Photo: Daniel Studio
Jim Curtin called it “the biggest win in the Union’s history.”
Biggest? Maybe. Toughest? Absolutely.
Behind a stellar performance from John McCarthy in goal, Philadelphia Union defeated New York Red Bulls on penalties at Red Bull Arena Tuesday afternoon in the quarterfinals of the US Open Cup.
After being overrun in the first half and losing Conor Casey to a red card for stamping on Connor Lade’s calf, the Union recovered to go ahead through Eric Ayuk. Lloyd Sam tied the match late in stoppage time and John McCarthy was the hero in extra time and again during the penalties. Philadelphia will play the winner of Wednesday’s Chicago-Orlando City match in the semifinals at PPL Park on August 11 at 7:30 pm.
Lineups
The Union were without Brian Sylvestre (cup tied), CJ Sapong (red card suspension), Andrew Wenger (injury), and Richie Marquez (injury). John McCarthy started in net with Trey Mitchell on the bench in case of emergencies. Ray Gaddis, Ethan White, Maurice Edu, and Fabinho made up the back four behind Brian Carroll and Vincent Nogueira. Sebastien Le Toux and Eric Ayuk started wide with Conor Casey patrolling the middle of the pitch.
Fernando Aristeguieta, Zach Pfeffer, Antoine Hoppenot, Jimmy McLaughlin, and Sheanon Williams were available off the bench.
Jesse Marsch sent out a strong lineup despite his team’s meaningle$$ match against Chelsea on Wednesday. Luis Robles backstopped Lade, Miazga, Perrinelle, and Anthony Wallace. Dax McCarty, Sacha Kljestan and Felipe were in the middle with Lloyd Sam and Bradley Wright-Phillips outside of Anatole Abang.
First half
The Union came out for the first half in a daze. Slow, immobile, and second to everything, they nearly fell behind in the third minute when Felipe sashayed up the middle and curled a gorgeous shot that McCarthy stretched to save.
The chances came at a breakneck pace for New York, so for a full rundown of the match, see PSP’s Twitter feed because only the biggest moments will be reviewed here.
Going forward Philly was undone again and again by Conor Casey and Sebastien Le Toux, who both played as though they were new to the sport. By the 10th minute, the Union were pinned deep in their own half almost continually. Ray Gaddis’ poor touch let Abang in, but he emulated his opponents and put his pass far ahead of Wright-Phillips.
In the 18th minute, Abang held off Edu and spun to hit a bicycle kick at goal. It was deflected wide and the Red Bulls settled for a corner kick.
Six minutes later, the ball fell to Abang, and he had a step on White. McCarthy came out quickly to force the striker wide and White recovered to block the shot.
In the 40th minute, Conor Casey stamped on Connor Lade’s calf and was sent off. For the second consecutive US Open Cup match, the Union were forced to play with ten men.
The Red Bulls continued to push, with chance after chance undone at the final moment. As the half wound down, McCarty slipped free at the back post but, in a manner typifying his team’s finishing, popped the ball over the frame from four yards away.
Second half
No changes were made at halftime and, for a while, it seemed as though the match would trundle on as it had. Lloyd Sam deked Le Toux and found Abang alone at the penalty spot, but the misfiring striker put the ball into McCarthy’s arms.
In the 50th minute, Wright-Phillips put another header wide from in close. He was ruled offside, though it was hard to see how he could have been.
Everything changed in the 55th minute. A Nogueira breakout found Le Toux on the left wing 10 yards inside the Red Bull half. The Frenchman was having an unmitigated disaster of a match up to that point, but all was forgiven as he threaded the needle to Nogueira rushing past Miazga. Nogueira took a touch then sent a pass across the goalmouth to Ayuk, who didn’t shoot so much as collide with the ball and knock it home.
Le Toux soon made way for Sheanon Williams who, surprisingly, stayed at left midfield with Fabinho behind him.
