Add Chanot to that statement. Without his steadiness in the back, we're midpack with a GD of about 0.
MNUFC Postmatch
- Thread starter NYCFC_Dan
- Start date
Was just going to post this. He was the MOTM to me. He was so good last night - deftly pulling the ball out from under an opponent in a dozen different ways.
Strong performance overall and once again I was blown away by Ring - his ability to just pick the ball off players and run away with it is fantastic.
A good team performance t00, with not a lot of disappointments. I was surprised when Mikey was put on at right back and at a lot of times in the game there were big old gaps in his part of the field, but luckily we weren't punished for it. Shows how serious PV is about discipline, leaving an actual right back on the bench.
I love the attacking flair in the team and peoples desire to get forward. One of the reasons Mikey often left holes at right back was his marauding runs forward. Same with Sweaty, although he didn't leave the back exposed as often - how great is it though to see that equalizer come from the left back shimmying and backheeling and whatnot in the opposition area, followed in by a rampaging center half.
And some people need to get over their rage boners for Tommy Mac - the boy did nothing wrong tonight, save a couple of misplaced touches, but by that account you could slate Callens, Villa, Pirlo, Herrera... He had some solid link up play, played some quality balls and was often in the right place. Not a shining performance ala Ring, but definitely not worth singling him out as some kind of failure. If this was anyone other than our fat bin man he wouldn't get this kind of treatment.
And dear god, Johansen..... Just catch the ball mate, you're supposed to be a professional.... Oh well.
A good team performance t00, with not a lot of disappointments. I was surprised when Mikey was put on at right back and at a lot of times in the game there were big old gaps in his part of the field, but luckily we weren't punished for it. Shows how serious PV is about discipline, leaving an actual right back on the bench.
I love the attacking flair in the team and peoples desire to get forward. One of the reasons Mikey often left holes at right back was his marauding runs forward. Same with Sweaty, although he didn't leave the back exposed as often - how great is it though to see that equalizer come from the left back shimmying and backheeling and whatnot in the opposition area, followed in by a rampaging center half.
And some people need to get over their rage boners for Tommy Mac - the boy did nothing wrong tonight, save a couple of misplaced touches, but by that account you could slate Callens, Villa, Pirlo, Herrera... He had some solid link up play, played some quality balls and was often in the right place. Not a shining performance ala Ring, but definitely not worth singling him out as some kind of failure. If this was anyone other than our fat bin man he wouldn't get this kind of treatment.
And dear god, Johansen..... Just catch the ball mate, you're supposed to be a professional.... Oh well.
i hope those were just first game jitters for Johansen...because chicago and especially toronto will test him greatly.
I am kind of hoping - and mostly expecting- that we will have Johnson back early for those.
the hope is .....jesse gonzalez gets called up for the quarter finals and let johnson go.
Not to undercut your substantive point at all -- Ring was the boss last night -- but the NYCFC video tweet would be more effective if they cut it after he took the ball but before he then gave it back. That's a weird edit for what they were trying to do.
I hadn't thought of this, that would be great...because in all likelihood the USMNT will go to the finals and it's basically the whole month of July that those players will be out. And if SJ is the third keeper and doesn't even play a game...that really hurts NYCFC. Getting him back for CHI and TOR would be fantastic.
(Would be great if Bruce calls in Bradley and Altidore for the knockouts too...)
ALL HAIL DAVID VILLA !!!.......I had no idea My Andrea played until this morning . They had 3 so i was watching something else I'm convinced the only reason why he did that was to tech the others and everyone what happens when you miss a team meeting!!! ......I mean is this the only way to see Andrea play 
Yes. The dream scenario from the perspective of our team. Johnson comes back when Gonzalez or Howard is brought in, Altidore and Bradley are brought in, but somehow Dax stays put.
That said, I really hope Johnson gets a run out in the tournament. He's a good guy, and he deserves it.
