MLS - March 1 - Philadelphia (Away)

[LionNYC]

We didn’t play great but Philly played even worse. We need a striker. Reid needs more time to develop with the IIs.

The first call wasn’t a penalty. The second call was even less a penalty. Glad Pascal got a yellow for dissent.

We were the better team overall and deserved the win.

And now we have four games straight at home with 12 points to take.

https://twitter.com/x/status/2028251934059098252

 

[ZYanksRule]

I thought the first one was a pretty clear penalty, Gustavo is clumsy and kicks the attacker in the leg. That's a penalty and I'm shocked Penso didn't want to call it.

The second one was absolutely crazy. Never a penalty. Two guys battling in the box. Penso was on a real bender in the second half, he completely lost the plot.

 

[Revfugee]

Ojeda deserves a lot more credit than “one assist and two shots.” He created the goal he didn’t get the assist on, too, with a great run down the left and a perfect nutmeg to set up the first shot. He also tracked back to kill a dangerous attack at 17 minutes that would have changed the entire match. THAT was not something I expected. His best moments today will not show up on a stat sheet.

Other notes:

Uncharacteristic unforced giveaways through the first 15. Even Keaton. Though overall Keaton showed why he’s important. He really helps keep things calm as we build. I prefer Keaton-O’Neil or Keaton-Trewin to the Kangaroo double pivot. Things are gonna get really interesting for Pascal when Perea returns.

O'Toole miss at 34 contradicts my “Try O’Toole at Striker” experiment thesis. Otherwise he was good today in his main role.

Wolf had some excellent moments.
First goal What a great team goal. What a buildup!
When we are pissing on Ojeda, remember this goal
On the first pen non-call I suspect the ball was already past the player when the infraction happened. This didn’t show up in the angle from behind the net but I suspect that why Pensó waved it off and the announcers just couldn’t let go of it which I thought was pretty lame. I thought the second one was soft but maybe a makeup call that goes the other way if there weren’t two such borderline incidents relatively close together.

It was definitely the Penso show, though, and we got the better of it esp. with the Red card.
Live by the Penso die by the Penso.

Reid should have finished at least one of his two main chances. If we had lost or tied that match it would have looked really bad for him. With that said, he created two chances that nobody else on this squad has shown any ability to match in A-Mart’s absence. He reminds me of a young Altidore (in a good way).
Matty also saved out bacon a few times.

Great win! Love that for Tayvon.

 

[EganSoccerWords]

I'm watching Glenn Crooks's pregame show -- he and Matty are not at the stadium. So NYCFC (MLS?) are not sending the radio team on-site anymore and they're calling games off a monitor from literally Glenn's basement. What a shame.

This is a Philly issue. They are the only stadium that does not have room for two away radio broadcasts so they swap every season with the Spanish broadcast.

 

[Alex Da Silva]

I know that Reid had to get better at finishing off the chances he gets, by seeing the game in person, my God does a 9 at 9 make a difference. There were so many times where the Philly backline had so much more control because nobody was riding the line while nico dropped back down to basically the 6 to join the buildup. As soon as Reid gets on he earned those breakaways in a way nico wouldn't at the 9. We also got to see nico operate in the 10 which made springing wolf, ojeda, talles, and reid much more effective. The false 9 works best with wingers ready to go behind and who are real goal threats direct on goal (not how our wingers work). Ideally we get in another 9 to take most of the minutes, but finishing and hold up play will improve with more minutes for Reid. I would like to see how he does from the start with maxi coming in late

 

[Jon]

I know that Reid had to get better at finishing off the chances he gets, by seeing the game in person, my God does a 9 at 9 make a difference. There were so many times where the Philly backline had so much more control because nobody was riding the line while nico dropped back down to basically the 6 to join the buildup. As soon as Reid gets on he earned those breakaways in a way nico wouldn't at the 9. We also got to see nico operate in the 10 which made springing wolf, ojeda, talles, and reid much more effective. The false 9 works best with wingers ready to go behind and who are real goal threats direct on goal (not how our wingers work). Ideally we get in another 9 to take most of the minutes, but finishing and hold up play will improve with more minutes for Reid. I would like to see how he does from the start with maxi coming in late

This

Yeah, it was disappointing to see Reid unable to finish those 1v1s but I thought we looked better having him up top. I'd like to see his minutes increase. He's only going to get better and more confident with playing time.

