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Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com slash TSS that's LinkedIn.com slash TSS to post your job for free terms and conditions apply. Hello everybody and welcome to the Total Soccer Show. My name is Taylor Rockwell and I'm very excited today to be joined by Joe Lowry. Joe Lowry, it's a it's a double day of recording. It's a double recording day. That's the world I was looking for.
We did our weekend review at some length. I enjoyed that one, but I spent a lot of my evening last night trying to catch up on all of the majorly soccer results because I knew we were recording this one today. It was a weekend, Mr. Lowry. It was it was a really, really good weekend. I'm a less action. If folks have already made it close to the end of weekend review, they'll know that I tease that.
But we had some sweeps. We had some crazy history making sorts of upsets. We had some spit from Hector Error. I guess that's notable too. It was a really great set of games. I can't tell you how much more I enjoyed having just Friday, Saturday, Sunday as opposed to Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday for the slate.
It makes talking about them so much simpler. It made I thought each match day more fun. I didn't feel like the games got buried on Monday night and Tuesday night in the way that they did for the game ones. I know that MLS was trying to skirt around college football in the NFL, but were they really because they only tried to do it for the first set of games and they didn't for this set.
I don't know either way. I'm happy camper because there was some good stuff. There was I personally really enjoy the late the later night games from age league soccer because especially if you've been watching football, you've been watching other sports.
You've been catching up on your maybe weekend review research. It's nice to then be like, oh, it's 9 p.m. and there's still another game to go. I can just watch that one and kind of enjoy it instead of feeling like I have to catch up on it the morning after. So for me, I've enjoyed some of the scheduling. I've enjoyed a lot of the results because there were some very surprising ones as you said, some sweeps, some upsets, some more exactly what we expected type of results.
Joe, I want to start with the big one, maybe not the big one in terms of total soccer show, but the big one in terms of major league soccer executives who I'm assuming are happy that they get another game of inter Miami versus Atlanta, but also maybe terrified that Atlanta could end up winning this whole thing.
Yep. I think that pretty much describes the feeling inside of MLS HQ and Apple HQ, well, not Apple HQ. Apple HQ doesn't care about this, but whatever Apple subdivision is responsible for is probably somewhat confident that playoffs might be happening. They're too busy working on Taylor. What's that like purposeful obsolescence? What's that term? Oh, planned obsolescence. Yeah, they're too busy crafting.
Two years to make my brain explode with rage, which I know you also are not a fan of. No one to be a fan of that, but Apple, we see you. We're aware of what you're doing and we have no power to stop you. Anyway, Atlanta United, get a two one win in the second leg of this series against inter Miami. That means they will go to a third game, which is nice for Apple and MLS because I get messy one more time at least.
I'm not so nice because Atlanta United could do this whole thing. The first game of this series was the Brad Guzan game for Atlanta United. They still lost that match. Miami were the better team. Guzan stood on his head and it still wasn't enough. Then they go back to the bends. And the bends was rocking Taylor Mercedes. Benz was so loud. I've been in that stadium. You've been in that stadium. I was there this this past summer for USA Panama. And it was so loud when Florian Balaghan put the ball in the back of the net in that game for the USMNT. It was so much louder. Even on my TV, I feel like it was so
much louder for Atlanta United when John De Silva scores that 94th minute winner to force a game three for Atlanta United. It felt like 2018. And I think that might have actually even been when you were there Taylor. That was MLS Cup 2018. And Atlanta United win that whole thing with Tatum Artyno on the sidelines. It was rocking. It was an incredible atmosphere and a reminder of how fun it is when Atlanta United are fun from Angelic soccer. And they were fun in this game. They weren't perfect. They go behind the first half. Bragguzan makes just an absurd mistake. I don't think it was a foul.
It was Rodondo kind of faints towards him. He drops the ball. Guzan getting ready to punt down field. And in redondo faints and Guzan kind of freaks out and is hoping to draw contact and never draws contact and also never kicks the ball and into Miami get the ball and just kind of think it into the own into Atlanta's net. It's one. No, there were problems in this game for Atlanta United. But to their credit, they stood firm. They were solid defensively for most of this match. Yeah, they got a little fortunate because you have to against into Miami. But man, for them to hang around in this game for as long as they did to get two goals in the center.
