NYCFC v Chicago Postmatch

[NYCFC_Dan]

Will add a poll for MOTM once math is complete. Creating now so I can start adding highlights.

Goal TMac 1-0

https://twitter.com/x/status/706559999955197952

Goal Taylor 2-1

https://twitter.com/x/status/706565018704175104

Goal Shelton 3-1

https://twitter.com/x/status/706566526309105666

Goal Mix 4-2

https://twitter.com/x/status/706577929665421312

 

[NYCFC_Dan]

Thread open for discussion.

 

[Shawn Ryu]

Defense as bad as ever I see. W is W though...

 

[mgarbowski]

We're on pace to accumulate 102 Points this year which I project will win Supporters' Shield.

 

[Codz95]

Was the first NYCFC match I've watched! Great to start off with 3 points!

 

[dannd23]

Win is a win.

Brillant was worse than Kwame.

We need Iraola

Everyone in our midfield and attack besides Villa were absolutely brilliant.

Taylor is my MOTM but it's very close between him TMac and Khiry. All three were creative all game but Taylor made stuff out of nothing with some nasty dribbles all game.

Khirys goal was fantastic even with terrible defense.

Villa will be fine.

Matarrita played well but hard to tell with that defense.

Our defense will struggle against teams with pace up top like Chicago. Slower teams I'm not overly concerned about(yet).

Saunders played well despite some terrible distribution.

Chicago is better than last year. 3 away points is a fantastic start to the season.

 

[Falastur]

Was the first NYCFC match I've watched! Great to start off with 3 points!

It's not always this bad...

...who am I kidding, our defence was always that bad.

Still, pretty entertaining if you like goals.

 

[NYCFutbol1]

If our defense plays half as bad as today against toronto we are dead.

 

[SFphoto]

Shout out to everyone that wrote off Saunders and praised Brilliant. Saunders bailed out HORRIFIC trap at least three times. Brilliant was the worst player on the field tonight.

Matarrita was fantastic. Khiry was dismal, then scored a beauty. Same defense shit, different year.

New year. Let's go boys.

 

[NYCFutbol1]

I would rather we start with lopez next to pirlo.

 

[dannd23]

I would rather we start with lopez next to pirlo.

Why? Mix was brilliant all night.

 

[NYCFC_Dan]

Why? Mix was brilliant all night.

I thought mix was great as well.

 

[Codz95]

It's not always this bad...

...who am I kidding, our defence was always that bad.

Still, pretty entertaining if you like goals.

Yeah, the defense left something to be desired, but the attack looked pretty good at least.

 

[Max Power]

I thought mix was great as well.

Agreed. Mix was great. Worked his socks off, provided great defensive cover and scored a beauty of a goal.

 

[sbrylski]

Offense was great. I don't have a complaint for any of our front six players. Mac and Mix were excellent in the midfield.

As a reminder to everyone who had their fingers in their ears this offseason, Brillant was available because he literally lost his job in Belgium this season. Nobody there was upset they lost him. He was never going to be our Ciman.

Matarrita was the only member of our back line that looked starting caliber today. Hopefully Mena gets healthy and gets a chance quickly.

 

[D_RoyJenkins]

I loved our press from our forwards. Villa, Taylor, and Shelton did a great job pressuring Chicago's back line and forcing them into mistakes. Mataritta had a good debut. He was solid defensively, good in the ball and made a great run and pass that should've been converted by Villa at the end of the game. Brillant had a nightmare debut. Bad in the ball and he was totally out of sync with Hernandez, we need Mena back ASAP. White wasn't that bad at RB. He was serviceable but we need Iraola and RJ healthy obviously. Midfield was solid today. Pirlo made some glaring mistakes but distributed the ball well. Mix and T-Mac were great, a goal and assist from both of them.

 

[Keith Putnam]

TMac and Mix could really be co-MOTMs for me. What a work rate from Mix!

Hard to believe our defense couldn't figure out how to prevent the constant through/lob balls to Accam. And of course Brilliant was awful, but I'm giving him the MLS Debut Benefit Of The Doubt for this match, which is easy because we won.

I loved our aggression, and our attack was methodical, creative, fierce and productive. Our defense, again, was an undisciplined joke but I do think the *idea* of a 4-3-3 is good. We clearly can't deal with a pacey, counterattacking opponent right now, though.

I was very impressed by Matarrita, however. And Taylor and Khiry.

Here's to the rest of the season!

PS: LOL at more hilarious CONCACAF officiating. Should that "handball" by Khiry have been a penalty? No way, but the Fire sure as hell deserved at least *one* penalty.

 

[Seven]

Improvement from last year, Accam didn't cause a red card

 

[Christopher Jee]

Our new away shirt is already on top of our old away shirt (that I'm still wearing) after 1 game That game might require a change of pants though... Some talking points:

• I'm hoping our defensive frailty was of a different mode and that Brillant will shake off some first-game nerves and recover the composure and leadership that he displayed in pre-season. Choosing to play White over Iraola was a pragmatic decision, which is a good sign from PV. I think he knew that with their pace, the Fire would tear a backline of Iraola, Brillant and Hernandez apart. So while White didn't offer as much going forward, he was solid with the ball and stayed home on D. I wonder how many of Brillant's on-the-ball errors might have been attributed to a lack of passing options in the right-hand channel. That may be overly generous of me.
• Overall, I think PV has brought a structure and cohesion to the team that has turned our non-DPs from squad-fill into heroes. Mac and Mix look like new players in their natural positions. Mac showed a ton of composure, skill and good decision-making – dare I say, Iniesta-like – and Mix played the box-to-box role to a tee. It's so refreshing again to see us play with genuine attacking width, and I thought Shelton did a lot better in certain scenarios than we saw in the past. Taylor is a revelation in his ability to receive the ball in tricky situations and retain it with his footwork. Really takes the pressure off.
• Villa and Pirlo weren't as impactful as I'd like to see. I'd attribute this in part to the lack of rhythm and the hectic nature of the game. In the final 15 or so, we were able to settle and gain some cohesion, and I think we saw Villa and Pirlo use their experience to see us through. If only Villa could have scored that goal at the end after some amazing play from Mataritta.
• Mattarita vs. Vincent was an interesting subplot, given that we more or less traded away our pick to grab Vincent in order to bring Harrison over, most probably with the knowledge that we had Matarrita in the bag. Vincent looks like a useful player, but I think Matarrita is definitely the more developed of the two at this point.
• I was a little worried about the shape of the team when PV brought on Lopez and Bravo, but it looked like they'd rehearsed the situation and it brought a ton of stability. PV MoTM

 

[Christopher Jee]

TMac and Mix could really be co-MOTMs for me. What a work rate from Mix!

Hard to believe our defense couldn't figure out how to prevent the constant through/lob balls to Accam. And of course Brilliant was awful, but I'm giving him the MLS Debut Benefit Of The Doubt for this match, which is easy because we won.

I loved our aggression, and our attack was methodical, creative, fierce and productive. Our defense, again, was a joke but I do think the *idea* of a 4-3-3 is good. We clearly can't deal with a pacey, counterattacking opponent right now, though.

I was very impressed by Matarrita, however. And Taylor and Khiry.

Here's to the rest of the season!

As the British commentators on Sky Sports (I'm in Japan right now so using unorthodox means to watch the match ) commented time after time, we didn't apply enough pressure up the field, or really keep the ball well enough, to protect our defense from those straight balls over the top. Apart from that, I don't think there's really anything you can do to stop a front line like that apart from having faster defenders