Five Takes On The Five Stripes

The one where we move Four-ward

1: A one, a two, a one two three FOUR! The last two games may not have been the prettiest but we are finding ways. Moreno continues to be a key reason for us finding points. He broke out the Gorilla Glue on the goal tonight rooting the DC keeper to the spot. Couple that with an assist and chance creations. Moreno is a complete player and he’s our best signing since Miggy. 

 

2: Gressel created and solved a lot of problems. I miss having him here. I think Lennon is a technical upgrade in a lot of ways. His stamina and fitness is other worldly, but that connection between Gressel and Josef was special and it’s something that just hasn’t developed between Josef and Brooks as of yet. 

 

3: We need Josef to be arriving in the box, not standing there waiting for the ball. The ball from Moreno is exactly what Josef needs more of. Give him half a chance and more than half the time he’s gonna take care of business. It’s good to see him scoring but he’s still not at his most lethal just yet, but he’s trending in the right direction at just the right time. 

 

4: Araujo is a baller. He wants to make a splash right out the gate. He has no fear and he exudes confidence. Maybe a little too much at times. I’m looking forward to seeing what he will continue to provide and it’s been very good so far. The ball he delivered to Josef should’ve been finished. Still, maybe he could take a few less shots from 25 yards out?

 

5: George Campbell put in a great short shift tonight. He lost his mark on one set piece that thankfully wasn’t converted, but every other time he was called on, he answered. He’s coming along in a big big way. 

The one where the south might have something to say

1: Hell of a good day for the unity kit. Something is happening here. The play is coming together. There’s an understanding and UNITY amongst the squad. The movement on and off the ball is so good. Everybody looks like they are on the same page. Hell they look they are on the same damn sentence. The schedule continues to be packed, but the opponents we face with a long string of home matches sets us up very well to have something to say this season after all. I think Rob Valentino deserves a ton of credit for getting things turned around and set up well for when Pineda steps in. 

 

2: The play out of the back was soooooo good today. A couple nervey moments but all around, cool, calm, and confident. We controlled the play for the overwhelming majority of the match and limited LAFC to the occasional counter attack and set piece opportunity. Walkes did a fantastic job taking Vela out of the game. 

 

3: Speaking of set pieces, our defending against them was much improved today. The clearances were really good. We didn’t just clear balls. So often we actually just played a good ball out and immediately went forward. 

 

4: Josef loves going out on his boat and he went sailing again today. This is the Barco we all want to see. His work rate and his effort has never been in question. His consistency and decision making has, and that’s really come good since his return from the Olympics. If he can continue to play like this for the remainder of the season, moving him on should be no problem. He may even give the club something to think about. 

 

5: Rosetto and Miles get my vote for men of the match. How much more at ease do we all feel with Miles on the backline? It allows us to play out of the back like we did so well today. Rossetto has been a big part of that too. I lost count of how many times he won the ball and neutralized a counter attack. It just feels like so many players are having their true potential unlocked. We can only hope the transition over to Pineda is smooth. With Rob staying on and Pineda’s full recognition of how important he has been, I think it will be. 

The one where all we do is win....every 3 months.

1: Barco out there making my takes look like crap. Hey I love being wrong. I will say that this does fit his profile perfectly. He’s hot and cold. More often cold but I’ll take the hot version right now. Also full credit to Barco for letting Moreno take the 2nd PK.  He would certainly be within his rights to go for the hat trick. So, well done Barco, my only concern is that so often we see the boat catch fire, burn too hot and too fast and immediately sink. I hope that doesn’t happen over this next long stretch of home matches. 

 

2: Having Miles back has had a tremendous impact. The attack had been starting to click but then we started leaking goals. Miles presence helped shore up the defense, at least in open play. 

 

3: Are we trying to set a record for goals conceded from set pieces? We could actually learn a thing or three from how Columbus defends set pieces. If Nagbe hadn’t been on the back post off of one of our corner kicks, Hernandez scores. Honestly if that kick had been taken against us, I think we look at that ball rippling the net. Also…..I think Kann saves that, and maybe the penalty. I do like Kann over Guz just in terms of shot stopping ability. Guz did have a good stop on the free kick in the 40th that was just outside the box, so that may be a little harsh. 