And then they got a second half. This was an incredible result for Atlanta United and they've got something to play for still. I want to start with the atmosphere, Joe, just to go back to that for a moment because having been there for all star having been there for the most final. You are correct that it is a crazy loud atmosphere. And I've talked to a couple minority owners. I've talked to a couple former Falcons players, all of whom they might be the same people acknowledge that like the
games are louder than Falcons games and they are more fun to attend because the crowd is into it for so much longer for the entirety of the 90 minutes. And it does feel like we haven't had that fully from Atlanta United, at least to my mind, in a little bit of time. So to see the bands rocking to see it just be that sort of intimidating atmosphere that we know it can be really did set the stage for what felt like a big match up or a match that had the potential to be really big. And then for Atlanta United to get the win the way they did with an incredible smash finish from
the Soviet Union. So that was that was lovely, Joe, but talk us through it a little bit more. What did Atlanta get right in this one so that they didn't just have to rely on Bragg who's on standing on his head because he sort of did the opposite as you've already covered. I thought that Atlanta did a really good job of a couple of different things in this game. I thought they did a good job of sitting back and absorbing pressure and a pretty fluid defensive shape. They had their back five that was kind of set in stone in this game. But the midfield in the forward line would sort of adjust and shift as Miami's personnel would move and drift around.
And you ended up with what was kind of a hybrid between a five four one and a five three two in this game. And Alexi Moranchuk would kind of shift between midfielder and forward. And you'd have the midfielders around him, Dex McCarty, Slicin, and Fortune that they would rotate and cover and really try to gum up the middle for for into Miami. And I think that through Miami for a little bit of a loop. We saw Atlanta approach things in a mostly similar kind of way in the first game in Miami. But in this one Atlanta, we're in that in that back five shape in Miami. We're in the middle.
And they're really what is a mix between a three four three and a three five two in possession on their own depending on where Diego Gomez is positioned. And it seemed to me like Atlanta did a good job of trying to force Miami wide.
Jordi Alba had a lot of touches in this game, which is pretty standard stuff. But Alba had the ball and there were these long distances between Miami's wing backs and their sentiment fielders and between their sentiment fielders and their in their four pairing really of messy and suarez. Everybody was so spaced out. Atlanta did a good job of denying Miami access into some of the better spaces of the game. Again, they weren't perfect. Like they give up chances.
They give up chances that didn't turn into shots. This game was was probably still not one that if you played a hundred times Miami Atlanta win most of the time. Maybe they win 40 or 45 out of 100. Miami are still going to win this kind of same game flow. A lot of the time. But credit to Atlanta, they clearly knew what they wanted to do.
Valentino made a couple of nice tweaks as I can a detail from game one to game two within that general structure. And they had a bit of fortune on their side with Miami, you know, not really turning some of their looks into into actual goal scoring opportunities or actual goals in this match. Credit to Atlanta, I think we're starting to see some building blocks and what they're doing. I fully expect them to lose in game three.
So I guess I kind of want to get that out of the way. I'm not trying to over react one way or the other. We should give Atlanta credit. I think we've done that. So I feel good about saying. I don't think they're going to advance from this series, but anything's possible.
But there are some building blocks. I think some of the play they've gotten, especially from Pedro Amador as that left wingback. We talked about him in the last show. We did Taylor. He gets another assist. He gets that assist on the Derek Williams opener and equalizer for Atlanta United. The beautiful left footed bending ball that's just on a platter for Williams. He looks really good. So I have a little genita as a right wingback is a really interesting fit.
He's still learning how to play that role defensively. And you could see it in a couple of moments as Alba and Messi kind of exploited his naivete in that slot. But the Amador, little genita wingback pairing is super fun and looks very, very effective fortune looks like a useful player midfield as the lease. Even though Moran check has been largely at kind of a whiff so far for Atlanta in the second half of 2024, the last third of 2024.
Amador and Lovigeni take give you something of a floor for next season when Garth Lagerway has a head coach to hire. He has two designated player spots that are open. Maybe you stick with this back five shape and you find players to contribute at center back and they've already got some of those guys.