The Union were locked into their own final third as Ayuk slid in to block a clear shot on frame from Wallace following a Red Bulls free kick in the 69th minute. Jesse Marsch began throwing on wingers, inserting Sal Zizzo, Mike Grella, and Manolo Sanchez. Zizzo quickly got behind Fabinho, but his low cross was cut out by an alert Ethan White.
Jim Curtin used his final substitutions to insert Fernando Aristeguieta and Fred, with Chaco Maidana and Ayuk making way.
The final 10 minutes were filled with Red Bulls crosses, but the Union held firm. In the 90th minute, Aristeguieta found Fred alone at the top of the box. Fred put the ball through to Carroll, but Robles was off his line in an instant to smother the shot.
Then, in the dying moments of stoppage time, Philly lost their nerve. Matt Miazga’s ball into traffic was half-cleared, and both Fabinho and Williams backed off to give Grella a free header. The winger lobbed the ball over White to Sam, who spun and finished from three yards out before Nogueira could close him down. Extra time loomed.
Extra time
New York continued to batter the Union defense, putting shots and crosses into the mixer at every opportunity.
Sam was in the thick of it, and Bradley Wright-Phillips finally found his energy, bursting through alone in the 101st minute. McCarthy was out in a flash and dove at the striker’s feet. Wright-Phillips rounded him, but McCarthy recovered and dove again. Wright-Phillips cut back for Grella, but his audacious lob went wide of the goal as McCarthy somehow sprung back to his feet to wave at it.
In the 107th minute, Matt Miazga mishit a back pass to Robles, and it became a footrace between the goalie and Aristeguieta. Both arrived simultaneously, and all the Venezuelan striker could do was tap the ball softly into Robles’ knees.
Three minutes later, Mo Edu stepped to the fore, clearing the ball out of the air after Wright-Phillips chested it down in the box. Edu was again on hand to dispossess Wright-Phillips when the striker was almost in alone in the 112th minute.
In the 114th minute, Sam knocked a cross down to Sanchez’s feet, but the winger could only toe-poke at McCarthy from three yards away, and the goalie smothered it.
Then it was Grella from the penalty spot, but his lashed shot was kicked out by the unbeatable McCarthy.
Penalties
New York shot first, and Bradley Wright-Phillips continued his rough season from the spot by smacking the bar.
Williams stepped up for Philly and slotted past Robles.
McCarty beat McCarthy low left, then Nogueira finished off an astounding performance by blasting the ball into the upper right corner of Robles’ goal.
Grella’s panenka was successful as McCarthy dove left, then Edu placed his ball to the left as Robles went right.
McCarthy still had one more moment of brilliance in him as he dove to his left and half-saved Lloyd Sam’s blast, then recovered to keep the spinning ball from crossing the goal line.
Fred had a chance to win the game, but Robles was equal to his tame effort.
Sacha Kljestan scored for New York to put the game on Fernando Aristeguieta’s right foot. The big Venezuelan strode forward and drilled his shot into the left side netting to send the Union into the semifinals.
And, yes, the crowd went wild.
