MLS - September 30 - Miami (Away)

[moogoo]

The stadium shot off so many fireworks after Miami scored. I don’t know if they do that for every goal, but it was honestly like too much (even for a game tying goal). Maybe they just had to get rid of them after that night so they shot them all off, but honestly too much.

They do the fireworks after every goal in every game. it's something new they added when messi joined. they didn't do it before when the crowd wasn't as big.

I have seen people (including the color announcer) calling out Ledezma for the corner and I'm not defending him but I also wonder why he was man-marking a guy 5 inches taller in the middle of the penalty area while Risa and Martins seemed to be guarding Gray and Ledezma.

This has been our set piece defending for a few seasons now. We set up our 5-6 "best headers" in a line along the 6 shaped to counter the in or outswing of the corner taker. Then, the remaining players do their best to take care of runners. In 2021 vs NE, Gray was marking buksa when he scored the tying goal on a set piece when he had no business marking someone 5 inches taller than him. It happens all the time that we have a mismatch on set piece and corner defending (especially corner defending) because it's simply how we set up.

It seems to work when our guys attack the ball but it's not much different than a zonal marking system. if service is inbetween our "best headers" they might not react and we lose the mismatch battle. It's also why we tend to lose runners on corners. It comes down to how aggressive our "best headers" are when attacking the ball and I think we were tired last night and lost focus. Lesdesma's defending was horrible but gray also did not jump to even challenge the header. It was poor defending all around. Personally, I've always preferred man marking on corners but there are ways to counter that as well. in the end, defending a corner/set piece is about getting to the ball first. we failed to do so when it mattered.

 

[FootyLovin]

… it’s… game day… bitches…?

Helloooo FootyLovin ?

Thanks for filling in!

I was at an author retreat for the last 4 days with (almost) no electronics. Should have asked for help on the announcement ahead of time.

 

[FootyLovin]

They do the fireworks after every goal in every game. it's something new they added when messi joined. they didn't do it before when the crowd wasn't as big.



This has been our set piece defending for a few seasons now. We set up our 5-6 "best headers" in a line along the 6 shaped to counter the in or outswing of the corner taker. Then, the remaining players do their best to take care of runners. In 2021 vs NE, Gray was marking buksa when he scored the tying goal on a set piece when he had no business marking someone 5 inches taller than him. It happens all the time that we have a mismatch on set piece and corner defending (especially corner defending) because it's simply how we set up.

It seems to work when our guys attack the ball but it's not much different than a zonal marking system. if service is inbetween our "best headers" they might not react and we lose the mismatch battle. It's also why we tend to lose runners on corners. It comes down to how aggressive our "best headers" are when attacking the ball and I think we were tired last night and lost focus. Lesdesma's defending was horrible but gray also did not jump to even challenge the header. It was poor defending all around. Personally, I've always preferred man marking on corners but there are ways to counter that as well. in the end, defending a corner/set piece is about getting to the ball first. we failed to do so when it mattered.

The thing is, you don't need to be as tall as the offensive player to bump him off balance at just the right moment. But you do have to know where the ball is. This was as though Ledezma was standing there to provide stability for Josef.

 

[mgarbowski]

They do the fireworks after every goal in every game. it's something new they added when messi joined. they didn't do it before when the crowd wasn't as big.



This has been our set piece defending for a few seasons now. We set up our 5-6 "best headers" in a line along the 6 shaped to counter the in or outswing of the corner taker. Then, the remaining players do their best to take care of runners. In 2021 vs NE, Gray was marking buksa when he scored the tying goal on a set piece when he had no business marking someone 5 inches taller than him. It happens all the time that we have a mismatch on set piece and corner defending (especially corner defending) because it's simply how we set up.

It seems to work when our guys attack the ball but it's not much different than a zonal marking system. if service is inbetween our "best headers" they might not react and we lose the mismatch battle. It's also why we tend to lose runners on corners. It comes down to how aggressive our "best headers" are when attacking the ball and I think we were tired last night and lost focus. Lesdesma's defending was horrible but gray also did not jump to even challenge the header. It was poor defending all around. Personally, I've always preferred man marking on corners but there are ways to counter that as well. in the end, defending a corner/set piece is about getting to the ball first. we failed to do so when it mattered.

