Union Postmatch

[SebastianBlue]

For those interested in this sort of thing, David's goal was not number one on SC's Top 10 last night, though, they obviously smell the blood in the water as there were three football clips in the countdown and number one was a hockey/football hybrid play.

 

[mgarbowski]

‪I dreamt that Villa scored a stunning wonder goal last night. Woke up this morning. It really happened .

 

[adam]

Nope. Some Ethiopian Christian church has it. They even have an annual festival. So it's definitely true. Watched the documentary myself right after Ancient Aliens.

ETA http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/20/travel/ethiopia-ark-of-the-covenant/

That's a model, then again who am I to argue with ancient aliens? One day Pope Jude Law will let us had it back.

 

[mgarbowski]

I don't think any other game thread has ever gone this far off course.

But maybe Villa is descended from the ancient aliens.

 

[Sabo]

Honest question: are you Jewish? Because I have spent seder in Israel (and other places; my first name is Josué because of a very close family friend who is one of the best humans to ever walk the earth) with Jewish friends and cider was always considered chametz.

If it is now acceptable I am going to be all over that this weekend.

Ugh. I better stay in shul longer on Yom Kippur. It was chametz. They add yeast to ferment it. Don't follow my example.

 

[Jon]

Strong showing in the second half. Some initial thoughts I had: I thought they had trouble building out of the back in the first 20 minutes. The ball seemed to get stuck in our back third. I don't know what Vieira said at half time but we came out much more aggressive. As soon as we crossed the midfield line it looked like we could score at any moment. Once Jack scored it looked like Philly was just done. And Villa's goal was just amazing. Ring is just a beast, but dear God, he couldn't hit the side of a barn with the ball. It's hard to rate the team as a whole because I thought they were below average in the first half, but in the second half they were lights out. I'm glad Vieira went back to the starting XI we used at home. Only change I'd like to see is Tommy Mac subbed in instead of Khiry.

 

[WestSideGuy]

I've not seen any long ranger as special as that.

Not taking anything away from Villa, but how about Carli Lloyd finishing the hat trick in the world cup final?

 

[Sabo]

Not taking anything away from Villa, but how about Carli Lloyd finishing the hat trick in the world cup final?

That goalie was 5'2, not 6'4 -- Blake got back well and covered everything but the perfect shot.

 

[mgarbowski]

That goalie was 5'2, not 6'4 -- Blake got back well and covered everything but the perfect shot.

Villa's shot was perfectly placed, but Blake erred. To be fair, he made the same mistake all keepers make on those shots: he backpedals while tracking the ball. They would do better to act like outfielders chasing a deep fly: run first to the wall/goal then wait for the ball.

 

[WestSideGuy]

That goalie was 5'2, not 6'4 -- Blake got back well and covered everything but the perfect shot.

I don't disagree with you regarding precision; I was referring to the meaning of the shot.

 

[LeeNYCFC]

Had I not experienced VillaWonderStrike tm I would've been on here to complain at length about how wasteful we were (and missed penalty) and how a stroke of bad luck or a better team would've held us back from getting 3 points. But, here we are.

 

[Seven]

I should be embarrassed by how many times I have rewatched the Villa wonder goal. But, I am really, really not. Grinning right now just thinking about it.



Random thoughts on the game:

CBs were beasts again. Chanot saved us in the 70th minute on that perfect tackle, cause otherwise the Philly player was 1 on 1 with the goalie.

Did Shelton do anything when he came on? I guess I kinda get the sub, since he's fast and should be helpful to go chase down long clearances from the D, but I didn't think he really did anything to influence the game. I hope that if we were in need of a goal, Camargo would have come off the bench before Shelton

Wasn't sure if we played better in the second half, or Philly just got tired from the high press.

And yes, it doesn't matter since we got 3 points, but once again we are wasteful in front of goal

 

[dannd23]

And yes, it doesn't matter since we got 3 points, but once again we are wasteful in front of goal

I don't really agree. Blake is arguably the best keeper in MLS and he made at least 2 saves that would have been goals against most other teams. The only glaringly wasteful one I remember is when Blake stopped Ring and then Wallace awfully tried to finesse it in when he just needed to smash it.

 

[Seven]

I don't really agree. Blake is arguably the best keeper in MLS and he made at least 2 saves that would have been goals against most other teams. The only glaringly wasteful one I remember is when Blake stopped Ring and then Wallace awfully tried to finesse it in when he just needed to smash it.

Villa also had a terrible shot in the first half that managed to go out for a throw in, on a great setup from Ring. And Moralez skied a shot over the bar in the second half off a rebound

 

[dannd23]

Villa also had a terrible shot in the first half that managed to go out for a throw in, on a great setup from Ring. And Moralez skied a shot over the bar in the second half off a rebound

True, but the rebounds were bouncing which makes them tougher finishes. Not saying they shouldn't have been, but it's not like they were gimmes. At this point though, we're splitting hairs since NYC won 2-0

 

[Kjbert]

Over the last two weeks, we've played probably the two best shot stopping keepers in MLS. Bill Hamid would be in Europe right now if he wasn't made of glass. Andre Blake will be in Europe.