Philadelphia Union
John McCarthy, Fabinho, Ethan White, Maurice Edu, Raymon Gaddis, Sebastien Le Toux (Sheanon Williams 60´), Eric Ayuk Mbu (Fernando Aristeguieta 90`), Brian Carroll, Vincent Noguiera, Cristian Maidana (Fred 77´), Conor Casey
Unused subs: Trey Mitchell, Jimmy McLaughlin, Antoine Hoppenot, Zachary Pfeffer
New York Red Bulls
Luis Robles, Connor Lade, Matt Miazga, Damien Perrinelle (Manolo Sanchez 80´), Anthony Wallace, Felipe (Sal Zizzo 70´), Dax McCarty, Lloyd Sam, Sacha Kljestan, Anatole Abang (Mike Grella 65´), Bradley Wright-Phillips
Unused subs: Kyle Reynish, Roy Miller, Karl Ouimette, Sean Davis
Scoring Summary
PHI — Eric Ayuk (Vincent Nogueira, Sebastien Le Toux) 56´
NY— Lloyd Sam (Mike Grella) 90+4
Penalty Kicks
NY — Bradley Wright-Phillips (Miss)
PHI — Sheanon Williams (Goal)
NY — Dax McCarty (Goal)
PHI — Vincent Nogueira (Goal)
NY — Mike Grella (Goal)
PHI — Maurice Edu (Goal)
NY — Lloyd Sam (Saved)
NY — Sacha Kljestan (Goal)
PHI — Fernando Aristeguieta (Goal)
Disciplinary Summary
PHI — Conor Casey 40´ (Red)
PHI— Fabinho 52´ (Yellow)
PHI— Vincent Noguiera 68´ (Yellow)
PHI— Fred 90+1´ (Yellow)
NY— Matt Miazga 118´ (Yellow)
Officials
Chris Penso (referee)
Attendance
9, 272
| Philadelphia Union | New York Red Bulls | |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | Shots | 34 |
| 4 | Shots on Target | 10 |
| 2 | Shots off Target | 11 |
| 2 | Blocked Shots | 13 |
| 6 | Corner Kicks | 14 |
| 12 | Crosses | 74 |
| 2 | Offsides | 2 |
| 10 | Fouls | 14 |
| 3 | Yellow Cards | 1 |
| 1 | Red Cards | 0 |
| 328 | Total Passes | 643 |
| 65% | Passing Accuracy | 86% |
| 32.3% | Possession | 67.7% |
| 46 | Duels Won | 55 |
| 45.5% | Duels Won % | 54.5% |
| 15 | Tackles Won | 17 |
| 9 | Saves | 3 |
| 40 | Clearances | 31 |
I think I pulled a stomach muscle from screaming so much after the Ayuk goal
What a gutsy performance by our boys… Hat’s off to McCarthy, who really played amazingly tonight.
That’s two wins in a row with red cards… Just a fantastic effort
Exciting game.
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Not so sure about a straight red again for a Union player.
I was watching the live stream on Red Bulls website. As that feed was going onto the stadium big screen, they did not show a replay. Assuming – not reason not to – that Adam Cann is correct, that Casey stamped on his calf, it was from behind. That’s a red.
My first thought was that it was a clear yellow. I was waiting for the replay to make up my mind. Then there was no replay.
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I’m not screaming that it wasn’t a red, I am just not sure it was a red. Semantics.
Ten brave men, one foolish, out of shape hack.
Beyond gutsy performance by the rest of the team! Kudos to all!!!! Couldn’t be prouder! (Except Fred who wasn’t so good either)
And if you don’t think that’s a straight red you should just be a fan of roller derby. That’s why no Union players even put up a fight.
I’m @ a complete loss for words… WELL DONE, EXTREMELY WELL DONE!! How this team wins twice, with 10 men for half the game, and extra time/shoot outs to continue their Open Cup run is just Amazing!!! Congrats to all esp John McCarthy… great performance.
On the replays of Lloyd Sam’s goal, it is clear that he gave Wiiliams enough of a nudge that he could not move back to contest. Half volley on the turn is a nice goal no matter who scores it.
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Eric Ayuk has a knack for turning his defender when he has him on his back and the ball at his feet.
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Oh that BC had finished that hit-the-post chance in the last five minutes. I would be so much less tired than I am now.
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When is the drawing for the semis home field?
I thought it was already announced the Union would host the semi if they won, but can’t remember where I saw it (might have been on PSP). Whatever- great win boys! That was fun.
That 2nd goal was mostly on Nogs for not closing down Sam. Nogs is a great creator, but defense is certainly not his forte. That said, he was 90%+ responsible for the goal, so you take the good with the not so good. Unreal win.
Union to host winner of Chicago / Orlando on August 11 at 7:30pm.
So Union.
Come on Elephant… they made the best of a bad situation. Casey screwed them and yeah they gave it up late but they went through. Credit where it’s due. McCarthy sure as hell cant distribute consistently, but damn as a shot stopper… he’s for real. He kept them in it. Represent Mayfair!! Well done McCarthy and well done Union. Hope we host the semi-final. Anyone know how that works?
‘So Union’ is complementary in this instance…
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They have a knack for winning games they have no business winning- the club is nearly impossible to predict.