You've got your wingbacks and Lovigeni and Amador you find maybe one more functional center midfielder to replace tax McCarty as he's going to retire at the end of the season whenever that is for Atlanta. You've got Moran check that you can't give up on just yet nor should you. And then you've got two other attacking pieces. Maybe you got there and spend your two DPS lots this summer on a nine and on another, you know, maybe Diego Rossi sort of.
Central attacking player who can do a few different things. I think the blueprint is starting to take shape for Atlanta and I think we certainly saw that in this game. And like anybody can beat anybody on any given day unless it's DC United in a meaningful game where they need to get a result. So Atlanta could theoretically eliminate my any in advance. I think we both agree that that is the less likely outcome. But I think I then take your point that.
Like if you are an Atlanta supporter who has felt like this season was kind of all over the place it's had a tough and down we're not quite sure what's to come to have those to feel like you have some of those building blocks in place to feel like you get a really big result against the best team in the league this season. It has to be a positive sign even if you would then go on to lose that that final leg the ultimate game in this playoff series.
It still is a positive result overall so credit to Atlanta for that fight back for not just having to kind of pack it in and hope Guzon has another worldie. And turning this one into a winner takes it all final game series Joe on the flip side for inter Miami how much were they missing Sergio Bousquet's in this one. How much do you think his involvement could change things in that final game when I talk about the distances between players being fairly great for Miami.
I think Bousquet's a guy who up bridge that gap both because he can step forward out of the middle of the back line. It was Noah Allen starting for Bousquet's as that central center back the role that taught us like to men this season even though I'm not totally sure that's the best look for Miami.
Bousquet's distribution even if he is staying deeper and connected to the outside center backs can turn a large distance into a small one in the blink of an eye right he can he can thread those kinds of needles.
No, I'll and did some good work in defensive transition in this game he wasn't perfect of course but he did some good things but Bousquet's just completely changes how Miami approach games with the ball he was out with with an illness I would expect him to be back for the game three that's coming up this weekend in this series.
So I don't think this should turn into a huge thing for into Miami but it is worth noting that you know I believe this on the broadcast he has to exit this game at half time with a hamstring issue. That is now to midfield types that you are out the depth is thinning a little bit for Miami who are very very deep and I think you know again are probably going to be OK in this next game.
But if there's nobody's gets we saw some of the downside especially in possession or Miami were not as efficient not as creative as they've been we see what happens when you're missing that kind of player. Moving to the New York Red Bulls Joe who got a two to draw win over the Columbus true five four after penalties so the Red Bulls advanced Columbus is expense.
Then right at back yield wrote for my money this is the biggest upset an MLS playoff history if it land a beats Miami in that third game does it immediately overtake the Red Bulls knocking out Columbus. Yes, yeah does and I don't think it's particularly close to the stat and I will do plenty more in Red Bulls Columbus in a minute.
The stat officially from age of the soccer is the Red Bulls are only the third MLS team in the last 20 seasons to eliminate a team in the post season that had at least 19 more points than they did during the regular season. So Columbus or 19 points ahead of where the New York Red Bulls were in the table and you go and look that's only happened twice to other times the last 20 seasons NYCFC did it to England in 2021 and the L.A. Galaxy did it to San Jose in 2005.
The gap between Atlanta United and into Miami Taylor is 34 points in the table that would be a massive massive upset what the Red Bulls did was endlessly impressive if it lands United pull this off against a team that is more top heavy than any MLS history that the D. Current single season points record holders yet that will be an upset unlike one we have ever seen. But for now would you be inclined to say that this victory for the Red Bulls is the biggest upset at MLS playoff history.
I'm not going to lie and said I watch the Galaxy San Jose in 2005. I did watch NYCFC New England. I think when you look at the narratives and the general quality between these two teams. There's a really really good argument for Columbus had played some incredible incredible soccer not just because it's pretty and will for non say likes to play with the ball.
And we all like to watch that. But because they're really good at playing with the ball. They're really good at using it to create chances and they're really good at using it as a defensive mechanism. They checked basically every box. Nancy made these players into more than some of their parts. There was top end talent. The Columbus crew are just a really really good team. They want to trophy this year. They won leagues cup. They went deep and conca cap champion scup.
