Montreal - Postmatch

[bgt5002]

I know there are frustrations, but last night is the best we've looked in a while, y'all. A post, a save on Khiry and a better finish/touch here or there and we walk away 3-0. Just reminding everyone we didn't lose, and that I'm hopeful PV will create the sense of urgency.

Goal was to take 3 on the road vs. a team we should dominate, and that's exactly what we did.

 

[Gotham Gator]

It's worth repeating what others have said, which is that we played really well, and but for some questionable finishing and good goalkeeping, we would have won by several goals. This is impressive because we went most of the game without Villa or Herrera and because we were on the road in rainy conditions against a good team*.

We possessed very well and showed the right amount of patience most of the time. Maxi was MOTM for me. He was all over the place, winning balls and playing dangerous passes. I do wish he would be more selfish and look to dribble and shoot when appropriate. One play that stood out was on a very late breakaway, he had the ball centrally. Ciman saw him but shaded over to cover Villa making a run down our right side. This created a wide open lane into the box for Maxi, but he still tried to slip the ball to Villa, and Ciman took it.

Overall, I think this game showed how important it is to have a quick, energetic midfield. Having Ring back is huge, but everyone contributed well. We won so many open balls in the middle of the field, and that led to our big possession advantage and led to some dangerous chances.

We've just got to start finishing better.


* - Yes, Montreal is below the line, but not by much, and that's in the much tougher East.

 

[Midas Mulligan]

I think it's less about the midfield pair as much as it's the wingers. He always manages to look good whether we're playing Ring, Herrera, Tommy or Pirlo there.

Compared to other 4-3-3-ish teams, we don't circulate the ball a lot around the 18, and we have pretty poor utilization once it goes out wide. If he gets maybe 5 or 10 more touches a game in that area, I can imagine him scoring at a fair clip. I'm thinking of the goal he scored when Wallace put him in against (?). Or the one against the Red Bulls at the last Jersey derby. He just doesn't see a lot of the ball on the floor close to goal, it's usually being squeezed through from wide areas, which doesn't favor him for obvious reasons. His header against Houston was a fucking miracle.

I've been thinking about this a lot. To be a team known for wanting possession, we definitely don't circulate it too much. In defense, we try to get press the ball to turn it over. Once we get it, we go hell for leather toward the other goal and typically run it/kick it out for a goal kick. Rinse and repeat. It makes for sickeningly hard to watch matches when we aren't clicking.

I am in-between Chris and Midas here. I think Struna is not great as a defender. In his two matches yet, he's allowed a few chances he should have cleared easily, like that header. But I do think he's light years ahead of RJ and White offensively. He thinks fast, acts fast, gets involved in passing combinations, and has a good touch. He doesn't look nervous or hesitant or over-aggressive. And let's remember that lost balls by White and, especially, by RJ bumbling to go forward, also have led to scoring opportunities for rival teams. So in that sense the fact that Struna is much cleaner on the ball is both and offensive and a defensive plus.

That was really my point in saying he's a "pro" and that he "gets it". It's not that he's amazing. He's just much better than what we have.

 

[Fantazma]

shelton again is the best example as to why i dont want our top prospects going to college....dude still needs to develop but at this age who knows if he has reached his ceiling already ( i personally dont think so, he will improve/ late bloomer but probably not on our team).

any word on mata?

 

[Seven]

shelton again is the best example as to why i dont want our top prospects going to college....dude still needs to develop but at this age who knows if he has reached his ceiling already ( i personally dont think so, he will improve/ late bloomer but probably not on our team).

any word on mata?

Mata is fine, was just gassed, according to Crooks

 

[Fantazma]

Mata is fine, was just gassed, according to Crooks

if true then good... just needs the minutes .....i still think maybe keep him as an offensive option off the bench to attack on the left with wallace but well see

 

[SoupInNYC]

Mata is fine, was just gassed, according to Crooks

Yeah, and based on the telecast last night, both visually and what Tolleson/Janusz were saying, Mata looked fine, just tired.