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For me… So Union has come to encompass the whole Zeitgeist- for good at times and inane in others.
agree – and the culture of the club is that the players are to be lauded for recurring improbable sucesses and at other times chided for foolish decisions and less than adequate performance – if only that constituted the milieu in which Union supporters we could at least conceive of a sense of normalcy existed around the club … alas.
awesome effort and win, McCarthy and Nogeuira, what can you say? Impressed with Nando too. Casey looked slow and tired. Nogs is just amazing though. Next game, Ayuk and Fabinho on wings, Nando and Sapong up top and Shaenon at RB. Le toux was way off again.
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Well boys you have us coming back for more this year
McCarthy was obviously the star, Nogueira and Carroll were excellent, and the defenders put in strong shifts (especially Edu and Fabinho). But I give a lot of credit to Curtin for this win. All 3 subs were well thought-out and well-timed, and all 3 of them played hard and strong. That was a big part of the reason we were able to withstand New York’s onslaught for so long.
Can we just start 10 in every game? It seems to fire them up for some reason. Exciting win. I’m left breathless. Congrats to McCarthy on a stand out performance.
– When the red card came out, the pink cows had us right where we wanted them. Freakin’ screaming kudos to the best short-handed team in the USOC!
– Letoux to Nogs to AYUK! Who needs DP’s? Send more teenaged Cameroonians! And undervalued Frenchmen!
– Nogs made the PC’s look like their feet were stuck in mud several times: can you say SPIN MOVE?
– Sheanon Williams proved why he is so important to this team, showing unexpected versatility when needed. Maybe he isn’t our starting RB, but he needs to be on the field.
– John MCarthy: living proof that NikSak is an idiot for misspending on Mbolhi.
Brainfart: How could I have left out the DEFENSE, a stalwart, steadfast team within the team. What was the possession ratio, 80-20? A regular Scorched Earth land war with just one lousy glitch caused by a slow ref’s watch. I just hope my cardiologist has an opening tomorrow morning!
Defense played well considering our attack was so god damn weak. As much as I like them and they’re fan favorites that most fans know, Casey and Seba were absolutely worthless. Casey’s challenge that earned him a red was absolutely unnecessary and in the 4 & 1/2 – 5 years that he has played for the Union, I still don’t think I have seen Seba win one god damn ball out of the air.
P.S. John McCarthy should be promoted to sainthood after that performance tonight.
The Flyers want to know if McCarthy can skate.
They’ve got Mason. No need for McCarthy.
What a fantastic win!! First time in the 100+ year history of the US Open Cup that a team has won 2 consecutive games when picking up red cards in the first half. Couple of things here…I was all over McCarthy for his distribution earlier in the season. He had two poor ones today (a topspin punt that went about 30 yards and a driven ball out of bounds), but he probably hit upwards of 25+ goal kicks, long driven balls, and punts. His distribution is improving. And his decision-making was impeccable re: coming off line vs. staying home. As far as man of the match, Mo Edu is just head and shoulders above everyone. I mean, he’s playing that match alongside Ethan White (who was worse than usual today) vs BWP, Abang, Dax, Lloyd Sam, and Sacha down a man for 80+ minutes…and held that team to 1 goal. Nogs played well today on the counter (but was mostly responsible for the 94th minute goal), but Edu is just the heart and soul of this team. What a performance.
What a battle! For all the warts this team and organization have it is games and moments like this that make you even more grateful of the fact that we have a team in this town.
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For today we can simply celebrate the victory by the men that proudly where the Union crest.
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A game and gallant performance. Sheanon Williams needs to play. I know coach backed himself into a corner with his Ray Gaddis is our starting right for the rest of the year statement, but since then, Williams has been the far better of the two and he helps generate more chances.
Curtin’s team held it together today and he used his subs wisely. He is also the principal reason Fabhino and Brian Carrol are on this team. You can count the people on this board who agreed with those decisions on no fingers. There probably weren’t any.
