves praise today is his distribution. I thought it may have been his best game in that regard (admittedly a low bar). He played the ball up past the first row of defenders a few times to good effect, including one to Matarrita that led to a chance. He also got the ball out quickly once he got his hands on it, which he hadn't been doing previously and this helped us counter.
On the play where Robbie Keane headed wide of an open goal, I think the ball curved more than anyone expected. That's why Saunders missed it off his line and Keane only got the side of his head on it.
What do people think about having Mata at LB with Hernandez at RB, allowing Mata to roam higher up the pitch while the other defenders form 3 at the back?
Both teams missed some open chances. It could easily have been a 3-2 type of game. Thank goodness they weren't more clinical than us. That said, I thought our defense was really good today and deserve a lot of praise.
One thing about Saunders that deserves praise today is his distribution. I thought it may have been his best game in that regard (admittedly a low bar). He played the ball up past the first row of defenders a few times to good effect, including one to Matarrita that led to a chance. He also got the ball out quickly once he got his hands on it, which he hadn't been doing previously and this helped us counter.
On the play where Robbie Keane headed wide of an open goal, I think the ball curved more than anyone expected. That's why Saunders missed it off his line and Keane only got the side of his head on it.
What do people think about having Mata at LB with Hernandez at RB, allowing Mata to roam higher up the pitch while the other defenders form 3 at the back?
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I think this match was another great barometer for our growth thanks to PV and Claudio. Last year we got played off the field and the match couldn't end soon enough. Since then LA has only improved their squad with either signings (all even bigger and higher paid/profile than ours). Yesterday showed what we NYCFC fans have known (since about week 8) that we really improved and are legitimate cup contenders in our second year.
I really haven't either, but I wasn't there yesterday. Maybe with the bigger house, it brought out the more casual fans.
Both of our notable outside backs were available yesterday (Matarrita and Allen). Matarrita started at LB but Hernandez started on RB.
Hernandez can't move forward as well as RJ but is a better defender as part of a three man backline. Matarrita is the best attacker of all three but lacks the defending skills.
Mataritta lines up on the left with McNamara and Hernandez lines up with Harrison on the right. Harrison is a better attacker than McNamara. So, McNamara gets the attacking support with the better attacking outside back and Harrison is left with Hernandez and only defensive support on the right.
With all this being said, I think that Vieira wants to balance attack and defense and will give up the promise of the Matarrita-McNamara and Allen-Harrison overlapping runs for the defense of Hernandez. It's not our best 11 in terms of talent but it's Vieira's best 11 for balance.
But I have to ask, when Chanot comes back, is Hernandez the best RB option? Assuming the Chanot-Brillant CB pairing, we've seen Mena with sparks of attacking runs and the ability to shoot. He's a better defender than Hernandez and has shown great defending ability 1v1 on the left and right sides of the field.
We all want to see Mataritta--Brillant--Chanot--Allen for great attacking football. But since we know how Vieira is lining up our backline is Matarrita--Brillant--Chanot--Mena the better option?
Hernandez can't move forward as well as RJ but is a better defender as part of a three man backline. Matarrita is the best attacker of all three but lacks the defending skills.
Mataritta lines up on the left with McNamara and Hernandez lines up with Harrison on the right. Harrison is a better attacker than McNamara. So, McNamara gets the attacking support with the better attacking outside back and Harrison is left with Hernandez and only defensive support on the right.
With all this being said, I think that Vieira wants to balance attack and defense and will give up the promise of the Matarrita-McNamara and Allen-Harrison overlapping runs for the defense of Hernandez. It's not our best 11 in terms of talent but it's Vieira's best 11 for balance.
But I have to ask, when Chanot comes back, is Hernandez the best RB option? Assuming the Chanot-Brillant CB pairing, we've seen Mena with sparks of attacking runs and the ability to shoot. He's a better defender than Hernandez and has shown great defending ability 1v1 on the left and right sides of the field.
We all want to see Mataritta--Brillant--Chanot--Allen for great attacking football. But since we know how Vieira is lining up our backline is Matarrita--Brillant--Chanot--Mena the better option?
Interesting thoughts. I was as horrified as everyone else by the choice of Hernandez over Allen yesterday but I think it actually worked well. Between Hernandez having a better game than usual and Pirlo having plenty of time to pick him out, Harrison was able to get involved often.
I am all for Mena at RB. Dude is fast as hell so he won't get burned by many if any.
Matarrita is not a bad defender. The issue with his defense is that he is always up the field and has to track back. That's a tactical issue not a technical one.
Chanot has experience at RB and passing ability. I would be in favor of RJ at RB with Brillant and Chanot but if you want to play 3 CBs, it should be Mata-Mena-Brillant-Chanot. Not intentional but you get a Spanish half and a French half of the backline.
Not yet covered. We've complained about playing hot games in our dark unis. Yesterday LAG had to play in sweltering heat in their darks. And with no hydration break.
I'm sure they were dying yesterday. There was one point with 8-10 min left when VanDamme went cruising down the left side and Jack could barely muster more than a jog after him - he looked 100% spent. Probably also the reason VD was making the runs - he was fresher as a CB and knew JH couldn't track him.
AH, I'm glad you mentioned that, because it reminded me of a question I meant to ask yesterday, but slipped my mind.
On that particular play when Harrison went around the defender he was in the penalty area, but running across the goal line and out of touch (at least it looked that way from the other side of the building in section 206).
So my crazy question is, if he was fouled at that particular moment, what would the call be? Would it have been a PK?
Off the top of my head, and admitting my memory is fuzzy, I remember two other "special nights"- military appreciation and autism awareness. Military appreciation had the Military members with the flag during the national anthem. For autism awareness, the Club posted photos of players with the Autism Speaks charity banner, and even had a "quiet room" available at YS during the match.
If you Google these two- "NYCFC military appreciation" or "NYCFC autism awareness" you'll find links to organizations as well as the Club's press releases. Search for "NYCFC pride night" and the top hit is the Third Rail's tweet.
I don't really care what we support or don't support, I guess I'm just tagging along with the "if you're gonna do it, do it right crowd".
As an example, here's an article on the Mets' pride night, just last week: http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2016/08/13/mets-pride-night/