I know he laid down, but the replay seemed to indicate he knew he was being subbed out, so why not go down, take a few extra seconds off, and force the ref to have the sub processed.

 

[Kjbert]

If you looked at the heat map for last night (someone posted it on Twitter last night), you will see that McNamara and Ring played the exact same position - one on the right, one on the left. McNamara was essentially the second player in a double pivot.

I appreciate his jackknife ability. He should be applauded for that. It doesn't make up for his issues - slowfooted, slow with the ball, misses the occasional runner - but it's tough to find guys that can play 5 positions for you. This year he has lined up as an 8, a 10 and, a 6 last night and both RW and LW. That's pretty incredible.

He was fine last night. He's just really slow and it limits his play.

 

[Joe Smith]

I thought McNamara played pretty decent for what he was expected to do. He rarely lost possession and was actually quick to get off the ball. He also passed the ball forward quickly and often allowing Jack and Maxi to receive the ball without pressure. He also passes the ball to the leading foot allowing players to turn easily. I am surprised by how often pro players including our own don't do this. I also like to pay attention to players movement off the ball whether in possession or without. McNamara is one of the best at getting into the right positions offensively and defensively due to his high soccer IQ. Even though he may not have the tackling ability he rarely got beat by anyone offensively due to his positioning and kept his man in front of him for the most part. There were also several times that he tracked back really well and picked up runners into the box that could have caused danger. Probably not noticeable unless a mistake was made and his runner scored, but I often see players getting lazy and letting their runner go.

Ring may have been more visible due to his tackling and intercepting ability but he had a significant amount of turnovers last night. Ring had 7 unsuccessful passes in opposition half, 7 unsuccessful long passes, and 11 unsuccessful passes in opposition's half. His careless passes last night negated his ability to win the ball. Ring is still one of my favorite players and I understand he is still returning from injury. Overall, good win and created a lot of chances. Here's to hoping we work on finishing all week in training.

 

[Gotham Gator]

...

And I don't think we get enough yellow cards on our opposing teams. I think Montreal should have at least 1 or 2 clear yellow cards against them that weren't called.

Does anyone think Ciman's foul on Wallace on our goal should have been carded?

He came in pretty hard, pretty late and caught Wallace on the ankle.

 

[LionNYC]

Does anyone think Ciman's foul on Wallace on our goal should have been carded?

He came in pretty hard, pretty late and caught Wallace on the ankle. Might even have had studs showing.

Yes. Also that blonde kid on Montreal who held Moralez during a clear attack in transition. That's an obvious missed yellow (commentators were mentioning it too).

 

[Christopher Jee]

You say all this, accuse the board of bandwagoning, all the while, not providing any proof yourself. Can you point out more than one example he actually did something positive with the ball?

He did plenty of positive things with the ball, but his natural abilities and his role definition don't really help him to make the kinds of contributions which are easy to pick up, particularly on TV when you can't often see most of the field. I imagine his job is mostly to make sure all the players are well spaced and connected, and to move the ball forward and I thought he did a solid job of this.

Where Ring bursts forward to make interceptions, Tommy closes off passing channels and forces people backwards.

Where Jack takes people on and Maxi carries the ball in order to isolate players 2 v 1, Tommy makes himself for available for his defenders and shuffles it along.

If Tommy stops doing these things in order to try and do the more visually noteworthy things, then everything shuts down. We leave holes in defense and we have to start forcing passes up the field.

 

[Kjbert]

So I missed the beginning of the match but Harrison deserved a PK early in the match didn't he? Just saw the replay on Twitter

 

[Kjbert]

He did plenty of positive things with the ball, but his natural abilities and his role definition don't really help him to make the kinds of contributions which are easy to pick up, particularly on TV when you can't often see most of the field. I imagine his job is mostly to make sure all the players are well spaced and connected, and to move the ball forward and I thought he did a solid job of this.

Where Ring bursts forward to make interceptions, Tommy closes off passing channels and forces people backwards.

Where Jack takes people on and Maxi carries the ball in order to isolate players 2 v 1, Tommy makes himself for available for his defenders and shuffles it along.