 

4: Something that really stood out in this match was how often we kept the play alive. Positioning was better to win second balls, and deflected/saved shots so we could have a 2nd and even 3rd bite at the Apple. Too often an attack has developed, it falls apart and then it comes back the other way. We were much better at winning the ball back in the attacking 3rd. 

 

5: Almironeno. Marcelino is balling out. He’s playing with freedom, joy and confidence. His work rate is tremendous. He’s connecting the play. He’s taking shots. He’s converting penalties. Boy it’s taken a minute but is he ever coming good. What a time to turn it on too. The chase is on. 

The one where it is not neck and neck

1: I think the Sosa hype train may have mad too many passengers. He hasn’t looked great lately and he looked shaky again tonight with missed passes, miss timed tackles and just bad positioning off the ball. Very little impact on the game. 

 

2: We need a boat sale. Fleeting moments of individual brilliance and the occasional good ball in is not enough. How many times has Barco killed a counter? The ball turns over, he’s got options on the wing to get he ball forward and he opts to cut inside, have no where to go and is forced to drop it back. He holds on to the ball far too long when he needs to be releasing it and springing the attack. 

 

3: I think we’ve seen a lot from George Campbell. I love to see a player trying to win a job. He’s aggressive and for unexpected position he’s been in, I think he’s shown a lot of confidence and ability. Under Miles’ tutelage, he may really develop into an important piece of our defense past the Miles era. 

 

4: Our set piece defending is nothing short of embarrassing. 

 

5: I don’t know what to say. I mean, we finally started to get the ball to Josef in dangerous places, and even with some good service and then there’s a double red. IMO the red is crap. Josef had hands on his throat and your damn right he knocked them away. I guess he lead with his head but that’s really harsh. He reacted, not retaliated. At least for me. Nonetheless Murphy’s law continues to hold true for us. If there’s potential for something to go wrong, it most certainly will. Now we have another tough road match on short rest, without Josef. The club might try to appeal Josef’s red but I doubt they’ll win it because of the kind of red it is. 

The one where father has spoken, and the kids don't care

1: it’s been a long time since Daddy’s visited his children and so it’s only fitting he bring them a gift in the form of a Goalazo. It was great to see Josef bag one, and even better to see him do it like that and EVEN EVEN better to see him do it against Orlando. That being said, it’s concerning to see him totally spent at the end of the match both physically and emotionally. It almost looked like he too was acknowledging where we are and how unlikely reaching the post season is becoming. 

 

2: I’m ok with taking risks going forward. I want it see it but, it has to result in chances. Apart from Josef’s and Moreno’s Goalazos, chance creation was not there in the first half. Pretty disappointing considering our last two games have had our highest chance creation. Yet somehow we score 2 tonight. 🤷‍♂️ 

 

3: Alec Kann is a tremendous shot stopper despite seeing 3 go into his net. It could’ve been double that. Look, I love Guz but do we really want him in between the sticks after not playing for a month? Do we really want to take Kann out of this rhythm? He’s been here for all the turmoil, the changes…..I personally would like to see Kann stay, at least for now. 

 

4: We still don’t do jack with corner kicks. We try training ground stuff 9/10 times and it comes to nothing 9/10 times. And we continue to get undone by them. Regularly. Routinely. 

 

5: We are an incomplete team. Both literally and metaphorically. It’s nice to see More o being more of that playmaker 10 and he does seem to be trusting himself more and more, trying stuff he wasn’t just a month ago. However, we just have too many injuries to too many key players. We can’t put together a full 90 minute performance on either side of the ball. It’s just not there for us this year. We’ll still be here. Our support will not waiver but I don’t see us playing much soccer in the Fall even with a new coach bump or a big money signing. 

The one where we have to ketchup with no Heinze

1: Well I dare say that is the most consistent and threatening we have looked all season. We certainly haven’t created that many quality chances since……Philadelphia? I felt like we were finally a threat that had to be taken seriously at all times. A lot of that has to do with……

2: Marcelino Moreno was TREMENDOUS and gets my vote for MOTM. Shades of Miggy out there. He was running at Cincy’s back line, shooting on goal and dribbling past defenders for fun. That man is more nimble with a ball at his feet than I am without and that was on full display tonight. 

3: You know what pairs well with first starts? First goals. How about Ronald Hernandez getting on the pitch and putting one in. It was a wonderfully worked team goal which we haven’t seen in a REALLY long time. On the whole tonight, passing was better and we possessed the ball with menace and real attacking purpose. It looked like Hernandez took a knock at the end. Hopefully it’s nothing serious. We can’t take any more injuries. 