We all agree on Nog’s brilliance and it really didn’t start to show this season until he was alongside Carrol. He has to stay on the field.
As for McCarthy, he had his day. Awesome shot stopping. He still scrambles about the line too much and is unsure with the rebounds. The distribution is spotty. Sylvestre is better. But you have to be happy for him. He earned a place in a lot of hearts with that one.
The MLS playoffs still may be a stretch, but what the hell, let’s win the cup!
I wouldn’t give Curtin a lick of credit for resigning Fabinho and Carrol unless you also blame him for losing Okugo (with whom we wouldn’t be so dependent on Carrol and who would have cost a lot less than Vittoria) and for resigning Casey (mostly a hack at this point in his career) and Fred (don’t get me started). That said, very nice win.
I think everyone knows Casey is on his last legs. He was never meant to be the lead man this year. But injuries and red cards got him the start. And I’ll take all he has lost, over the nothing that Hoppenot has shown. As for Curtain and your blame game. Okugo wanted to much money and a starting spot. Vittoria was meant to actually put a CB in a CB position, instead of a choice of CDMs’ at CB. So, the choices were, keep two CDMs that didn’t want to play CB. Or keep the better CDM and try and find a real CB. Would you rather have had Okugo than Edu? Not me. And remember Okugo had ‘dreams’ of playing in Europe. As laughable as that is.
I’d rather have Okugo (24) for the money $275,000 over Edu (29) $700,000.
I thoroughly disagree. Edu is hands down the best player on the team, and a top 20 player in this league. Okugo has started a grand total of 9 games this season…on an expansion team. He couldn’t even get on the field for Orlando, so they just traded him to Sporting KC.
I think you may be rewriting history a bit here. As I recall, during the expansion draft, Curtin said that Fabinho was being protected because there was a lot of interest in him from other squads and that the Union expected to benefit from trading him elsewhere. At that point, Fabinho was clearly not in the coach’s 2015 plans.
That’s how I interpreted Curtin’s comments at the time too. But sometime later it occurred to me that Curtin wasn’t saying they protected him because they were going to make a great trade with him as the bait. He was saying they’ve had teams around the league express interest in him and it was too dangerous to expose him, and have him picked by NYC or Orlando to then turn around and trade him to one of those teams. If that was the case, Fabinho was always in his plans, and too important in his mind to lose. Even over possibly losing Ribiero, rightly or wrongly.
From a December 16, 2014 Dan Walsh article on The Philly Soccer Page: Curtin explained the decision after the draft by saying, “We had some intel that Fabinho would have definitely been picked.” He went on to tell MLSsoccer.com, “It’s not necessarily about protecting your starting 11. It’s about protecting the 11 that have the most value in your league at the current time. That’s based on the phone calls you get. We get phone calls about Fabinho all the time. He has value.”
Wow….Go Union. Congrats to everybody on the squad for that gutsy victory. Ballsy, ballsy effort. ‘Nando was a nice surprise. He reminded me of what he brings to the table. I say throw out the 4-3-3 and put the Ginger Ninja up top with CJ Sapong. With those two up top and Ayuk on the wing pulling defenders wide no doubt we’d get more scoring opportunities than we’ve been seeing with Wenger, Sapong, and LeToux. But today is a great day. We beat NYRB and it feels really gooooooooood.
And thanks to Coach Marsch for picking Englishmen to take penalties.
How about that dummy that Noguiera did to free himself from Kljestan and start the attack on Ayuk’s goal? Or the sequence in extra time where he freed himself from pressure from 3 defenders with a Zidane-esqe pirouette? It was a clinic in how to buy time and space while retaining possession. Beautiful.
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Fun match to be at. I’m really starting to like Red Bull Arena, feels comfy.
I’m not convinced it was a red. Yes, it was a foul. But it was Casey’s momentum rather than any intent that caused him to step on the leg. And if it really was a red card, then why wasn’t a replay shown on the game highlights? Maybe it was because the NY feed was too embarrassed to show a poor call.