Good explanation. It seemed like a hybrid man/zone but I could not recognize the logic or pattern.

 

[moogoo]

Good explanation. It seemed like a hybrid man/zone but I could not recognize the logic or pattern.

i think it was explained a few seasons ago in an outfield article .. by SoupInNYC maybe?

 

[mgarbowski]

i think it was explained a few seasons ago in an outfield article .. by SoupInNYC maybe?

probably, but I guess it didn't take

 

[moogoo]

probably, but I guess it didn't take

Hold the Door

In an exclusive interview, assistant coach Rob Vartughian spoke with Chris Campbell to discuss corner kick tactics and how he helped turn NYCFC into the best corner kick defending team in MLS.

theoutfield.substack.com

 

[mgarbowski]

Hold the Door

In an exclusive interview, assistant coach Rob Vartughian spoke with Chris Campbell to discuss corner kick tactics and how he helped turn NYCFC into the best corner kick defending team in MLS.

theoutfield.substack.com

Well now I am going to defend Ledezma. The zonal aerial specialists are supposed to ring the box and win anything at the perimeter or inside. Everyone else is tasked with keeping runners from getting inside the 6-yard box perimeter. Best as I can tell, watching and winning the ball for those guys is secondary. Ledezma kept Aviles out of the box. The perimeter failed to challenge him or the ball.

 

[moogoo]

Well now I am going to defend Ledezma. The zonal aerial specialists are supposed to ring the box and win anything at the perimeter or inside. Everyone else is tasked with keeping runners from getting inside the 6-yard box perimeter. Best as I can tell, watching and winning the ball for those guys is secondary. Ledezma kept Aviles out of the box. The perimeter failed to challenge him or the ball.

Yea I'd say it was a failure all around. Too tired or mental lapse. But it was clear to see that none of our guys made an attempt to challenge the ball in the air

 

[gbservis]

I think a large chunk of the blame for this loss should be directed at David Lee. This roster is still a mess. We still don't have a backup striker so Bakrar came off and we had to shift to a false 9. Santi made it work with a wonder strike but it's ridiculous that we still only have one striker on the roster.

Cushing also thinks so little of Lee's midseason additions of Fernandez and Martinez that he subbed on Ledezma, subed on Pelgrini, and switched out a striker for Parks in a 0-0 must-win game before even considering the new attackers. Lee paid a $5M transfer fee for Fernandez and he can't get on the field. I know the sample size is small and it's still early but how many other MLS teams are dropping a $5M transfer fee on a player that is not ready to make an immediate impact?

 

[moogoo]

I think a large chunk of the blame for this loss should be directed at David Lee. This roster is still a mess. We still don't have a backup striker so Bakrar came off and we had to shift to a false 9. Santi made it work with a wonder strike but it's ridiculous that we still only have one striker on the roster.

Cushing also thinks so little of Lee's midseason additions of Fernandez and Martinez that he subbed on Ledezma, subed on Pelgrini, and switched out a striker for Parks in a 0-0 must-win game before even considering the new attackers. Lee paid a $5M transfer fee for Fernandez and he can't get on the field. I know the sample size is small and it's still early but how many other MLS teams are dropping a $5M transfer fee on a player that is not ready to make an immediate impact?

fernandez has been getting on the field. cushing just opted for a more defensive stance instead of continuing to be more offensive, which was working. subbing on pellegrini and parks were defensive moves. he must not think much of fernandez's defensive trackbacks? it was the wrong call, imo. and ledesma shouldn't see the field anymore if it were me.

i would have kept attacking and if we didn't have a striker, i'd want dangerous attackers moving all about causing havoc. but, nick went defensive and we suffered and in the end, we broke. that's all there is to it.

 

[Revfugee]

Well now I am going to defend Ledezma. The zonal aerial specialists are supposed to ring the box and win anything at the perimeter or inside. Everyone else is tasked with keeping runners from getting inside the 6-yard box perimeter. Best as I can tell, watching and winning the ball for those guys is secondary. Ledezma kept Aviles out of the box. The perimeter failed to challenge him or the ball.