Regarding the changes to the starting lineup - what's interesting is that it wasn't just Sweat moving in for Allen and White at RB. Coach V had intended to keep Sweat at LB and play Matarrita up front, giving Wallace a rest. So, there were more significant changes at the last minute, with Wallace added, Matarrita moving back and Sweat changing sides. Then it all changed again in the 8th minute.
https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2017...nycfc-defenders-rj-allen-ethan-white-vs-mnufc
https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2017...nycfc-defenders-rj-allen-ethan-white-vs-mnufc
I liked a couple of things I saw in the buildups to the first and third goals.
On the first, I wondered where Callens had come from and hoped that he had not charged forward without someone staying deep to cover. When watching the replay, Callens is the one who brought the ball forward and laid off to Sweat. It was one of those CB runs where the defense lays off to cover a pass, and the CB ends up with tons of space to just dribble forward. Tommy and Wallace saw this and drifted back to cover, which is good. You also have to give Callens credit, because after playing the ball into Sweat, he didn't hold up. Confident that his teammates were covering, he committed to offense and was there to finish Sweat's heavy touch.
On the third, the sequence started with a throw in and a really nifty overhead pass by Harrison to Villa. It was really similar to a pass that Mix played to Lampard from the exact same spot in, I think, 2015 (Mix's was technically harder). Then, Harrison turns and follows Villa's run, attracting the attention of the defense and helping to create just enough space for Villa to exploit.
On the first, I wondered where Callens had come from and hoped that he had not charged forward without someone staying deep to cover. When watching the replay, Callens is the one who brought the ball forward and laid off to Sweat. It was one of those CB runs where the defense lays off to cover a pass, and the CB ends up with tons of space to just dribble forward. Tommy and Wallace saw this and drifted back to cover, which is good. You also have to give Callens credit, because after playing the ball into Sweat, he didn't hold up. Confident that his teammates were covering, he committed to offense and was there to finish Sweat's heavy touch.
On the third, the sequence started with a throw in and a really nifty overhead pass by Harrison to Villa. It was really similar to a pass that Mix played to Lampard from the exact same spot in, I think, 2015 (Mix's was technically harder). Then, Harrison turns and follows Villa's run, attracting the attention of the defense and helping to create just enough space for Villa to exploit.
I use the word vacuum at least 3 times each game while watching Ring play.
Watching Matarrita's injury again. He seemed to initially hurt himself when he made a fine tackle on the sideline. The player fell on his legs after the tackle, and Mata was slow getting up. Then, as he ran back downfield, something happened that made it worse. He starting limping noticeably and went down once the ball was played out.
Mikey Lopez wasn't just better than usual or not so bad - he played a great game. It's a tough spot coming in that early, and playing out of position. His touches were great, his positioning was solid (assuming his instructions included the freedom to overlap), he hustled like crazy, and tackled under control. It could have been a weak spot for Minn to exploit, and it generally was anything but.
I think Mikey should be groomed into a backup Fullback, it gives him a more direct and straightforward instructions with less in-game decision making than a d-mid which usually acts like the initiator of a play which requires a lot of mental capacity, which is something Lopez lacks, at FB he can focus on making the tackles and connecting with Harrison and I think that could be very beneficial for him.
Could save his career like it did White's.
This game was not the one to prove anyone's point about who doesn't suck or who is the best on our team. Minnesota is horrible. I laughed seeing that they planned to come out in a 4231 with all four of their attackers playing. Ring single handedly took the entire front four out of the game. They couldn't bunker at all with that set up since venegas, ibarra and Molino are not defensive at all. Every single one of our players passing maps and defensive plays look incredible because we were playing a NASL team with no DPs.
I'll illustrate with Alex Callens passing map:
14 times they let Callens dribble into their half. 14 times they did not confront our CB while dribbled into their half. That was the shittiest of the shitty team, and if Patrick Vieira thinks Mikey friggin Lopez can now be an option at RB because he didn't get exposed against the worst team in the league, he is certifiable.
I'll illustrate with Alex Callens passing map:
14 times they let Callens dribble into their half. 14 times they did not confront our CB while dribbled into their half. That was the shittiest of the shitty team, and if Patrick Vieira thinks Mikey friggin Lopez can now be an option at RB because he didn't get exposed against the worst team in the league, he is certifiable.
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