MLS - March 19 - Philadelphia (Home)

Plenty to criticize but not justified considering everything. Philly packed the middle and got numbers back every time they lost the ball. We just weren't up to breaking them down today.

Would have been nice to at least draw, but it is what it is. Goals came on defensive snoozes.

Loved how maxi fought the entire game. Oldest player on the pitch and he was running his ass off. MOTM for me.

Unkel was terrible today. Inconsistent as usual. It's a wonder he is considered one of the better refs in MLS and FIFA. He's reffed World Cup games, hasn't he? Embarrassing.

I thought attendance wasn't too bad. I think around 20K. That's as much as many other MLS teams but it just looks worse in the expanse of YS. In many other stadiums, it'd be a sell out crowd. I think a lot people saw the forecast and ended up not going. I think getting 20-25k for a regular season game is respectable.

I like Martins but I also think he's got a ways to go. He is not in sync with Callens yet nor is he fully organized with our back line. Things seem more organize with it's chanot/callens. Also, we've been really bad on set piece defending so far this season. Hope we can turn it around!
 
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I'm an NYCFC fan first and foremost but also an intelligent person. Philadelphia at +380 was smart money.

Ted Unkel needs to retire after this season.

Andres Jasson is not a right back. Both goals mostly on him defensively lapsing on the plays.
 
Some thoughts from this game:

1. Anyone could see this coming a mile away. Philly coming in with the mentality that this was their Super Bowl against a tired team focused on CCL. Pretty much to be expected. That said,

2. Holy moly Philly is an awful team to watch from an aesthetic perspective. Pack the midfield, play everyone back and score against the run of play. A true MLS team if there was one. When they actually need to dictate the game, they fail.

3. Philly exploited NYCFC’s third choice right back/converted winger. Good for them. We better get gray back for CCL and Anton later in the year.

4. The crowd was pathetic for the weather.

5. The VAR decision from being a penalty and red card (75% chance of being 1-1 and up a man the rest of the game) to Philly scoring like five minutes later ended the game. Don’t know if it was the right call (I was in the stadium) but big swings like that decide games. Once Keaton didn’t slot in that goal at 45’ - yup, it’s not your day. Felt like that.

6. Rest up and beat Seattle, it sucks because Philly fans will gloat about they would have won last fall, but means nothing. Different team, different circumstances. Philly didn’t travel 4000+ miles midweek and has been focusing on this game since last fall. A big result in week 4 of the MLS season means jack.
 
Marito said:
That is concerning. To come back from a Championship year, in a day with nice weather against an attractive opponent and not be able to bring fans to the stadium is quite bad. What makes me feel worse about it is that this has been a consistently very good team that has no solid fanbase to speak of, whereas shitty teams like Cincy keep their loyal, suffering fans. And teams that promise to be shitty like Charlotte break attendance records. Absent some miraculous turnaround (like the USMNT making it to the final in 2026 and playing said final in a shiny new stadium in NYC) the future doesn't look promising. It breaks my heart.
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In section 014A which is between the goal and the first base dugout usually there are never extra tickets for sale but the section is game in game out not full. NYCFC are selling the tickets and it seems like people are just waiting out for the stadium. They should have came out today but it’s definitely seems like people are keeping their tickets and are just not showing up
 
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Jasson has a role with this team. Today, at right back, ain't it.

Borh goals were failure to track a runner on a cross. Basic tracking for a regular right back, but Jasson was late on both.

Team can rest. A draw would have been nice after the miles and miles of travel, but it is what it is. Long term I am not worried about Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference. They play the soccer equivalent of a football team that runs on first down, runs on second down, then throws a screen pass on third. They are good at the basics, but they never go beyond the basics.
 
not a criticism on this game...

but i just wish our wing backs and/or wingers could learn how to deliver more lethal and accurate crosses. far too often, crosses just seem to be going to nobody and are just lofted into the box. makes it so much more difficult to head the ball with any power toward the goal for 1 and gives more time for the defense to recover and defend. I get that sometimes they are under pressure and are just trying to get a cross in, but they don't deliver that dangerous cross even when they have time and space to pick it out.

even on corner kicks.. maxi can deliver balls on a dime usually, but his corners tend to be lofted and rarely driven. is it too much to ask for driven balls behind the back line or dipping into a dangerous area?

also - someone add parks to those finishing drills they do at the end of training. he needs it!
 
mgarbowski said:
cued to proper moment

I realize 1 example doesn't disprove, but I remember thinking that was a real nice cross at the time.
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Ronny mentioned post game that there were lots of great crosses, just nobody was getting on the end of them.

Specifically mentioned that “we were behind players and you need to be in front of them to score” (referring to getting on the end of crosses). He then went on to somewhat speculate that it was fatigue leading to guys “being behind instead of in front” (inferred).
 
Also as others have said, not much to take away from this one considering the travel and fatigue.

I saw a fairly even game where Philly buried the chances that nycfc gave them and where nycfc didn’t bury theirs (thinking specifically Talles and Keaton in the first half).
 
canchon said:
Some thoughts from this game:

1. Anyone could see this coming a mile away. Philly coming in with the mentality that this was their Super Bowl against a tired team focused on CCL. Pretty much to be expected. That said,

2. Holy moly Philly is an awful team to watch from an aesthetic perspective. Pack the midfield, play everyone back and score against the run of play. A true MLS team if there was one. When they actually need to dictate the game, they fail.