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And speaking of poor calls, that was one of the worst displays of officiating I can remember seeing. About 5 minutes before the Casey call, there was an incident where Carroll and a pink cow player tripped over each other. The other player got up and shoved Carroll right in front of the ref but no card was given. After the red card, there was a situation where Curtin was standing in his coaching box and hands the ball to a player for the thrown-in and the player shoves Curtin. Again, no call. 14 fouls by the cows, some clearly, tactical, and no card until very late in overtime. The corner kick where the AR is telling the pink cow players who are about 6 yards away to move back. Meanwhile the ref ignores this and gives Fred a card for stalling.
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The Union don’t need to invest more money in players. They need to invest more in buying off the refs like the other teams seem to do.
i was really surprised when the player shoving curtin went unpunished. it was totally unnecessary and really blatant. nothing, not even a talking to
Curtain picked up the ball, held it out to the player, then drew it away when the pink cow came close. Curtain drew the push. It was inappropriate behavior from both. The ref chose to play on. Neither player, nor coach, received a yellow, and cooler heads prevailed. If the ref had chosen to give a yellow to either, or both, it most likely would have increased tensions on both sides and caused more problems. I think the ref did right on this occasion.
do you know what minute it happened in?
I’m pretty sure it was sometime between the red card and the end of the first half, so that narrows it to about a 5 minute window.
One of the greatest performances I’ve ever seem. It wasn’t pretty or an example of the “beautiful game”. But it was exciting and drama filled. The Union showed great heart and perseverance. 90 MINS DOWN A MAN! If MLS took this match and showed it around the world, MLS would gain so many more fans. Any given Tuesday. Wow, just WOW.
edit:60 + mins(not 90, bit overzealous)
90 is closer to accurate, actually. Five minutes in the first half, the full 45 in the second, and the full 30 of extra time. That’s 80 minutes, plus stoppage.
Well it was an exciting game, but to say it was a great performance of the “beautiful game” is by far just incorrect. There was poor finishing, chippy fouls, poor movement. Union just basically survived an onslaught. It was anything but beautiful, but they did win so that is a good thing. But I wouldn’t recommend showing this game to fans around the world. Now you want a “beautiful game” Watch a replay of the Bayern vs Barcelona Champions league game leg 1. Tactically, skill wise, transitions, everything just beautiful and I can say that even being a Bayern fan.
Reread the ALL4U comment Doc.
Thanks Joel.
Credit to Nando too with working his butt off. He ran himself into the ground holding up play.
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Also, what does he seriously need to do to get a call? He is constantly getting kicked and elbowed but can never get a call.
Probably to not go down in the first minute he plays to a defender that is a foot shorter than him. I think if he tried to fight through the fouls he receives in the beginning, He’d get the calls later on. He’s new to the league. The ref’s don’t know him. And all they see is a guy going down in the first five minutes, complaining about not getting the call. I wouldn’t give a call to a guy who bitches all the time. Ayuk gets the same treatment. But recently he’s started to try and fight through those first tackles, shows he’s working to keep play going, and now he gets more calls than he has in previous matches.
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Let me also say, they’ve both been hacked and not gotten the call. I also disagree with it. But it’s the reality of the quality of officiating in the MLS. And, to me, one of the reasons why it won’t be a “top league” till that changes.
My favorite moment probably came immediately before the first PK, with Bradley Wright-Phillips left to stand and stew forlornly all alone behind the ball while John McCarthy stood behind his line, thereby bringing the official over to lecture him about where the keeper’s supposed to stand. Mind games at their finest . . . It wasn’t surprising at all when BWP flubbed his kick right afterward.
McCarthy clearly cribbed a page from Hope Solo’s play book there.
As if the guy’s 120+ minutes of playing on his head wasn’t enough… He has the presence of mind to try and freeze BWP….and it works!! Awesome job John….and the U!!
I was watching the (terrible) stream on my phone while pretending to do work. My phone has a weird glitch going on where it doesn’t charge – or more to the point, it’ll just stop charging. So I spent most of extra time and the kicks with my battery at 1-2%, hoping that my charger didn’t lose connection and cause the phone to shut down. Phew.