 

[Alex Da Silva]

Also, one thing that really bugs me about wolf that I realized yesterday is how often his touch leads to the ball popping up into the air, slowing everything down.

 

[EganSoccerWords]

I would temper the Reid reaction a tad. He got space because Philly had been sending numbers forward chasing a goal. I don't think he is ready to start. He has been much better outside the box then inside which is an issue if you are a striker. Obviously needs more time to develop. I would rather see Talles get into shape if we need a temp body up top and let Reid gain experience off the bench and in cup games

 

[BC19]

The offense looked much better yesterday. We are sitting pretty after two road games and 4 winnable home games in a row coming up. I say the Miami game is winnable because it is sandwiched around CCL for them.

 

[KevinJRogers]

I would rather see Talles get into shape if we need a temp body up top and let Reid gain experience off the bench and in cup games

Talles Magno is much more physical than he's been in the past. He may be ready for this. And if he is, that would satisfy the winger/striker quest we're on and leave the space for Alonso to come back later this year.

It's a big if given what we saw the first time we tried him there. He needs to show he can shoot and not rush it and scuff his shots. But if he can, a lot of other pieces would fall into place quite nicely, thank you very much.

 

[Gotham Gator]

Wonder if we should try Ojeda at the 9.

 

[gbservis]

Talles Magno is much more physical than he's been in the past. He may be ready for this. And if he is, that would satisfy the winger/striker quest we're on and leave the space for Alonso to come back later this year.

It's a big if given what we saw the first time we tried him there. He needs to show he can shoot and not rush it and scuff his shots. But if he can, a lot of other pieces would fall into place quite nicely, thank you very much.

Magno looks stronger, and he made a few really smart plays down the stretch, especially that final sequence where he shielded the ball, absorbed contact, and drew the foul to close out the game.

That said, you can still see the all tendencies that limit him as a striker.

Last week, when he came on up top, he immediately drifted wide left. Almost all of his touches came from that familiar pocket near the left sideline, just outside the 18. This week, playing on the wing, there was another telling moment before the goal: Ojeda beat his man and drove toward the box. That’s when you want Magno making an angled run to the penalty spot, crashing the box and giving Ojeda a target. Instead, he backpedaled to his preferred spot outside the area, and signaled to Ojeda to pull it back to him rather than attacking the danger area.

Magno is who he is. He’s competing hard in his sub appearances, and he’s contributing in moments. But he’s not going to battle center backs in the middle for 90 minutes, and he’s not naturally inclined to stay central for long stretches.

 

[KevinJRogers]

Magno looks stronger, and he made a few really smart plays down the stretch, especially that final sequence where he shielded the ball, absorbed contact, and drew the foul to close out the game.

That said, you can still see the all tendencies that limit him as a striker.

Last week, when he came on up top, he immediately drifted wide left. Almost all of his touches came from that familiar pocket near the left sideline, just outside the 18. This week, playing on the wing, there was another telling moment before the goal: Ojeda beat his man and drove toward the box. That’s when you want Magno making an angled run to the penalty spot, crashing the box and giving Ojeda a target. Instead, he backpedaled to his preferred spot outside the area, and signaled to Ojeda to pull it back to him rather than attacking the danger area.

Magno is who he is. He’s competing hard in his sub appearances, and he’s contributing in moments. But he’s not going to battle center backs in the middle for 90 minutes, and he’s not naturally inclined to stay central for long stretches.

We'll see. I really don't know whether Pascal is even inclined to start him at striker and try it, mostly for the reasons you point out: his instinct is always to attack from the left.

But ... if he can be rewired to attack the goal rather than dance, it still might work, at least on a temporary basis. A bigger question for me is whether he can shoot or not, especially in traffic, and from inside the box. If he can't, the subject is moot.

At least we can be fairly sure he can handle it physically. On his first tour with us, he was too easy to push around and had no chance whatsoever of making it work. It's a different story now.

(Of course, the ideal situation is to find the perfect complement to Alonso out there in the market. The search continues ... )