NYCFC v Chicago Postmatch

[Gotham Gator]

We have to hope that getting Mena and either Iraola or Allen back will allow the back 4 to settle down. That they were beyond bad yesterday is clear, but it's a tough assignment to play that aggressively and take those risks in the first game, much less to do so when you're missing half your back 4.

I don't get all the hate for Saunders. Even if you do give him 50% of the blame for the goal off the turnover, he bailed out the back line several times yesterday with terrific saves. We could have easily lost 5-4 or 6-4. I would give him partial blame for his positioning on the first goal - he should have closed down Cocis, but he hedged because Gilberto was continuing his run despite being offside. Might not have mattered anyway.

 

[JayH]

I'm sure already covered, but I also loved the Mix pass to Shelton on his goal, Shelton's bull run and reckless abandon on the goal which could be a great sign of moving well past some of the tentativeness we have seen in the past, and on the Mix goal, Mac with the CR7-like ankle breaker move on Polster in the corner and the perfect Messi-like pass pristinely onto Mix's foot. La Liga, keep away from our Fat Messi!

 

[Tom in Fairfield CT]

Some more discussion points:

Pirlo more good than bad? Not so sure yesterday. Had a few insane turnovers, and we know he plays no defense. Why can't he or anyone on our team hit a corner kick into the box?

Can Khiry buy some new boots this week?

Can we get Bravo training at CB this week? Whoevers fault the defense was, Brillant is not going anywhere, and Hernandez and he don't have any understanding of each other.

I thought the coaching was great this week. We had a strong game plan to start the game and we weren't losing after 15 minutes. Chicago adapted putting us under pressure, and we responded with our own adaptations! Did not see that much last year. After giving up the third goal (refereeing was horrible) we controlled the game after that, and both teams seemed exhausted.

Who knows how much chicago improved, maybe we beat a good team yesterday, we won;t know until the season plays out, but that game was a huge one to win with our schedule. Need to win these games at home now. Big test this week, go blue!

 

[mgarbowski]

I love the playful moment of Mix inserting himself into Khiry's interview.

 

[Schwallacus]

I guess I'll be the only one to defend brillant. The one where he was pickpocketed, I put on Saunders for another slow roller pass that allows the forward to close. Zing that shit like eirik does. He stopped more than one goal tracking back. It was Hernandez that kept everyone onside and Sucks so bad on the ball. Hernandez is the new kwame.brillant is fine.

Agreed. Brillant was left to dry by playing Hernandez with him. Also, White was caught upfield too many times for my liking at RB.

 

[S1ARK5]

I kept reading that he was struggling in pre season and he still has to work on his fitness to go full 90

lol...not sure if this was sarcasm, but this was the exact thing we heard last year lol....

 

[S1ARK5]

I'm sure already covered, but I also loved the Mix pass to Shelton on his goal, Shelton's bull run and reckless abandon on the goal which could be a great sign of moving well past some of the tentativeness we have seen in the past, and on the Mix goal, Mac with the CR7-like ankle breaker move on Polster in the corner and the perfect Messi-like pass pristinely onto Mix's foot. La Liga, keep away from our Fat Messi!

I don't think people are giving enough credit to Khiry for that goal. Mix made a beautiful long outlet pass and with Khiry's speed he was able to get to it and he made a great touch move to get it passed that rookie gk and had a great touch to put it in the corner of the net. I still say that Paunovic was the MVP of the match. I said it before the game started and it rings even more true afterwards. The fact that Sean Johnson did not play, for whatever reason, is a big reason we won. Sean Johnson is a very good MLS GK and I am certain that Khiry goal, and maybe even Tony Taylor's goal, he would have had.

MVP: Paunovic.

 

[S1ARK5]

I also would like to state that what a difference a year makes. From last year's opening day starting XI to this years. The only players that are still here starting are Villa, Saunders, Mix, and Khiry & Hernandez. I think Hernandez is on a short leash, and I don't expect him to be starting for much longer when Mena and Iraola come back. Think about that. This team has improved so much.

 

[Tiger Jones]

Some more discussion points:

Pirlo more good than bad? Not so sure yesterday. Had a few insane turnovers, and we know he plays no defense. Why can't he or anyone on our team hit a corner kick into the box?

Can Khiry buy some new boots this week?

Can we get Bravo training at CB this week? Whoevers fault the defense was, Brillant is not going anywhere, and Hernandez and he don't have any understanding of each other.

I thought the coaching was great this week. We had a strong game plan to start the game and we weren't losing after 15 minutes. Chicago adapted putting us under pressure, and we responded with our own adaptations! Did not see that much last year. After giving up the third goal (refereeing was horrible) we controlled the game after that, and both teams seemed exhausted.

Who knows how much chicago improved, maybe we beat a good team yesterday, we won;t know until the season plays out, but that game was a huge one to win with our schedule. Need to win these games at home now. Big test this week, go blue!

Our corner kicks are a huge source of frustration for me. I feel like they are constantly trying to reinvent the wheel with them and get cute. I thought it was just a Kreis thing but it looks like they're still doing it. There are enough guys with strength, power and pace to get on the ball with a well delivered corner.

