MLS - August 31 - Columbus (Away)

[canchon]

game day…and Ted Unkel is reffing. Usually I’d post an “oh no we’re doomed” but does it really matter? We know what this team is, they’ll keep it close but won’t beat a good team like Columbus.

I’m not sure what we really should be excited for except the inevitable early round playoff defeat. I don’t think this will change until Cushing is out.

 

[gbservis]

game day…and Ted Unkel is reffing. Usually I’d post an “oh no we’re doomed” but does it really matter? We know what this team is, they’ll keep it close but won’t beat a good team like Columbus.

I’m not sure what we really should be excited for except the inevitable early round playoff defeat. I don’t think this will change until Cushing is out.

This NYCFC team can beat any team in the league but can't do it consistently. I'm starting to think everything hinges on Sands and Parks. On his best nights Parks looks like a top CM in the league and can break lines with his passes, on bad nights he looks checked out as he sleepwalks around the field and avoids putting in a tackle like the plague. Sands at his best is a defensive destroyer, he covers all of our defensive holes and can have streaks of impeccable distribution, on the bad nights Sands becomes mistake-prone, he gives the ball away at an alarming rate and picks up silly yellow cards to late challenges.

The good and the bad for all the other players on the roster are the same game to game. The variability lies with Parks and Sands, largely because when they are playing at their ceiling they can be exceptional.

 

[KevinJRogers]

This NYCFC team can beat any team in the league but can't do it consistently. I'm starting to think everything hinges on Sands and Parks. On his best nights Parks looks like a top CM in the league and can break lines with his passes, on bad nights he looks checked out as he sleepwalks around the field and avoids putting in a tackle like the plague. Sands at his best is a defensive destroyer, he covers all of our defensive holes and can have streaks of impeccable distribution, on the bad nights Sands becomes mistake-prone, he gives the ball away at an alarming rate and picks up silly yellow cards to late challenges.

The good and the bad for all the other players on the roster are the same game to game. The variability lies with Parks and Sands, largely because when they are playing at their ceiling they can be exceptional.

They're huge, and with a healthy Perea our midfield is competitive with anyone. And that's not a knock against Justin Haak. He's come a long way.

But you're right, they all need to play at their level consistently.

 

[ZYanksRule]

We continue to be taught tough lessons, but we are not learning the tough lessons. It's in one ear and out the other.

So many late goals conceded lately. Extremely troubling.

Freese better not be out long-term, because our backup goalie is not at the level.

 

[DeGrozz]

16 points dropped from winning positions this year.

That's not counting the League's Cup.

 

[mgarbowski]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1830062697800483153

 

[ZYanksRule]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1830062697800483153

How in the world does Apple not have a shot of this anywhere on their broadcast? So ridiculously dreadful from the broadcast crew.

 

[canchon]

16 points dropped from winning positions this year.

That's not counting the League's Cup.

Coaching.

 

[ZYanksRule]

Didn't see the Freese injury live, but just saw it in the replay ... that does not look good. Hopefully not as bad as it looked. Freese knows he did something.

 

[ZYanksRule]

Coaching.

Agreed. How many young players have improved as the season has gone on? Cushing is supposed to be a developmental coach, but how much developing is happening this year? This team, just like last year, is better than its results. There's a common denominator there.

Some young players are improving for sure. But many are not. I continue to be thoroughly unimpressed with Nick Cushing's job performance.

 

[ZYanksRule]

Alright so NYCFC is complaining that Unkel blocked Fernandez on the ball back into the box for the game-winning goal.

Unkel does get in his way, but it really doesn't have a major impact on the play. Julian's not getting there first. Apparently, afterwards Julian made contact with Unkel and was thrown out for that.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1830064086358315029

 

[Kenny]

Cincy 4 weeks ago. Up 2-0 in the 78' Lost 4-2.
Then two 1-1 draws after going up 1-0 and the Tigres anomaly.
Chicago last weekend up 2-0 in the 77' at home. Drew 2-2.
Columbus tonight, come back to tie in the 86' 2-2. Lost 4-2.

This needs to be solved by the coaches, players, someone. It is clearly a team thing, mentality, tactical, something. If it can get solved we can still make a deep run. If not, we'll be one and done.

 

[Brooklyn Blue]

Alright so NYCFC is complaining that Unkel blocked Fernandez on the ball back into the box for the game-winning goal.

Unkel does get in his way, but it really doesn't have a major impact on the play. Julian's not getting there first. Apparently, afterwards Julian made contact with Unkel and was thrown out for that.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1830064086358315029

Not sure that an appeal would yield a rescindment of an official contact red card, but on that replay it is clear Unkel was in the way - and I am not as sure that Julian couldn't have at least made it interesting on that free ball. I never underestimate the speed of a professional athlete.

 

[ZYanksRule]

Not sure that an appeal would yield a rescindment of an official contact red card, but on that replay it is clear Unkel was in the way - and I am not as sure that Julian couldn't have at least made it interesting on that free ball. I never underestimate the speed of a professional athlete.

Fair. According to the reporters, Nick claimed Fernandez was "took out" on the play which is a quite large exaggeration.

If Julian really made contact with Unkel afterwards, he's going to be suspended in addition to his red card.

 

[LionNYC]

If this game was at home, I would probably be yelling at the referees based on the quotes from the match. Fucking hell PRO, hell.

 

[Revfugee]

On the one hand, nobody in the league has played Columbus this close this consistently all year.

On the other hand, we have nothing to show for it.

So frustrating to drop points from leads so much.

