Orlando - Postmatch
- Thread starter NYCFC_Dan
- Start date
True, but Orlando was cumulatively 10-15 inches from scoring 4 also.
Yeah, I know we didn't play all that well. And I understand that they hit the post 4 times, but I never really felt that Orlando deserved a result in this one. If we want to use Orlando's 4 post hits (2 of which were off of deflections, so I'm not going to give them as much credit) as examples of nearly finishing, then why not include Maxi's 1v1 as well and Tinny's bumble in the second half.
lmao dude has been there forever, today though it was not him today it was annika
I have attended four NYCFC games live since the team got started (The first game vs Orlando City in the Orange Bowl Tied 1-1), the 1-0 loss in Orlando the last year with the grand opening of their new stadium, the 7-0 debacle at Yankee Stadium vs the Energy Drinks, and finally, finally last night, the first time I witnessed 3 points in person. Great feeling.
I was standing in line getting popcorn for my two boys when I saw the lineup put out by Dome right before kick off and I was thinking, "Welp, there goes 3 points tonight". I must say, the team started out strong for the first 15-20 minutes, and because of how absolutely awful Orlando especially with their backline (CB's - sorely missed Spector last night), we lucked out and got three points.
I have never seen a team just let the opponent have so much space like Orlando gave us last night. The fact that we couldn't really capitalize shows you that we sorely need another attacking mid. As much as Maxi has been one of the mainstays in the mid, and he has had a good season, I do not believe you can win MLS Cup with him as one of your focal points on the attacking end. He is just too small when playing against better, more physical teams, this limits his passing, this obviously limits his shooting (missed another breakaway), this limits his ball placement going forward, too many times I saw last night his passing and his placement of the ball just missing the quality we need. Mind you, he was better in the second half but man, I don't know, I am not a big fan of him as a player. To me he leaves a lot to be desired.
Having said all of that, these are the players that are the absolute key to our success moving forward and the main reason we are as good as we think we are.
Sean Johnson - The kid is a very good GK. There is not much that he can't do, great presence back there, great shot stopping ability, sure he can certainly improve his footwork and his distribution but a top tier MLS GK no doubt. We are lucky to have him.
Chanot and Callens: This tandem is just flat out superb. These two guys, along with Sean, will be the reason we win anything this year, if they are on top of their game, we always have a chance. These guys not only have a great motor, but their passing is top notch. Callens has improved a lot since last year in this department, and they are quick, strong, and don't take shit from anyone. Exactly what you need from your CBs.
Tinnerholm: I believe he is one of the best backs in MLS. The guy is very good, seeing him live last night, man there is a reason our defense has been so good this year when the opponent is in the final third.
Ring: This dude is without a doubt our best player, no questions asks. He is an absolute monster. Love everything about his game. The guy is tremendous. His tracking, his defensive skills 1v1, his attitude, even his distribution is very good. Top D-mid in MLS in my opinion.
If we want to win MLS Cup, we need more from the following players:
Maxi: The guy just needs to be better. Yes he is having a good season but if we want to win it all, his game, his distribution, and his finishing need to improve. However, I just don't think he can do that especially come playoff time when teams are better defensively and more physical. He is just way to small.
Medina: Very bad game from him last night, and quite frankly, have been disappointed in him after a good start to the season. He certainly has good ball skills but last night he was just manhandled a few times, made poor decisions, did not see the follow up passing linking forward way to often, in short he has regressed in my view. We need more from him.
J. Lewis: We need more from him only in the sense that we need to see him play more, the kid is a threat, and with our lack of offensive options (especially with no Villa), he needs to be in the game more. Maybe he doesn't have the conditioning? I doubt that, so we need to see him more.
David Villa: Make no mistake, we do not win anything this year without Villa coming back and being in form.
Players that absolutely should not see the pitch in big games (which is basically the rest of the way).
Wallace: My god, just awful awful awful, all year long, and yesterday seeing him live in person, just awful. Great motor, he runs like hell, but he just does not have any skills at all, and his vision is subpar, his passing is subpar, the kid will be out of MLS in the next 2-3 years.
TMac: Listen, Tommy is a great kid, and he has reached the max to what he brings in MLS in 2018. If he was in MLS 1.0 or even 2.0, he could be a useful player, but Tommy is just not an MLS player on a consistent basis. He can show flashed (See his goal vs Philly and Chicago from last season and previously), and is a smart player, but again, he will not be in MLS for very long.
One last thing, and this has to do with Ofori. Just overall, meh to be honest, way too many times he makes the safe pass and has his back turned. However, on defense, he was big with a number of key blocks. He runs like hell too which is good. Again, if he just continues his solid defensive play, I guess that is good enough. But linking, and making that pass that is threatening (North and south), more direct, leaves a lot to be desired.
Overall, we need to get better much better on the offensive side because as you can see from last night in the second half, the backline can only do so much and Ring by himself can only do so much. Villa coming back will help but Maxi needs to step his game up, and maybe this is why Dome brought in Amagat, because he knows he needs more control.