They played a ton a ton of games. The Red Bulls were better in the series than the Columbus crew credit to the New York Red Bulls. They turned it on at the absolute right time. They played the crew on decision day. They lost that game. They ended up matching up against him in the first round. They beat them in Columbus. They come back home and beat them at their own field. Incredible work really from the New York Red Bulls. They were so committed defensively yet again.
Sandra Schwartz was given a little halftime interview and was asked what was different between game two and game one. He said it's not super different. This is a paraphrase. But generally Columbus is playing their way and we're playing our way. And I think that's exactly right. There were no for the Red Bulls at least.
I didn't see any macro tactical changes to how they went about this game. They were dialed in defensively. They tried to match up in the press. They did a pretty good job of corralling Columbus for stretches of this game. They didn't create a ton of chances on their own until much later in the second half. But they did enough to force this game to penalties. They almost had the crew on the ropes in regulation. They do enough to force this game to penalties.
Carlos Colonyle comes up huge in the penalty kick shootout and the Red Bulls are through and I don't think anybody who watched these two games can say that they didn't deserve it. Well for non say after the game said quote we have to respect the defeat and respect the fact that we lost.
They deserve to go through simple as that. I think that's true. I don't think there was a huge difference between these two teams. But relative to expectations compared to where these teams were coming into the postseason. The Red Bulls have done something really, really special. I want to stick with the crew for a moment. We'll for non say in the post game interviews. I'm paraphrasing here, but basically saying he didn't feel like he got things wrong on the tactical side.
The gist was I'll be the first to hold my hands up when I did something wrong when I feel like I got something wrong in this case. I don't feel like that's the case. We had plenty of chances. And I think ultimately basically just saying credit to the Red Bulls in this wasn't our day. Would you agree with that or do you feel like there are things that not they could have done as the game went on or prior to the game to set the crew up to be in a better position.
I would pretty much agree with that. I think about what Columbus did. We talked about last week Taylor that non say was going to tweak some things. That that to is as a coach. She has his principles, but he will be flexible within those structures. He did that in this game. And I thought he did that to some some level of effect.
Columbus typically play out of a three, four, three shape in this game. They still did that. But they also at different points in this match moved one of their center backs. It was Stephen Marrera who was playing as that right side of center back. They moved him forward and then just played with two center backs like a typical back four team kind of wood with with the outside backs pushing higher.
Marrera became another almost attacking midfielder or central midfielder at times pushing forward and what that did in the design of that I would imagine for Wolfern on say is in the first game. Columbus repressed man to man by the by the Red Bulls column Columbus play three four three Red Bulls play three four three.
They didn't like that parody because the Red Bulls had a really really successful outing at stepping forward to Columbus man to man and getting them off their games by shifting Marrera forward they took away those natural man to man matchups they destabilize the Red Bulls press. And Marrera was pretty impactful. He was connecting. He was finding space off the ball between the lines releasing coach are releasing far see on that right side.
In the second half we saw a different week we saw like a three diamond three with nag be shifted out to be a shotler it was Shembo who was an addition in the starting lineup for this game was the the shot on the other side it was Rossi as the ten in Zowatsky as the number six deep down field.
Nancey may changes and in general until the latter stages of this game Columbus were probably the slightly better team they controlled the tempo in the first half they get the goal from Max Arstin in the second half in the 50 fifth minute. And then they make some defense and mistakes and this is where I'll bring it all the way back around to the Nancey quote I don't think it was a tactical thing the first goal that Dante and zero scores.
The ball is contested between Lewis Morgan and Stephen Marrera on that far side of the field Marrera thinks it goes out and he kind of gives up on the play in Columbus in general kind of give up on the play. The Red Bulls run right down their throats and don't events your has the ball in the back of the net just a few seconds later.
The second goal that meal for spring scores from the penalty spot that's the go ahead goal for the Red Bulls it comes after Columbus give up the ball in midfield and there just a little slow to react in defensive transition it's a giveaway that we've seen Columbus have at times this season they will turn the ball over in their own half and they have to be dialed in defensively to get back into those plays.
And they were just a little slow in defensive transition it's a necessity to be able to recover in those moments if you want to play like Nancey does and there's validity clearly in what he's tried to do because he's one mls cup he's one trophies they've been extremely successful in the east the last two seasons.