If Tommy stops doing these things in order to try and do the more visually noteworthy things, then everything shuts down. We leave holes in defense and we have to start forcing passes up the field.

Emphasizing this. At the end of the match last night when it was Maxi and Villa vs a defender and Maxi passed the ball right to the defender...I actually liked his thought process there. In basketball, you are taught to go at the defender to make him make the first decision. Dribble at him - if he steps off to the other man, go to the basket. If he comes to you, pass the ball. The problem is that Maxi dribbled at him, he went with Villa...and Maxi still passed the ball

 

[Joe Smith]

He did plenty of positive things with the ball, but his natural abilities and his role definition don't really help him to make the kinds of contributions which are easy to pick up, particularly on TV when you can't often see most of the field. I imagine his job is mostly to make sure all the players are well spaced and connected, and to move the ball forward and I thought he did a solid job of this.

Where Ring bursts forward to make interceptions, Tommy closes off passing channels and forces people backwards.

Where Jack takes people on and Maxi carries the ball in order to isolate players 2 v 1, Tommy makes himself for available for his defenders and shuffles it along.

If Tommy stops doing these things in order to try and do the more visually noteworthy things, then everything shuts down. We leave holes in defense and we have to start forcing passes up the field.

On the same wave length here. I posted a similar response earlier. PV gave him a role and he did it well to allow others to shine.

 

[Gotham Gator]

Emphasizing this. At the end of the match last night when it was Maxi and Villa vs a defender and Maxi passed the ball right to the defender...I actually liked his thought process there. In basketball, you are taught to go at the defender to make him make the first decision. Dribble at him - if he steps off to the other man, go to the basket. If he comes to you, pass the ball. The problem is that Maxi dribbled at him, he went with Villa...and Maxi still passed the ball

Yep, and it wasn't bang-bang either. Ciman shaded strongly over toward Villa, a huge channel opened up for Maxi at teh top of the box. He took another touch or two and then passed to Villa anyway. Bad decision on an otherwise strong night.

 

[Jock]

Two other things to note - I thought Montreal were pretty dreadful. Especially in the last 15 minutes or so, they just looked like they had no fight or effort left and we were first to almost every loose ball which was great to see.

And I wanted to give credit to Khiry for not only defending well towards the end but for a couple of hilarious little challenges to break up the play. One when the attacker was bearing down on the box and Khiry just gave him a subtle shoulder in the back, knocking him off balance and letting Brillant (?) clear the ball. Then a few minutes later, at the other end of the pitch, another shoulder to the back unbalanced a Montreal player and let Villa (i think) take the ball. I was cheering, laughing and applauding at the same time.

 

[hank]

Lewis has definitely put in defensive shifts and to say he hasn't is worse than "parroting" what others say about Shelton. I mean seriously, Lewis works his ass off when he's on the field. That's why he's subbed at 60 nearly every game because he's gassed.

we won't know if he is gassed until he gets a full 90. against Chicago they played with 10 men and he was running forever until about the 72 min. I truthfully think PV likes Shelton and Wallace over Lewis because when they start they play 90 minutes and when Lewis starts he plays 50-60 Minutes.

 

[Ulrich]

we won't know if he is gassed until he gets a full 90. against Chicago they played with 10 men and he was running forever until about the 72 min. I truthfully think PV likes Shelton and Wallace over Lewis because when they start they play 90 minutes and when Lewis starts he plays 50-60 Minutes.

There have been a number of times that he's subbed at ~60 and it's a head scratcher, because while he may look a little tired, he's also been more effective than others left on the pitch thus you'd think he's earned the right to continue over the guy(s) that are having howlers.

 

[hank]

There have been a number of times that he's subbed at ~60 and it's a head scratcher, because while he may look a little tired, he's also been more effective than others left on the pitch thus you'd think he's earned the right to continue over the guy(s) that are having howlers.

I always question Viera's subs though. I also don't get why Kwame Awuah hasn't gotten a chance yet looked good in preseason