Photo Credit: Earl Gardner
Union
Union fell to NYCFC last night, 3-1. See all of PSP’s post-game coverage here.
Adam Cann’s recap and the MLS’s recap.
Dockal shares the 2018 MLS assist title with D.C. United’s Luciano Acosta at 17 apiece.
The Union will be traveling back to NYC for their first playoff match, and PSP is holding a watch party at The 700 in Northern Liberties. Come on out to watch the game!
Local
Bethlehem’s season ends with a 2-0 loss to Louisville.
USL’s match recap here.
Penn State’s women’s team advances to the Big 10 semis in 1-0 win over Michigan. The men’s team secured the number six seed in the Big 10 tournament with 2-0 win over Rutgers.
The University of Delaware men’s team defeated Northeastern, 2-1 and secured fourth place in CAA tournament. The women’s team lost to Hofstra in the CAA tournament quarterfinals.
Drexel’s women’s team lost 3-2 in double overtime against Charleston in the CAA tournament quarterfinals.
MLS
Decision Day 2018 results:
- Chicago tied DC United, 0-0. DC United earns a home match in the knockout round.
- Colorado defeated FC Dallas, 2-1. FC Dallas loses a shot at a first-round bye and drops to fourth in the West. Colorado does not qualify for the playoffs.
- Columbus beat Minnesota, 3-2. Columbus moves up to fifth place thanks to Zardes’ hat trick.
- Sporting KC defeated LAFC, 2-1.
- LA Galaxy lost to Houston, 2-3 after leading the first-half, 2-0. The Galaxy miss the playoffs as Real Salt Lake takes sixth in the West.
- New England beat Montreal, 1-0. Montreal misses the playoffs with the loss.
- NY Red Bulls beat Orlando, 1-0 to overtake Atlanta United and win the 2018 Supporters’ Shield with 71 points.
- Seattle defeated San Jose, 2-1 with a literal last-minute go-ahead goal.
- Atlanta lost to Toronto FC, 4-1 as they lose the Supporter’s Shield and finish with 69 points.
- Vancouver beat Portland, 2-1 with Alphonso Davies scoring both goals in his last match for Vancouver.
The playoffs begin on Halloween (Wednesday), so create your bracket now.
Atlanta’s Josef Martinez wins the 2018 MLS Golden Boot with 31 goals.
LAFC is the best expansion team ever. Well, in terms of points.
World
Leicester City confirms that owner, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha was killed in a helicopter crash outside King Power Stadium on Saturday.
Former England manager and current TV pundit for BT Sports, Glenn Hoddle suffered a heart attack on set, but is “responding well”.
Barcelona beat Real Madrid, 5-1 with Suarez hat trick.
FIFA may disapprove of La Liga matches in the US, but the Spanish league doesn’t care.
Wednesday’s game, on a small pitch again, is begging for Ilsinho over Sapong. We need the touch and skill in tight spaces over the strength.
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Do we know exactly what happened with Burke?
And Fabinho to provide solutions and width on the Left Flank.
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Can’t tell you how many times I saw Ray pinching in. Started getting really annoying… standing right next to Haris.
You’d think Gaddis’ speed would be stifling on such a small pitch, but he just was poor.
What are the chances Jim learns from Sunday to make adjustments for Wed.? Odds can’t be too high. I have no faith this team will sort itself out in the next couple days. Another one and done playoff appearance seems a guarantee.
It doesn’t look promising. The defense was flailing all over the place. Somehow, on such a small field, the Union’s spacing was still too far apart. Multiple times on Sunday the front four or five would lose possession in NYCFC’s half and get by-passed leaving them out of position. I got tired of watching Bedoya drop his head and turn to run back. There will probably be more of the same Wednesday. There’s always next year.
This is so spot-on. It looked like the Union were playing a man or two down at times, with NYCFC packing the pitch full of players and the Union seeming to always be out of position. It was an impressive showing from the Pigeons, if I’m honest. Nothing doing for the U.
Basically right now we have at least 3 players that are black holes and not earning their spot on the field. Haris has been bad for a good while now. Bedoya is just tired and worn out IMO. He is trying to do too much sitting next to Haris and he just doesn’t have the energy. Which leaves Sapong and his lack of confidence. That’s 3 out of 10 field players and you just can’t sustain that and hope to win. Every year since Curtin took over, we’ve had poor squad rotation. This year is no different.