4: Kann is a great shot stopper. Even his backside saves goals 😆. As great as he is at keeping the balls out of the net he is terrible with his feet. Please Mr Kann, in the future, please don’t rely on your touch to outsmart an onrushing attacker. 

5: A draw is probably a fair result given the number of chances and some sheer luck that both sides had tonight. It’s a result and performance that can give fans hope and the team confidence. The sky is not falling. We still have it all to play for and let’s also keep in mind that this is FAR from a full strength roster. If we can put in another performance of this caliber on Saturday (big ask with match compression) with the players currently on hand, it bodes well for when everyone is back and god willing, healthy. 

The one where we are the A, that's going south.

1: Credit where credit is due. Cubo shot the ball, at the goal, with his foot and with his head. In all seriousness, despite not scoring, probably his best game so far. He had a number of shots on goal but converting chances is what matters and as per usual it ain’t happening. However you wanna look at it, his performance today will only reinforce Heinze’s decisions to keep starting him. Coupled with the fact that Jackson provided nothing when he was subbed on. Tho in Jackson’s defense, its real hard to get on the end of nothing. 

 

2: Pretty decent response after going down a goal in the first. Eve tho the goal was chalked off for offside, it was a nice move and would’ve been a very good goal. Overall, I was surprisingly pleased with the number of chances that we created in the first half. I did not see a team had thrown in the towel. I did in the 2nd. 

 

3: Machop Chol was out there chopping it up putting in a tremendous shift. He’s looked like our most consistently threatening player. He’s got an instinct for goals and positions himself well off the ball. He was just spent towards the end. 

 

4: The 2nd half looked like GA did two months ago, out of gas. We don’t have the quality, experience and strength to overcome adversity. We have lost every match when conceding first. I don’t know how that gets fixed right now. 

 

5: Josef. Heinze. Club. This is complicated. There’s a ton of views on it. A lot of opinions. Bunch of people up in their feelings. I’m one of them. To hear a deeper and totally rational dive into all of this drama, listen to the pod. 

The one where the kids are alright

1: Well, we certainly looked more up for it then our previous 3 matches. It does suck that we are at the point of being happy that we’re at least trying. Tho to be fair we’ve never faced this many absences and injuries. I’m not sure any club has in MLS. We applied the press in Nashville’s final third and actually did more than just stand there. We actually pressed, and we actually had some success in winning the ball hack a few times. This is something the 2’s have actually been doing pretty effectively. When the ball is turned over we have to win it back immediately or we are going to keep getting burned in Heinze’s system. It was better against Nashville. 

 

2: Undone by our old friend set pieces. I kind of expected them to be a problem with Miles and Guz out. I thought Alec Kann had a great game  but he might not have communicated as effectively as Guz does. Nashville players were left unmarked all night especially on the goal that was thankfully chalked off for offsides. There was 5 yards of space in each direction of Sapong. 

 

3: We showed heart and fight last night while also showing a Lack of quality with cross field balls, errant passes and missed timed runs. That’s to be expected when we are missing enough players from injury and call-ups to literally field an entire team. Looks like we can add Mo Adam’s to the trainers overwhelmed schedule too. We’ll also be missing Sosa due to yellow card accumulation and possibly Mulraney if that ridiculous red is not overturned. I was happy to at least see the team respond to adversity because adversity isn’t going way any time soon and we’re gonna have to find ways to grind out more than just draws. 

 

4: It takes a hand of god moment to sub out Cubo and low and behold, Conway scored minutes after coming on. The kids are alright. This should settle it going forward. Jackson should get the nod and Cubo should come in if both of Jackson’s legs are broken. Thank god Cubo didn’t get a touch on Walkes’ headed goal in the 5th minute because he was offside and it would have been taken away. 

 

5: The referee’s a wanker. Dickerson gave the explanation for the red that Mulraney committed a foul denying Leal a goal scoring opportunity. You’re damn right he denied him a goal scoring opportunity but it wasn’t a foul, it was just a well timed tackle. Mulraney gets to the ball first, wins it (WITHOUT GOING THROUGH THE PLAYER MIND YOU) and then Leal goes over the top of Mulraney. Look, even if you wanted to call it a foul, it’s not DOGSO because Sosa had caught up to the play. PRO should be ashamed of themselves. Can’t wait to hear them explain this one away. Undoubtedly Atlanta will appeal and most likely win. Again. 