 

[Kjbert]

I'll give my ratings after having watched again and slept on it:

Villa - 7. Despite the wonder goal, I thought he was good, not great. Not sure his fitness has been winderful this year. Had some attempts on target that I thought he could have done better with. He was also playing very deep at certain parts of the match. Thought he distributed well when he dropped deeper

Harrison - 8. I think he's been our most consistent player this season. Kid is a star. Just missing that next level but he's only 20. Enjoy him while you can. He was terrific again.

Wallace - 6. I don't think we have 10 points without Wallace but you're also starting to see cracks in his game. He's a super athlete and our only long outlet option. He tracks back well defensively and partners with Matarrita who is just a unique LB. But he also drifts in and out of games sometimes and I thought he did that last night.

Ring - 7. If only he could finish. I love his marauding style. Pirlo obviously holds him back. He played another very strong game last night. He just needs to finish chances. If he finished chances, he's a DP level player in MLS.

Maxi - 6. He does some terrific things and then he disappears. He's become frustrating to watch for me. I also think some of his positional issues come from Pirlo. So that's two guys that feel the need to track back more often than they should to cover for Pirlo. He missed a sitter. Still struggling with the physicality somewhat.

Pirlo - 6. Played OK. Picked out some great passes. Wasn't even a speed bump on defense. In the first half when we were under constant pressure, he wasn't a good outlet option. I'm going to stop there.

Matarrita - 7. Very good offensively again. Think this was one of his better, more complete matches. That ball to Harrison was beautiful. He's still poor positionally defensively but his speed helps make up for some of it. And he's partnered well with Wallace.

White - 6. He was ok again. He's still poor in possession. If there is money this summer, I would still like to see us upgrade here. He's actually been a decent defensive fullback. Got forward somewhat as well. But if we have 65% possession and our best offensive player is Jack Harrison, we need to be able to play up the right side. We can't with White. That hurts us.

Callens - 7. Becoming our best defender. His athleticism helps specifically in this league. Very good in possession.

Chanot - 8. Maybe our MOTM. Sets the defense. Callens is probably our best defender right now, but Chanot is probably our most important. He's partnered well with Johnson to set our defense. I'm an Everton fan. He just reminds me of Jagielka in his scrappiness.

Johnson - 7. Wasn't as good in distribution as he had been. But he's a great shot stopper. Was responsible for two saves that Saunders doesn't make.

Shelton was brought in for his speed and to hold up play. He was fine. I can't remember a thing that Herrera did

 

[Christopher Jee]

I can't remember a thing that Herrera did

That's odd. After 5 minutes, I said to myself "this kid has balls". I was really impressed. Has the same appetite for risk that Pirlo has, and that ability to thread the needle and get the ball forward when taking pressure. I don't think we got a real sense of his passing range or ability to command possession, but he seems like an able sub at worst.

I'm not gonna talk about Pirlo because I don't think it's worth the effort. I would love to watch a game with you, Kjbert or Tom in Fairfield CT, to see what you see and don't see. Earnestly.

White was solid, but I keep wondering to myself what kind of season Harrison would be having if he had the kind of threat that Mata poses on the other side, behind him. I really hope he stays for another season and we find a TAM-level RB.

 

[EganSoccerWords]

I thought that the substitutions were alot better this game. Seems like Herrera/Shelton will be our defensive sub platoon and T-Mac/Carmargo will be our offensive sub platoon. I think if we can get over Shelton being the #2 pick, he will be a fine defense from the front type of sub where he is run and press at tired defenders (still want him at RB/RWB though).

It was amazing how we really dominated that second half of play. It really epitomized our style. I can't recall a single chance Philly had in the second half.

 

[Tom in Fairfield CT]

That's odd. After 5 minutes, I said to myself "this kid has balls". I was really impressed. Has the same appetite for risk that Pirlo has, and that ability to thread the needle and get the ball forward when taking pressure. I don't think we got a real sense of his passing range or ability to command possession, but he seems like an able sub at worst.

I'm not gonna talk about Pirlo because I don't think it's worth the effort. I would love to watch a game with you, Kjbert or Tom in Fairfield CT, to see what you see and don't see. Earnestly.

White was solid, but I keep wondering to myself what kind of season Harrison would be having if he had the kind of threat that Mata poses on the other side, behind him. I really hope he stays for another season and we find a TAM-level RB.

You shouldn't feel like you can't post your opinion on Pirlo. No one has a monopoly on the "board opinion" Ive gotten way more shit for my pirlo posts that you will ever get for your pro pirlo stuff. Just write what you see and dont engage when you get responses unless they are civil. I for one am curious to hear what the pirlo fans see, because i know at this point i have a little bias, just because I have been against him for our team for so long.