USOC - May 7 - Pittsburgh (Away)

[moogoo]

Disagree. The B/C team was the better team. Lost due to a mistake by our 4th centerback. Fernandez’s miss didn’t help either, but he was actually more lively in the center than he often is on the wing.

The team didn’t prioritize the game and it paid the price. Props to Pittsburgh. Lee deserves criticism - but not sure a glorified exhibition is primary evidence.

our B team should be able to beat a lower league team comfortably with a full squad and still doable with 10 men. but we struggled to break them down for most of the game. things opened up when we went down to 10 and they decided to attack.

our wingers probably cost more in transfer fees than the entirety of the riverhounds roster. it was a pathetic showing where the brightest spots on the team were the ones who cost the least (shore, haak, cavallo).

 

[Kenny]

Austin came back from 2-0 down to go ahead 3-2 with 10' left. Presumably they put their starters on. Indy 11 going to pens vs. Philly. Let's see if another MLS team falls, or will we remain the only one.

 

[Revfugee]

showed up with a C squad and got cupset.

highlights were that shore is a baller. kid is gonna be a star if he keeps improving and gets creative vision.

haak solid. perea lookin lively but obviously needs more minutes.

the rest - meh as expected.

Cavallo's overlapping run and ball into Juli was excellent and should have been the winner.

And Shore has the best vision of anyone on the squad bar Maxi.

Romero was actually pretty solid and Seymour looked better than the rest of the forwards combined.

The movement of our or forwards off the ball was dire.

Tayvon is way off his form.

I don't think Bakrar is ever gonna happen.

And I never say this kind of thing, but Tanis is hot garbage and should be fired into the sun.

 

[mgarbowski]

I think it’s on Lee that we have 1 player who we can reasonably expect to score and if he doesn’t play we likely have a <50% chance of scoring even one goal, including against USL level defenses.

 

[Kenny]

And I never say this kind of thing, but Tanis is hot garbage and should be fired into the sun.

I'm pretty sure he was brought in to be a big brother for Jovan, first and foremost. IDK what his contract situation is, but he's clearly not a 90 minute player option for us, late-game sub option to see out a game at best.

 

[QuigrNYCFC]

Shades of our loss to the Cosmos at Fordham tonight.

 

[Kenny]

Philly won. Austin won. We really are going to be the only one of six-fucking-teen MLS teams to lose to lower div? Only Houston and San Jose left tonight and Houston already up 1-0.

Like, big picture it doesn't matter, we probably weren't going to get past the top tier teams all the way to the cup anyway in this comp.... but damn it's embarrassing right now.

 

[BC19]

Sims and Lee can add last night to the list of successes they drone on about. “We’re really proud of making the conference semifinals 6 of the last 7 years” is the new pitch. They can add “We really proud of being the only MLS team to lose to lower league competition this season. We are committed to helping lower league soccer grow.”

 

[GratefulDawg]

 

[Kenny]

Well that’s one less game in May? Yay?

 

[LionNYC]

This hits even more since Mr. Roger’s show was filmed in Pittsburgh.

 

[joe]

We need a solution to fixture congestion! *monkey's paw curls*

 

[EganSoccerWords]

Disagree. The B/C team was the better team. Lost due to a mistake by our 4th centerback. Fernandez’s miss didn’t help either, but he was actually more lively in the center than he often is on the wing.

The team didn’t prioritize the game and it paid the price. Props to Pittsburgh. Lee deserves criticism - but not sure a glorified exhibition is primary evidence.

Every outfield player has made at least one start this MLS season. If that lineup can't beat a bad USL team, it's a signal that our roster is bad, not that we didn't prioritize the game.

 

[LionNYC]

When we had the ball and playing against 10 defenders behind the ball, it was so stagnant. Nobody making runs, nobody pulling defenders apart. We got our best chances in transition. Ojeda hit the crossbar on a long strike, Bakrar couldn’t get a shot off, Julian couldn’t tap it in.

The longer you get don’t your goal, you leave the opportunity for the opponent to take the game.

I don’t see why Carrizo didn’t come into the game if he was healthy to be on the lineup.

Seymour Reid was the most impressive sub who actually controlled the ball well on the turf.

Playing on turf is always just a roll of the dice with how the ball can bounce.

We were the only MLS club to lose in this round. The front office will write this off because it’s not MLS play and nobody cares about the Open Cup but the real fans do.

 

[gbservis]

When we had the ball and playing against 10 defenders behind the ball, it was so stagnant. Nobody making runs, nobody pulling defenders apart. We got our best chances in transition. Ojeda hit the crossbar on a long strike, Bakrar couldn’t get a shot off, Julian couldn’t tap it in.

The longer you get don’t your goal, you leave the opportunity for the opponent to take the game.

I don’t see why Carrizo didn’t come into the game if he was healthy to be on the lineup.

Seymour Reid was the most impressive sub who actually controlled the ball well on the turf.

Playing on turf is always just a roll of the dice with how the ball can bounce.

We were the only MLS club to lose in this round. The front office will write this off because it’s not MLS play and nobody cares about the Open Cup but the real fans do.

The contrast in off ball movement was very apparent. Everytime Shore and Carvallo pass the ball they aggressively cut into space. Even Haak at CB immediately starts drifting to open space to make himself an outlet. When Julian passes the ball off he just stops or walks with his hands on his hips like his turn is over.

Ojeda and Wolf will cut when they want to try a give and go but they also just walk sometimes if they aren't trying some kind of link up play. We could be so dynamic if every player moved with the aggression that Shore does post pass.

 

[JayH]

We have an egregiously flawed, shallow roster. I think that this game alone perfectly highlighted everything that is wrong with our roster construction. My kids and I could do nothing but laugh when they scored - that was our natural reaction - that’s where we are at.

 

[moogoo]

after a night of reflection - i'm just very sad this is the state of our roster. that missing maxi, parks, and martinez meant that we lose to a weak lower league side. that's just awful.

 

[ZYanksRule]

The cognitive dissonance between "we want to win every trophy we can" and whatever the hell this roster is drives me crazy.

The cognitive dissonance between firing the coach after reaching the conference semifinal, then whatever the hell this roster is is impossible to square. David Lee is holding his coaches to a standard he himself refuses to reach.

Lee has to be on the chopping block after this season unless this issue is being caused by the Manchester office. This roster and this transfer strategy is untenable.

Cognitive dissonance is the word of the day and explains quite a bit about where we are in regards to David Lee's roster.

 

[BC19]

The cognitive dissonance between "we want to win every trophy we can" and whatever the hell this roster is drives me crazy.

The cognitive dissonance between firing the coach after reaching the conference semifinal, then whatever the hell this roster is is impossible to square. David Lee is holding his coaches to a standard he himself refuses to reach.

Lee has to be on the chopping block after this season unless this issue is being caused by the Manchester office. This roster and this transfer strategy is untenable.

Cognitive dissonance is the word of the day and explains quite a bit about where we are in regards to David Lee's roster.

Firing Cushing after he reached the Conference semifinals last year is looking especially hypocritical now that their new calling card is “Us and Seattle are the only 2 teams to reach the conference in x out of the last 7 years”. David Lee fired him because he won without the high priced players he brought in, because they aren’t good enough.