If you watch them they are still not fully comfortable with each other. Martins saved at least three breakdowns tonight. At least two times a game Martins is pissed off about Risa's positioning and yelling about it. I'm not saying they are terrible, they obviously have been solid but I think they will be even better as they get used to playing together.
MLS - May 25 - New England (Away)
- Thread starter LionNYC
- Start date
If you watch them they are still not fully comfortable with each other. Martins saved at least three breakdowns tonight. At least two times a game Martins is pissed off about Risa's positioning and yelling about it. I'm not saying they are terrible, they obviously have been solid but I think they will be even better as they get used to playing together.
Keaton was excellent on that goal, and I love the guy in general. Otherwise last night, I thought he was off. He struggled a lot to contain Gil, and his passes lacked their usual quality.
I mean, who doesn’t struggle to contain Gil?
The really interesting thing about this match to me was that we mostly
looked comfortable despite ceding possession. It helps that the Revs collectively are about as good at finishing as Bakrar, but still, our style is to dominate possession and when we don’t we often look disorganized and flail about.
Martins really did look like a boss last night. I love the way things are coming together.
it seemed as if everyone's passes were a bit off and I, subjectively, believe it was that turf.
It did seem very strange. The ball's velocity would just die off. There were at least five or six giveaways which legitimately could have had more to do with the turf than the player. And I do mean at least.
Santi got intercepted (I think) three times trying to thread the needle. The ball just didn't get there, which tells me he couldn't weight the pass correctly.
Speaking of Santi, he may get rotated out for the 'Quakes. He looked spent last night.
I'd bet against based on the schedule after the Quakes. First there is a week off, and no game until June 14. So he gets a 2-week break even playing against the Quakes. But from June 14 to July 20 they have 9 games in 38 days or one every 4.75 days. He will have to rest during that stretch. I don't see as much value in giving him a 3-week layover before that hell patch starts.
I thought about all that. July especially is going to be hell -- four road games in a row in the middle of the month. And it could be brutally hot in Austin and Orlando. So, you may be right.
On the other hand, if we want to be ready to rest him that month, this would be a good game to work on doing that voodoo that we do so well without him. The 'Quakes have an abysmal record, but from what I saw last night they're more cursed than truly horrible. Most of their losses have been fairly close games, and they avenged getting blown out by the Rapids at home by beating Colorado on their home turf.
It would be a good opportunity to get some guys rolling who haven't had a lot of minutes, too. I wouldn't be at all surprised to finally see Talles Magno get significant time, provided it's not raining. He wasn't going to get run out last night on the artificial turf, and he wasn't going to get run out on wet turf, either. But if it's clean and dry at Yankee Stadium, it would be the time to start getting him on track.
And, dare I say, could Maxi be ready to go? I have no idea where he is in his comeback, but if he's up to 30' of live action, we could see him sub on if we're leading and the match isn't too scrappy.
I agree. We gave up possession but little else. The Revs had at least 2 and maybe 3 fast breaks killed without getting off a shot because our defenders, usually Martins, made a tackle, usually standing. Those were moments of real peril that came to nothing. We gave up no really great chances. Every shot inside the red box was a header, and notwithstanding Big Bird's goal, headers go in a lot less than kicked balls: they have less power and worse direction than kicked shots. Besides those 4 shots, everything was far away or from an angle, or both.
So I think we defended pretty well. On the other side we had 3 well struck shots, probably on target, blocked in the first 3 minutes, and cut our SOG total in half.
I’m not saying we dominated but I don’t think we won against the run of play either.
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I don’t know about Friday, but that tough stretch in June/July seems like the perfect time to ease Maxi back into the rotation.
Agree it seems more beneficial to extend Maxi's rehab as much as possible than to get Santi rest one week sooner. In the end though, Cushing knows things we don't. If Maxi is fully ready and Santi is spent you rest Santi this week.
Maxi hasn't even made a bench yet -- I would assume he's going to come off the bench for a few games before he gets inserted into the starting lineup.
Yeah, he definitely won't start. I was thinking more along the lines of 30 minutes, or maybe 15, at the end of the match if we have a decent lead.
Who will have more minutes on the field before the end of June: Maxi or Raquinho?
For sure -- that's how they'll almost certainly bring him back. 15 minutes one game, 20 the next, 30 the next, then maybe he's ready to start.
I would be surprised if Maxi starts at all this season, but maybe. I think he can easily be a supersub and a guy who helps eat minutes.
(I was just typing this out when Gator chimed in.)
Barring an injury to Santi, he may not start at all. But we'll see.
However it goes, it would be great to have him back in the team and ready to contribute on the pitch. Maxi is worth his weight in gold on such a young squad.
Yup. While every injury is different and players recover differently, let's take a look at Heber.
He returned from his late 2020 similar injury on 9/14/21 for a short substitute appearance. After that debut, he did not start a game for nearly 3 months, when he started and played 58' against Philly in the EC final with Taty suspended. He didn't play 90' until the following May.
Martins seems to yell a lot, he is on Grey all the time, at times not justified. Part of that is his personality.