I still think we are not as good as Atlanta or the Energy Drinks, but it should be a fun playoffs.
I was standing in line getting popcorn for my two boys when I saw the lineup put out by Dome right before kick off and I was thinking, "Welp, there goes 3 points tonight". I must say, the team started out strong for the first 15-20 minutes, and because of how absolutely awful Orlando especially with their backline (CB's - sorely missed Spector last night), we lucked out and got three points.
I have never seen a team just let the opponent have so much space like Orlando gave us last night. The fact that we couldn't really capitalize shows you that we sorely need another attacking mid. As much as Maxi has been one of the mainstays in the mid, and he has had a good season, I do not believe you can win MLS Cup with him as one of your focal points on the attacking end. He is just too small when playing against better, more physical teams, this limits his passing, this obviously limits his shooting (missed another breakaway), this limits his ball placement going forward, too many times I saw last night his passing and his placement of the ball just missing the quality we need. Mind you, he was better in the second half but man, I don't know, I am not a big fan of him as a player. To me he leaves a lot to be desired.
Having said all of that, these are the players that are the absolute key to our success moving forward and the main reason we are as good as we think we are.
Sean Johnson - The kid is a very good GK. There is not much that he can't do, great presence back there, great shot stopping ability, sure he can certainly improve his footwork and his distribution but a top tier MLS GK no doubt. We are lucky to have him.
Chanot and Callens: This tandem is just flat out superb. These two guys, along with Sean, will be the reason we win anything this year, if they are on top of their game, we always have a chance. These guys not only have a great motor, but their passing is top notch. Callens has improved a lot since last year in this department, and they are quick, strong, and don't take shit from anyone. Exactly what you need from your CBs.
Tinnerholm: I believe he is one of the best backs in MLS. The guy is very good, seeing him live last night, man there is a reason our defense has been so good this year when the opponent is in the final third.
Ring: This dude is without a doubt our best player, no questions asks. He is an absolute monster. Love everything about his game. The guy is tremendous. His tracking, his defensive skills 1v1, his attitude, even his distribution is very good. Top D-mid in MLS in my opinion.
If we want to win MLS Cup, we need more from the following players:
Maxi: The guy just needs to be better. Yes he is having a good season but if we want to win it all, his game, his distribution, and his finishing need to improve. However, I just don't think he can do that especially come playoff time when teams are better defensively and more physical. He is just way to small.
Medina: Very bad game from him last night, and quite frankly, have been disappointed in him after a good start to the season. He certainly has good ball skills but last night he was just manhandled a few times, made poor decisions, did not see the follow up passing linking forward way to often, in short he has regressed in my view. We need more from him.
J. Lewis: We need more from him only in the sense that we need to see him play more, the kid is a threat, and with our lack of offensive options (especially with no Villa), he needs to be in the game more. Maybe he doesn't have the conditioning? I doubt that, so we need to see him more.
David Villa: Make no mistake, we do not win anything this year without Villa coming back and being in form.
Players that absolutely should not see the pitch in big games (which is basically the rest of the way).
Wallace: My god, just awful awful awful, all year long, and yesterday seeing him live in person, just awful. Great motor, he runs like hell, but he just does not have any skills at all, and his vision is subpar, his passing is subpar, the kid will be out of MLS in the next 2-3 years.
TMac: Listen, Tommy is a great kid, and he has reached the max to what he brings in MLS in 2018. If he was in MLS 1.0 or even 2.0, he could be a useful player, but Tommy is just not an MLS player on a consistent basis. He can show flashed (See his goal vs Philly and Chicago from last season and previously), and is a smart player, but again, he will not be in MLS for very long.
One last thing, and this has to do with Ofori. Just overall, meh to be honest, way too many times he makes the safe pass and has his back turned. However, on defense, he was big with a number of key blocks. He runs like hell too which is good. Again, if he just continues his solid defensive play, I guess that is good enough. But linking, and making that pass that is threatening (North and south), more direct, leaves a lot to be desired.
Overall, we need to get better much better on the offensive side because as you can see from last night in the second half, the backline can only do so much and Ring by himself can only do so much. Villa coming back will help but Maxi needs to step his game up, and maybe this is why Dome brought in Amagat, because he knows he needs more control.
I still think we are not as good as Atlanta or the Energy Drinks, but it should be a fun playoffs.
I know Orlando was giving us so much space last night, and we really weren't able to do much with it. But IMO, our inability there had nothing to do with the midfield, but our front 3. We just did not have the technical ability up there to create quality chances on goal. TMac and Wallace were a waste, and Medina has shown flashed, but Orlando was able to focus on him much more. And nobody was really making the runs to challenge that back line. We saw Maxi almost do it, but that was really it. I think if Berget was able to start it would have been much different.
If there was a spot for TMac last night, it was not in the front 3, it was in the midfield where he would have had much more space to operate.
One sequence highlighted this IMO, and it was in the second half, that almost caused Alejandro Moreno to have an orgasm on the air.