Ledezma was plenty terrible in other ways., but agree that he deserves only a share of the blame on the corner. Our setup on corners is too static for my taste.

TBF we were pretty dominant in the air in our own box for 99% of the match.

 

[SoupInNYC]

fernandez has been getting on the field. cushing just opted for a more defensive stance instead of continuing to be more offensive, which was working. subbing on pellegrini and parks were defensive moves. he must not think much of fernandez's defensive trackbacks? it was the wrong call, imo. and ledesma shouldn't see the field anymore if it were me.

i would have kept attacking and if we didn't have a striker, i'd want dangerous attackers moving all about causing havoc. but, nick went defensive and we suffered and in the end, we broke. that's all there is to it.

Pelligrini is definitely more physical and stout defensively than Julian, but Julian works his ass off defensively.

He is also a massive threat on the counter, getting in behind. To me, he's a perfect late game sub with a lead.

 

[moogoo]

Pelligrini is definitely more physical and stout defensively than Julian, but Julian works his ass off defensively.

He is also a massive threat on the counter, getting in behind. To me, he's a perfect late game sub with a lead.

I agree. i think fernandez is a great 2nd half sub. his only poor performance was when he started and just looked gassed. but cushing just went with pellegirni for some reason, which was the wrong call imo because pellegrini is a foul machine and doesn't give us the same going forward as fernandez.

i just think we should have stayed more attacking and we would have pinned miami back more instead of absorbing pressure for the last 15 mins + extra time. it takes tremendous mental fortitude to stay focused and disciplined for that long without any defensive breaks. a full game of great defensive performances was tarnished by a mental lapse on one play that probably wouldn't have happened if we had kept an attacking posture.

i also think losing magno hurt. we were much less effective on the left side without him.

 

[LionNYC]

He is also a massive threat on the counter, getting in behind. To me, he's a perfect late game sub with a lead.

Yup, there was a couple through balls that Jasson and Pellegrini couldn't catch up to that their goalkeeper picked up. With Julian on the field, maybe a difference, maybe he gets a touch, maybe he gets a goal/penalty call.

 

[Marito]

Pelligrini is definitely more physical and stout defensively than Julian, but Julian works his ass off defensively.

He is also a massive threat on the counter, getting in behind. To me, he's a perfect late game sub with a lead.

Absolutely. He has also been performing really well. After his goal against TOR I thought we would see more of him. But Nick loves himself some slow-ass Pellegrini.

 

[LionNYC]

Honesty, the league doesn’t even seem fair anymore since Messi joined the league. Refereeing has been bad in the league but video review is just dropping the ball. Referees needs to be under more review and have to answer questions from the media. It’s a fucking red card. He slightly pulled his leg out after a studs up tackle into the ankle? Fuck off, Wiebe.

 

[ZYanksRule]

Honesty, the league doesn’t even seem fair anymore since Messi joined the league. Refereeing has been bad in the league but video review is just dropping the ball. Referees needs to be under more review and have to answer questions from the media. It’s a fucking red card. He slightly pulled his leg out after a studs up tackle into the ankle? Fuck off, Wiebe.

I really like what Cushing said about walking the MLS red carpet and all-but questioning that himself. It's great Messi is here, but it can't cause other fans to believe the refereeing is favoring his team.

 

[mgarbowski]

Honesty, the league doesn’t even seem fair anymore since Messi joined the league. Refereeing has been bad in the league but video review is just dropping the ball. Referees needs to be under more review and have to answer questions from the media. It’s a fucking red card. He slightly pulled his leg out after a studs up tackle into the ankle? Fuck off, Wiebe.

I watched the video after your post and expected Wiebe to say it isn't a red but instead he's just pathetic. He says he thinks it's a red but he understands why video review might disagree based on seeing something that doesn't exist in slo-mo.
Damn, Andrew. Have the courage for an opinion. It's what you're paid for.

 

[Gene]

JFC, they ought to save that clip and use it at referee school as the perfect example of what a red card call should be.

"You can see he was pulling his leg back". WTF does that mean and what difference does it make???