The one where we go out for ice cream

 

1: I’m not even going to bother calling out individual player performances here. I mean yes in the 19th minute Cubo had a great touch and turn and then once again, once he’s in the box he’s utterly useless and that continued throughout the match, as it does with Cubo. But this was an utter and total team collapse. Tho I will say Cubo continues to be employed with this club as a striker whose job it is to score goals and he continues to not fulfill those duties. In concept and on paper Cubo is great, in practice and on the pitch, not even close. 

 

2: Atlanta United right now are the case study in Murphy’s law. If it can go wrong, it will. Everything is working against us. I mean even Bello got injured towards the end which might put his Gold Cup call up into question. I guess you call that payback on Greggggggg for injuring Miles in 2019 😆. HonestlyI I absolutely hate it for him and I hope it’s just a light knock. If he can’t get success here I’d like to see him have a chance with the national team. Both for him personally and for us as a club when we eventually sell him. Player call ups, injuries, and lack of minutes from bench players are KILLING us. None of those things are really going to improve over the next month accept I guess minutes for bench players out of absolute necessity. The team is disjointed and out of sync. I mean my god, Miles Robinson didn’t step to Ignacio on the 2nd goal. He just let him shoot. It really does feel like the belief has gone out. 

 

3: We miss Hyndman like the city of Atlanta misses championships. We got beat centrally where dangerous attacking plays develop and caught us out. Neither Mo nor Tyler have seen any minutes this season so they can’t be expected to step in step so much that we don’t feel his absence. 

 

4: The introduction of Machop Chol was the most positive thing we saw all night. At least he was making dangerous runs into the box and even bringing a ball or two down and under control. He didn’t get anything on frame, but sheeeeit, he was doin more than Cubo. He certainly looked more threatening anyhow. He might actually be the man of the match. 

 

5: The transfer window won’t solve all the problems we have. This Heinze project just isn’t coming together. It’s really frustrating because it’s not entirely Heinze’s fault. To a certain degree he can only be as good as his available roster right? Yeah we were at full strength at the beginning of the season and yeah even the wins/results back then we would have liked to have been more dominate but at that early stage, the players were still learning the system. We just did not hire a coach that’s going to change the system, or simplify things because of circumstances, like at all. It’s just now, we have reached a point of seeing neither results nor performance and that’s a really big problem. The higher the expectation, the harder the fall. The goals and aspirations for this club were set high from the start, and they were met. We are experiencing back to back years of not meeting those standards. At some point, the people at the top, Carlos and Darren, are going to have to be held accountable for our shortcomings. 

The one where we have more draws than a Spaghetti Western

1: 20 East at 5:00 in the afternoon has more going forward than we do. It’s not that we look afraid to go forward it’s that we know we have nothing and have sort of accepted it. It wasn’t until the 41st minute that we can crossed a dangerous ball into the box. Truly our best chances came from just lobbing in a couple dangerous balls into the box and creating a bit of chaos. There wasn’t much to speak of from the build up or creative play. 

2: You know when the biggest cheer of the first half comes from a deflected free kick that we have problems. I’m all for “trust the process”but results have got to come or else of course the process is going to get questioned. Missing key players hurts a lot but find me a season where a team isn’t missing players. You have to problem solve and play through it. Hopefully some of that problem solving comes in the transfer window. 

3: Cubo emotes strong “You’re doing great honey” vibes. That’s it. That’s the take. 

4: At some point Jackson Conway, and other bench players, have to start seeing minutes. How are we supposed to have a deep roster if they don’t. Look, we’re not seeing training day in and day out but Heinze’s comments about Conway have been largely positive so what’s the hesitation? Give him a 20 minute run out. I understand not subbing him in the dying minutes because from about 78th on, we actually came alive, but damn. Sub out Cubo and bring him on in the 70th and see what he can do. At the same time, outside of Conway, there’s no one really on the bench who can come in and even have the potential to change things in any meaningful attacking way. 

5: The summer transfer window is coming and we’ve got to make some moves. Without knowing where exactly we stand with our budget/cap here is what I’d like to see 

Cubo-move on

Damm-move on

Barco-move on

fill Lisandro’s spot