We held the ball in the opposing half, and then slowly worked it back, and back, and back close to our corner, drawing Orlando up. Then two or three, quick, direct passes, resulted in Mai finding a wide open Tinnerholm for a 1v1 chance against the keeper, that Tinny had tackled away because he just didn't have enough gas left in the tank.
Also, I wanna address this part. And I think I agree with you, but with a caveat.
Yes, I don't think we can win MLS Cup with Maxi as the focal point on the attacking end. But that is where Villa, Berget, and Shradi come into play. We need to remember that those are the guys that are the focal points of our attack, and Maxi makes them work.
I don't think his size limits his passing or his shooting. Yes, he can do a better job at finishing at times, but he isn't terrible.
And again, I think some of the passing not linking up last night wasn't all Maxi. Guys weren't making good enough runs or receiving them with the technical ability to control it (looking at TMac and Wallace mostly on these).
I really disagree with the Maxi criticisms. He's been stellar this year and was great in his capacity last night. We're talking about a guy that has better offensive numbers than Almiron this year. It's fair to be critical of his finishing, and I think a lot of it has to do with him having to shoot across the face of goal with his strong (outside) foot towards the back post, instead of opening his hips and sliding the ball with his left -- or even going near post for once. He's been our best hold-up player this year at 4'11" and has constantly found himself in the right spots to break games open and deadlocks. It might not always be flashy and quick, but he has done very well on the ball this year going forward.
Last night he was a bit limited, as we all probably saw, that his only options were the really wide players (Sweat, Medina, Tinnerholm). Wallace was a black hole with the ball and only made one memorable off-the-ball run, where Sweat constantly stayed wide for an easy change of field. Tommy was a traffic cone, and as much as the crowd loves the local boy, his time on the field should be done. No runs, constantly behind the play as our #9 -- he doesn't make himself available as an offensive option anymore. I don't know what's wrong with him. I digress, but with so many options taken out of the equation, Maxi had few balls to play into dangerous positions, which meant a lot of 1v1s on the outside. But he still came away with a goal and an assist and nearly had a few more.
I actually thought Ofori was fantastic last night. He doesn't have a difficult job, and I think you and Dome make note of his deficiency in link-up play. In spite of all that, he won a lot of balls last night and even started carrying the ball into space (my main criticism of his play) and tracked back well. All he's out there to do is get the ball and drop it off to Alex or Maxi so they can start the counter, and I thought he did a great job of that. Realistically, it's what he's there to do -- and honestly it's any of the back 5/6's job: get the ball to Alex in our own half and move the trap line. He only misplaced a couple of passes and that was late in the game.
Maxi (potential injury layoff aside) is the least of our problems. Yes - he may suffer versus more physical players and he probably won't be out-jumping any CBs to win headers but any doubts regarding his play and what he's meant to our team this season (our best and most consistent offensive player) are misguided.
I'm not saying he should be our #1 option, but he's done more than his fair share and I'm glad he's on our team.
I am going to continue with the Almiron comparison because he is talked about as a MVP candidate
Villa 8 goals 51 shots (2/3 Pen)
Maxi 8 goals 54 shots (1/1 Pen)
Almiron 8 goals 98 shots (4/5 Pen)
Spot on about the lack of front line options for Maxi last night.
Ofori misplaced four passes last night. Four. He’s not Alex Ring, heck, no D-mid in the league may be close to Ring but as a ball-winning 6 Ofori is starting to grow in the role.
NYCFC won a game on the road with Tommy Mac starting at striker. Let that one sink in.
NYCFC won a game on the road with Tommy Mac starting at striker. Let that one sink in.
I specifically remember around the 21' or so, Maxi was bringing the ball up near midfield and had plenty of space, and there were loads up space down the left, but TMac just sat there, and Maxi kept directing to make a run up, but TMac didn't do anything. Sweat ended up making the run maybe around 8 seconds later and Maxi switched the field there. But as soon as he crossed the ball, Maxi was yelling right at TMac about making that run.
I thought Ofori was great last night, but I think a lot of that had to do with Orlando deciding not to pressure him. Which I'm not sure why they didn't.
I'm still not completely comfortable with him against teams that like to pressure the ball, but last night he was great at making a defender miss and then bringing the ball up the field and finding the open man.
Not having Ring and Villa for the next game stinks, but it's terrific that we will be able to field Lewis, Berget and Shradi - with all 3 having gotten good minutes in the Orlando game. That will be a big positive change for us - and all the better if Maxi can get that prosthetic in time to hit the field too.
Ofori has gotten better every game. He is much craftier on the ball than I thought. As an Everton fan, he reminds me of a less feisty version of Idrissa Gana Gueye (aka the poor man's N'Golo Kante).
Ofori is still soft, but with the ball at his feet, he has started to look very comfortable.
Ofori is still soft, but with the ball at his feet, he has started to look very comfortable.
53:50 for the highlighter, replay’s available on ESPN app
Lots of lovely thoughts shared by the Orlando fans around that time
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