Honestly Gaddis is a black hole as well. His defending is average and his attacking is still horrible.
I suspect we will see the exact same lineup. The only thing I could see Jim doing is taking Burke out and moving Sapong there, which would be a mistake.
I’m fine with the starting 11 (though Ilsinho starting at right isn’t a bad call).
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What in the world was Curtin doing with those subs? Burke at halftime? Curtin made some comment on him missing defensive assignments up top, but I don’t think that was the main problem.
Fabinho?? over Rosenberry? If you want more offense out there take off Gaddis!
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And there is definitely something to be said about multiple meltdowns. Trusty, Dockal, Burke, Harris. Our guys were not mentally ready for this game.
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Let’s hope that a combination of the Pigeons banking on Wed being a repeat performance, and our guys getting there heads screwed on straight will give us a good rebound win!
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I just want a home playoff game this year…
Burke out at halftime was 100% the right call. He was getting frustrated out there, already had one card, and the worst thing that could happen was him picking up a second and missing Wednesday night.
Dockal actually won the assists title. MLS updated that article late last night or this morning:
https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2018/10/28/borek-dockal-luciano-acosta-share-2018-mls-assist-title-17
A lot of people are getting off on slamming the Union for poor performance in big games, and last night was far from their best outing, let’s remember that Wednesday is a MUCH bigger game for them.
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And the loss in Houston doesn’t look quite as bad in light of what Houston did to LA last night. And that game was in LA rather than in Houston like the Open Cup.
Andy, for what it’s worth I really don’t “get off on” ripping the Union and I’m a bit envious of anyone who can remain positive in the face of overwhelming evidence that this team will disappoint its fanbase at every opportunity. I’m desperate to be proven wrong, to be shown that my default state of wary pessimism is unfounded. I’m really bummed that things haven’t worked out better for Curtin and this group of players. Would be so much better if they’d accomplish something.
I’ll be honest that I’m somewhat pessimistic for Wednesday (although I did mention last week that the Union could be in the middle of 5 straight against NY teams).
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That being said, if someone had told you on March 1 that the Union would finish the season with 6 road wins and an all time team high in points while playing two homegrown players at center back, I think most of us would have called the season a step forward, even if did end only making 6th place.
How about if they also told you Curtin wouldn’t rotate his squad, started 3 30+year olds consistently 3 games a week throughout the season and have again started flagging at the end of the season, would you still be happy with that?
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I love how the kids played this year. Dockal has been a godsend. Burke has been an extremely pleasant surprise. Fafa has shown he can be counted on and is a solid contributor. I just can’t take the coach making the same old mistakes year in and year out. I can’t take the team falling apart in important games anymore. I can’t take starting an unproductive player game in and game out because the coach likes what he does in practice. Enough. I’ve had enough.
Ditto everything All4U said. Unless they make it to 3rd round of playoffs another disappointing year.
Setting expectations of third round of the playoffs is a bit unrealistic considering they haven’t made the second round in 7 years and would have to win a series against one of the two teams with the most points ever in an MLS season (even if they had finished 3rd, they would still have needed to beat Atlanta to make the third round). I’m going to temper my expectations and say that winning Wednesday would make it a successful season (although to be honest, I’m already pleasantly surprised that they made it this far).
from…Atoms for Peace.
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“I’m reverse running
It doesn’t mean anything
Hurling headlong
Why would you even ask?
I’ve forgotten who I am
Snakes uncoiling
Pressed up to the glass
All the things that you shouldn’t ask
But you see through me”
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always a lyric to define a situation.
Last match showed that the Union can’t compete with the speed of NYFC when it comes to playing in tighter spaces, were just too slow. One of the big problems this team has had for years is the quality of touch or lack there of. There has always been a lack of equality with this factor. Some players are great with their touch others are not. NYFC’s players are all well rounded with their feel and touch with the ball. This might not seem like a huge deal or can be hidden at times but it can be crucial, especially when playing on a smaller field or tight spaces. Good luck Union but I don’t see us winning.