A few points:

Barraza is just not capable of stopping anything. I’ve never had much confidence in him and tonight was a perfect illustration of why. Freese would not have allowed goals 2 and 4. We need a competent backup. IMHO, despite other defensive lapses, this was the difference in the match.

Gray giveth and Taketh away. His ball through to Martinez for the first goal was elite. Then he coughed it up to set up Columbus’s first goal.

With that said, we seem to be incapable of dealing with diagonal balls on either side. Granted Columbus is very good at this but anytime there’s a long diagonal we seem to grant infinite space to the receiver of the ball and we dont seem capable of anticipating the diagonal in the first place. Case in point: the first goal. And though the ball on which Freese got injured was not really diagonal, someone else needed to read and defend that. Now we have an injured keeper.

I think Nick’s plan to hold Maxi and Mac in reserve was actually tactically sound. Then Mac stood there lamely watching Jones. When Jones came on, my thought was, Jones never hurts us, and Mac will own him. I guess I was wrong. That was just bad defending.

The difference between us and Columbus is that their depth is actually capable of turning things up a notch, whereas ours struggles to maintain the level of the starters.

I’m much less upset about this loss than I was about dropping points to Chicago last week. There were some bright spots in this match, including Martinez, Haak (shut a lot down and committed a next level professional foul), Keaton (composed, and everywhere) , and Santi (repeatedly worked out of tight spaces). Bakrar’s finish was amazing although he did miss a sitter.

But we also lost two key players in the match to injury.

Even with all that, it’s immensely frustrating that this team can’t protect a lead. We are so close to being elite and yet we always fall short.

 

[mgarbowski]

If this game was at home, I would probably be yelling at the referees based on the quotes from the match. Fucking hell PRO, hell.

Crew fans on Reddit were convinced they were cheated of 2 PKs (and were maybe right about 1 of them) and believed they got the short end on multiple other calls. One poster counted 5 separate "fuck ted" chants during the game.

When Unkel officiates everyone just decides ahead of time to complain.

 

[ZYanksRule]

I'm also incredibly frustrated with how often our team complains to and about the refs.

Keaton and Santi are always running to the ref whining about a call. Julian got a red card last night for touching the ref. And Nick whines in his post game presser. Enough. Control the controllables. Stop wasting energy on stuff you can't control.

 

[KevinJRogers]

On the one hand, nobody in the league has played Columbus this close this consistently all year.

On the other hand, we have nothing to show for it.

So frustrating to drop points from leads so much.

A few points:

Barraza is just not capable of stopping anything. I’ve never had much confidence in him and tonight was a perfect illustration of why. Freese would not have allowed goals 2 and 4. We need a competent backup. IMHO, despite other defensive lapses, this was the difference in the match.

Gray giveth and Taketh away. His ball through to Martinez for the first goal was elite. Then he coughed it up to set up Columbus’s first goal.

With that said, we seem to be incapable of dealing with diagonal balls on either side. Granted Columbus is very good at this but anytime there’s a long diagonal we seem to grant infinite space to the receiver of the ball and we dont seem capable of anticipating the diagonal in the first place. Case in point: the first goal. And though the ball on which Freese got injured was not really diagonal, someone else needed to read and defend that. Now we have an injured keeper.

I think Nick’s plan to hold Maxi and Mac in reserve was actually tactically sound. Then Mac stood there lamely watching Jones. When Jones came on, my thought was, Jones never hurts us, and Mac will own him. I guess I was wrong. That was just bad defending.

The difference between us and Columbus is that their depth is actually capable of turning things up a notch, whereas ours struggles to maintain the level of the starters.

I’m much less upset about this loss than I was about dropping points to Chicago last week. There were some bright spots in this match, including Martinez, Haak (shut a lot down and committed a next level professional foul), Keaton (composed, and everywhere) , and Santi (repeatedly worked out of tight spaces). Bakrar’s finish was amazing although he did miss a sitter.

But we also lost two key players in the match to injury.

Even with all that, it’s immensely frustrating that this team can’t protect a lead. We are so close to being elite and yet we always fall short.

Good analysis all around. But in my view, I'm glad we didn't just bunker up and absorb pressure and try and escape with the points. Playing through to the final whistle on the front foot -- again -- shows me the training wheels are well and truly off and we're out to contend with the big boys.

We're still young and we're not quite all the way there. I'm not sure what to expect the rest of the way this campaign. But the way it's unfolding, I'm feeling really really good about the path we're on.

I'm also incredibly frustrated with how often our team complains to and about the refs.

Keaton and Santi are always running to the ref whining about a call. Julian got a red card last night for touching the ref. And Nick whines in his post game presser. Enough. Control the controllables. Stop wasting energy on stuff you can't control.

Agreed. Working the officials is part of the deal, but you can't let the officiating get up in your head. Focus on your opponent. When you get done dirty, shoot the ref a dirty look and get back to business.

Haak did that a couple times, by the way: shot Unkel a "wtf, dude" look and then locked right back in. He's really coming on now. He was an outright beast again last night.

 

[ZYanksRule]

Good analysis all around. But in my view, I'm glad we didn't just bunker up and absorb pressure and try and escape with the points. Playing through to the final whistle on the front foot -- again -- shows me the training wheels are well and truly off and we're out to contend with the big boys.

We're still young and we're not quite all the way there. I'm not sure what to expect the rest of the way this campaign. But the way it's unfolding, I'm feeling really really good about the path we're on.

Agreed. We're not winning anything this year, but we're on a good path for 2025 and beyond.