 

[Tom in Fairfield CT]

I don't think people are giving enough credit to Khiry for that goal. Mix made a beautiful long outlet pass and with Khiry's speed he was able to get to it and he made a great touch move to get it passed that rookie gk and had a great touch to put it in the corner of the net. I still say that Paunovic was the MVP of the match. I said it before the game started and it rings even more true afterwards. The fact that Sean Johnson did not play, for whatever reason, is a big reason we won. Sean Johnson is a very good MLS GK and I am certain that Khiry goal, and maybe even Tony Taylor's goal, he would have had.

MVP: Paunovic.

Dude, khiry's first touch on the goal, like all his first touches was about 3 yards in front of him, He made a nice touch to get round the keeper, then seemed to kick the ball into the goal on accident. I'm happy he scored, but the beautiful game that was not.

 

[Ulrich]

So at this rate, even if our Defense is consistently bad, we're trending to be +34 on goal differential. MLS can chew on that for a while.

1-0 is the same as 4-3, so let's just break every record out there and do it the exciting way.

 

[Andres Emilio Soto]

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

LMFAO. Well said!

 

[Fantazma]

lol...not sure if this was sarcasm, but this was the exact thing we heard last year lol....

hey its whats been said around the interwebs....because i dont thnk PV has a distrust already on poku like kreis had.

 

[roxfontaine]

Can Khiry buy some new boots this week?

Nah. Team Messi.

Real question where the fuck do I get one of those beer trophies???????

That depends on your relationship with your bar owner. I'll give you mine. I was all amped up to get one and I never used it.

 

[Seth]

Our corner kicks are a huge source of frustration for me. I feel like they are constantly trying to reinvent the wheel with them and get cute. I thought it was just a Kreis thing but it looks like they're still doing it. There are enough guys with strength, power and pace to get on the ball with a well delivered corner.

So wait. Are you saying you're now starting to miss Nemec?

 

[gbservis]

My question is where does Poku fit into the lineup? I would not have guessed before the kickoff that he wouldn't see the field. We have a lot of great offensive players, but still feel he is the type of talent that needs to be playing.

Right now Poku is an offensive sub. If we had needed goals rather than having a lead to protect you would have possibly seen Poku come on instead of Bravo. Baring injury to the starters I don't think we will see him start until the USOC or when Mix and Pirlo leave for national team duty mid-summer. As others have said both PV and Poku see his spot as CM which puts him in the middle of a log jam for playing time. The only other way we will see more of him is if they change their mind and start playing him on the wing as T Tom in Fairfield CT and others have been advocating for.

lol...not sure if this was sarcasm, but this was the exact thing we heard last year lol....

PV is in a tough spot with regards to Poku. More casual fans that love Poku but didn't watch preseason are going to lump him in with Kries as a Poku hater for not playing him. What they are missing is that PV unlike Kries gave Poku a ton of time in preseason to earn his spot including 2 starts and he didn't do enough to beat out some of the guys playing ahead of him right now.

 

[Sabo]

It seems like T-Mac beat out Poku for that starting midfield spot yesterday. Given T-Mac's performance yesterday I don't have any complaints about the decision.

I also see Poku starting up top with Villa when Coach mixes things up and throws an occasional 4-4-2 at opponents.

 

[S1ARK5]

Dude, khiry's first touch on the goal, like all his first touches was about 3 yards in front of him, He made a nice touch to get round the keeper, then seemed to kick the ball into the goal on accident. I'm happy he scored, but the beautiful game that was not.

Tom with all due respect. You have no clue. The first touch he had to make to get separation from the defender and it allowed him to use his speed. If the GK was any good (i.e. Sean Johnson) he would have been able to read it and probably gobbled it up. But the first touch was pretty good to get forward with momentum. The touch to move the ball from the GK's hands and to score, you call an accident? You kidding me? Your so off it isn't even funny. I don't think you ever played soccer in your life, or if you have not up top to realize how good of a play that was at full speed.

 

[S1ARK5]

We have to hope that getting Mena and either Iraola or Allen back will allow the back 4 to settle down. That they were beyond bad yesterday is clear, but it's a tough assignment to play that aggressively and take those risks in the first game, much less to do so when you're missing half your back 4.

I don't get all the hate for Saunders. Even if you do give him 50% of the blame for the goal off the turnover, he bailed out the back line several times yesterday with terrific saves. We could have easily lost 5-4 or 6-4. I would give him partial blame for his positioning on the first goal - he should have closed down Cocis, but he hedged because Gilberto was continuing his run despite being offside. Might not have mattered anyway.

Im not sure Mena will fix our cb issues we are having. Mena didn't really shine too much when he was given minutes last year. He had some positive moments but was not the answer we needed. He can always improve, and for our sake I hope he improves form last year. We need it.

 

[Tom in Fairfield CT]

Tom with all due respect. You have no clue. The first touch he had to make to get separation from the defender and it allowed him to use his speed. If the GK was any good (i.e. Sean Johnson) he would have been able to read it and probably gobbled it up. But the first touch was pretty good to get forward with momentum. The touch to move the ball from the GK's hands and to score, you call an accident? You kidding me? Your so off it isn't even funny. I don't think you ever played soccer in your life, or if you have not up top to realize how good of a play that was at full speed.

I assume you are just trying to demonstrate how the assholes you mentioned on your RBNJ boards talk about the game?