My perspectives on the game:
- There is nothing insightful about this comment, but Villa really is playing at a transcendent level in the last 3-4 matches. I just wonder how long he can keep it up physically.
- Even though the goal against came in the second half, I thought we were much better. The first half had some great individual defending, but we gave up a lot of good chances. I took comfort from the fact that they weren't the result, generally, of comic defending but rather just a good opponent, but, on another day, we could have been down 2-0 or something. I think we got paid back by some of the karma gods who had killed us in a few of our early matches if you believe that stuff. Second half, and particularly the last 30 minutes, was much better. It is the second match in row where I thought we did a great job of nursing a hard-won lead.
- I've been pretty critical of what Lopez costs us offensively when he plays further up the field and was hoping that this was a match where Mix would distinguish himself and give us better ball retention and/or chance creation that would help re-establish him. I didn't really see it, though, and may, reluctantly, be coming around to the view that I'd rather have the extreme Lopez pressure and running rather than Mix's all-around game which just isn't shining in my opinion. Not sure yet though, and the right choice may depend on the matchup. I thought Mikey was very good defensively and was a lot more disciplined than I expected, but that his lack of passing ability also hurt our ability to keep the ball. Getting Bravo back in there is key.
- I thought a big part of us managing the match well in the second half was good work by Pirlo. He really took the air out of the game in a number of instances, which was exactly what we needed. And the attention he drew before laying the ball off to TMAC for the goal was very important.
- I did not think Brillant, who I am generally a big fan of, was all that good, though I'd need to watch the match again and without a very high level of anxiety to form a better view. And, in fairness, Adi is a tough matchup for sure.
- The difference between the light-weight defending we had at FB last year with Iraola and Angelino and what we get out of Allen and Matarrita, both of whom are a bit nasty and have attitudes, is night and day.
- Overall, it was a good match and fantastic outcome, though it is easy to conflate the two. For me, the exciting part is that, perhaps for the first time, we were able to go play away from home, against a tough opponent, and do enough to put ourselves in a position to win thanks to some moments of individual skill. It won't always turn out that way, but against Columbus and Philadelphia, we never really had the chance. If you do that consistently in your tough road matches and play like we did against Montreal and Vancouver at home, and DC in road matches against mediocre teams, you are a very good MLS team.
- There is nothing insightful about this comment, but Villa really is playing at a transcendent level in the last 3-4 matches. I just wonder how long he can keep it up physically.
- Even though the goal against came in the second half, I thought we were much better. The first half had some great individual defending, but we gave up a lot of good chances. I took comfort from the fact that they weren't the result, generally, of comic defending but rather just a good opponent, but, on another day, we could have been down 2-0 or something. I think we got paid back by some of the karma gods who had killed us in a few of our early matches if you believe that stuff. Second half, and particularly the last 30 minutes, was much better. It is the second match in row where I thought we did a great job of nursing a hard-won lead.
- I've been pretty critical of what Lopez costs us offensively when he plays further up the field and was hoping that this was a match where Mix would distinguish himself and give us better ball retention and/or chance creation that would help re-establish him. I didn't really see it, though, and may, reluctantly, be coming around to the view that I'd rather have the extreme Lopez pressure and running rather than Mix's all-around game which just isn't shining in my opinion. Not sure yet though, and the right choice may depend on the matchup. I thought Mikey was very good defensively and was a lot more disciplined than I expected, but that his lack of passing ability also hurt our ability to keep the ball. Getting Bravo back in there is key.
- I thought a big part of us managing the match well in the second half was good work by Pirlo. He really took the air out of the game in a number of instances, which was exactly what we needed. And the attention he drew before laying the ball off to TMAC for the goal was very important.
- I did not think Brillant, who I am generally a big fan of, was all that good, though I'd need to watch the match again and without a very high level of anxiety to form a better view. And, in fairness, Adi is a tough matchup for sure.
- The difference between the light-weight defending we had at FB last year with Iraola and Angelino and what we get out of Allen and Matarrita, both of whom are a bit nasty and have attitudes, is night and day.
- Overall, it was a good match and fantastic outcome, though it is easy to conflate the two. For me, the exciting part is that, perhaps for the first time, we were able to go play away from home, against a tough opponent, and do enough to put ourselves in a position to win thanks to some moments of individual skill. It won't always turn out that way, but against Columbus and Philadelphia, we never really had the chance. If you do that consistently in your tough road matches and play like we did against Montreal and Vancouver at home, and DC in road matches against mediocre teams, you are a very good MLS team.