3. Philly exploited NYCFC’s third choice right back/converted winger. Good for them. We better get gray back for CCL and Anton later in the year.

4. The crowd was pathetic for the weather.

5. The VAR decision from being a penalty and red card (75% chance of being 1-1 and up a man the rest of the game) to Philly scoring like five minutes later ended the game. Don’t know if it was the right call (I was in the stadium) but big swings like that decide games. Once Keaton didn’t slot in that goal at 45’ - yup, it’s not your day. Felt like that.

6. Rest up and beat Seattle, it sucks because Philly fans will gloat about they would have won last fall, but means nothing. Different team, different circumstances. Philly didn’t travel 4000+ miles midweek and has been focusing on this game since last fall. A big result in week 4 of the MLS season means jack.
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The VAR decision was the right call unfortunately
 
mgarbowski said:
cued to proper moment

I realize 1 example doesn't disprove, but I remember thinking that was a real nice cross at the time.
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Didn't mean to say we never have good crosses.. but it just seems like the greater majority are of the the lofted kind and not the driven kind...

Getting on the end of them is just important. Today it was tough cause Philly did well to clog the middle and got numbers back quickly.
 
My battery ran down. Here were my in-game notes. Mostly about Unkel.

~23: Set piece defending is dire.
26:00: Ted F-ing Unkel: Clear handball in the box Unkel misses.
Wasn’t surprised at the overturned red. After All Unkel is usually wrong. Looked soft from 129 anyway.
45:What has happened to our team defending?
Please kill me if we ever adopt the Philly/NYRB style.
49:00 Unkel is an assclown
Wtf with the announcer? NYFC? Mistook Martins for Santi on the card? Low energy.
54 Talles gets cleaned out. Unkel no call
57 pretty sure Unkel basks in hatred
67: Should have played the advantage
80: Philly is happy to let Gloster have the ball.

Keaton and Heber are not anywhere near in form. Less worried about Keaton than Heber.

Nobody really had a shocker. Nobody had a great or evening particularly good match. We didn’t convert. And we need Tinner or Gray back. Th only good thing to say is that they never gave up.

129 was more crowded than the last few matches, but the contrast to the last away match I saw (Philly playoff match) is stark.
 
VernonJohn said:
Who the hell wrote the “defending against set pieces article” and jinxed us?!!!!!!
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There has to be something marketing-wise the team can do to get more butts in seats, right? Like, there really HAS to be. There are 8 million people in NYC and we can't even get 20k? There's something very wrong here. Maybe we go to Citi Field and it's packed bc queens? I highly doubt it.
 
Shwafta said:
There has to be something marketing-wise the team can do to get more butts in seats, right? Like, there really HAS to be. There are 8 million people in NYC and we can't even get 20k? There's something very wrong here. Maybe we go to Citi Field and it's packed bc queens? I highly doubt it.
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It's really disappointing. I don't understand how this city hasn't embraced this team. New York loves a winner, and these guys are champions.

I'm talking to anyone I see who's a fan of the sport about coming to a game. I talked to several people at the Bronx Brewery afterwards about coming to RBA for the CCL match against Seattle. Some were interested. Others looked at me like I was a nut job.

This team deserves good support.
 
I feel for this team. I think they are road weary and how insane is it to have won the MLS championship and have to play your home CCL games in Los Angeland then Hartford CT where the crowd is rooting against you. You play MLS home games in the Bronx, NJ and Queens.
You get a lame turnout on a gorgeous afternoon in “the Stadium” against a true organic rival. Is there any other team in professional sports that experiences that? They are in the semi-finals of the CCL. How fucking great would it be to play in front of fans in YOUR STADIUM. The asterisk anyone wants to put on last years MLS Champion should guide the curious to everything this nomadic team had to overcome to win the championship.
Maxi put in so much effort today. We missed our chances, got no favors from the officiating and our third choice at right back was exploited today. (I also think maybe Martins is not on the same page. I saw quite a bit of jawing amongst our D today.)
Nothing to be ashamed about except the turnout.
I miss Sands, I miss ITS, hell I miss Medina…
But I still love the team and love the forum.
Gonna stay positive.
 
VernonJohn said:
Nothing to be ashamed about except the turnout.
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Not really disagreeing as it felt much less crowded than I expected, and it was disappointing. But it just feels so much worse being in a 52k baseball stadium. The weak crowd today probably fills MSG and a more customary SSS. Cup and marketing or not, I don’t think we are going to get more New Yorkers to a soccer game at YS than the range we are used to - which is a decent NY crowd for a sporting event. There will be some variation based upon weather and other random circumstances, but it’s always going to feel and look bad scattered amongst 52k seats.
 
JayH said:
Not really disagreeing as it felt much less crowded than I expected, and it was disappointing. But it just feels so much worse being in a 52k baseball stadium. The weak crowd today probably fills MSG and a more customary SSS. Cup and marketing or not, I don’t think we are going to get more New Yorkers to a soccer game at YS than the range we are used to - which is a decent NY crowd for a sporting event. There will be some variation based upon weather and other random circumstances, but it’s always going to feel and look bad scattered amongst 52k seats.
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But it's not even that -- the 1st and 2nd level at Yankee Stadium is around 30,000 seats. The second level looked empty. We should look a lot more full in the two levels that are open. It's outrageous to have such a small attendance, even for the 2nd home game of the season. They just won a title. Where is everyone? It's crazy. We did a lot better in attendance through probably 2018.
 
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