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I wonder if Le Toux is still hurt. He’s never been a “good touch” guy, but he’s also never been that bad. He didn’t look right.
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I thought the Casey play was a yellow not a red. But I admit I’m biased.
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Fernando seemed to have a little more hop in his step yesterday. There were a few times he was able to get past a defender on the dribble. Hopefully a good sign.
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I thought Curtin made good decisions – except for Fred. It’s a case of hindsight, but I’d rather have Pfeffer come in for that spot. Fred didn’t look good at all, in my opinion.
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As others have said, Williams has to be on the field somehow. Along with the ability to get forward that he brings, he also brings an attitude that I think this team needs. Keep Gaddis at RB if you have to; one of Williams and Fabinho can play on the wing, especially if Wenger is out for any length of time.
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And last… John McCarthy and Brian Sylvestre are showing exactly why it’s idiotic to spend large sums of money on a goalie in this league – even if he did play in some little tournament down in Brazil. Both make “young” mistakes – but those things can be fixed with practice and experience. Everybody on that team needs to buy McCarthy a steak dinner.
Proud of the club for a gutsy win, against a fierce rival. That’s two at Red Bull Arena!
The good they won. I’m happy about that. As I’ve said Ayuk needs to play on a consistent basis. McCarthy had a good game, but is still a very raw keeper. I say he is suited to play as a back up and start some cup matches in the beginning, but right now I do not see him as more than that. However there is no other option then him at this time for the cup. Williams and Nando were good subs and played strong for the most part. The bad Edu still makes runs from the back leaving his defense out to dry. When he did that McCarthy Gaddis and Marquez bailed him out cause it was almost certainly a goal. And he lazily waddled his way back into position. If you are the captain I’m going to hold you to a higher standard while he held the backline together for the most part he has got to stop making these runs their costing us games and almost did here. Le Toux does not seem to be himself I think he needs more time to recover than was previously thought. Fred made a lot of mistakes it is time for him to not be on the roster and also not be on the field. Typically I like his veteran presence and trust him, but he is making to many errant passes.
I would like to see this lineup for the rest of the season/open cup:
Sylvestre(non cup matches)/ McCarthy (Open Cup)
Williams Edu Marquez Gaddis
Carroll Nogs
Ayuk Fabinho
Maidana
Sapong
Subs: Whichever keeper isn’t in the match/ Pool GK, Nando, Pfeffer, Catic, Casey, Lahoud, Le Toux
I’m OK with Edu making the occasional foray into the attacking third. Occasional being the key word. He saw an opportunity, and took it. I trust him enough to know when it is appropriate to do so. He’s also not doing it more than once or twice a game.
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When it happened in the game yesterday, I’m pretty sure (although I’d have to watch the play again) that BC slid back to cover.
The problem is while BC slide back to cover he can not compete with the likes of the stronger and faster forwards in this league. Plus I would not care if Edu would bust his a$$ to get back but it is usual a simple trot back in this game I think his full length of the field run it took him 30secs or so to get back far to long. Every single time he makes a run the backline falls out of position. It just can’t happen cause that one to two times as you say costs this team 1 to 2 goals during these times more often than not. He has to keep the structure cause when the backline is unstructured everything goes to hell like the LA game. The lack of structure in the Toronto game when he was suspended. They do not need Edu to make the forward runs it is not helping them when he does. Plus Nogs can make those runs and he is the one actually starting the counters and causing productive results off of runs like that.
Your bench has no defensive cover. What happens in the event of an injury?
Did you really just call Mo Edu lazy? Without him yesterday, they get demolished 4 or 5 to 1. Watch the replay. Time after time, he closed down shooters, forcing them into less than optimal situations. His positioning is mostly outstanding (and he’s not even a sweeper). And, who do you think is communicating with the back line and holding MFs back there? McCarthy or Sylvestre? They’re both USL-quality talent just trying not to get ambushed. To take a shot at Edu for going forward 2, 3, or 4 times a game (and then “lazily” trotting back) after probably running 9-10 miles in 90+ degree conditions is mind-boggling.