The execution just wasn't quite there on the defensive and so I would if we're just looking at Columbus and not factoring in you know some of the Red Bulls credit that they absolutely deserve. I don't think it was a real tactical issue for the crew I do think it was more execution based in big moments in the second half.
If we're giving a platy than to the Red Bulls and to send your shorts for decisions made in this one are there any other wrinkles adjustments whatever it might be that you like to give him credit for the manager really just for getting this team up to play a very similar game I don't think the Red Bulls made as many tactical tweaks as as Columbus did it was generally a very similar approach in similar structure from Sanders wars.
But you see the commitment you've got Daniel Edelman a young hungro midfield or 21 years old he covered what felt like every single blade of grass in this game the Red Bulls could not have been more up for this match.
They couldn't have been more up for game one. I don't think they could have been more up for game two if you're not so dialed in like almost off the charts style then against the crew defensively you will lose or you will you almost certainly lose it's that simple when you play Columbus there that precise on the ball.
The Red Bulls were ready for this game they were ready for this series they were clearly thinking that this is a good matchup for them because they can play against the ball and cause problems in transition. They've put themselves into the next round into the conference semifinals they're either going to play Cincinnati or NYCFC that will be a winable series or winable game excuse me because we go back to single elimination.
There'll be a winable game regardless of who they're up against they played some truly incredible defensive soccer I thought in both of these games I got nothing but respect for what Sanders wars and this Red Bulls team put together in this match and in this series I did not think that they could do it. I did not think that they would do it maybe is a better way to say that and they did and they did it in a really really impressive way.
I'll extend that further not only did I not think they would do it but after Max Arthstin scores in the second half to give the crew the lead I thought okay there we go so the crew are going to win this one they're going to see it out maybe they'll get one more then it's the return game in Columbus and that kind of feels like okay then the crew will kind of advance then there's two goals from the Red Bulls and it's suddenly the earth shake it again then Christian Ramirez equalizes in in injury time and it feels like okay now they equalize the
guys maybe they'll still get a winner because there's still plenty of time left maybe the win the penalty shoot out and I think I highlight that not just to say like the crew had chances but more so that it's a credit to the Red Bulls that they they fight back to take the lead and then even after getting peg back late I think that there are iterations of the Red Bulls past that might have fallen and might have sort of lost that energy lost it once they missed their first penalty and it feels like okay here we go that's the crew kind of cementing this opportunity cementing this win and that they keep rising to the occasion the Red Bulls
has to have them feeling optimistic for the next round where they will either meet Cincinnati or NYCFC so they get an even lengthier break the Red Bulls. Yep. Joe is there anything either of those two teams can do to game plan for the Red Bulls or is it essentially you know what they're going to do you've just got to kind of be able to handle the intensity of that pressing and then find a way through when you can.
You know I think the biggest thing that either one of those two teams can do is give the Red Bulls a little bit more of the ball in so many ways not to not to revision his history this whole thing because I'm not trying to do that but in some ways on paper this isn't this isn't a bad match up for the near Red Bulls playing against the crew you know they want the ball you know they're going to have it regardless of whether playing that's how the Columbus crew play you know you can set up to defend and bother them and attacking transition you don't have the the players I don't think if you're the Red Bulls to reliably break down a block so it's.
If you can play in transition you're in a much much better spot now of course when you're playing against the crew you're not going to have as many of those chances and you're going to be really under fire defensively so it's not like this was a dream matchup but stylistically at a 10,000 foot view this is a better match up for the Red Bulls than either Cincinnati or NYCFC I still think the Red Bulls have a better chance against Cincinnati or NYCFC then they did against Columbus and again credit to them for beating Columbus but I think when you look at the tactical approaches since you don't go all out in possession NYCFC don't go all out in possession.
They're both willing to bend a little bit more if the Red Bulls are forced through one means or another an early goal or a early red card or whatever it is the Red Bulls are forced to control possession by either one of those two teams I do think they will struggle now if
Forgesburg and Morgan and Benzier Van Zier scored a goal in this game if he's putting the ball in the back of the net this is a very different team if those guys are firing in the defensive work from the back seven I'm thinking about the back five and the two central midfielders if those guys are on and Carlos Cornell is is playing at his best
they can beat anybody that is magic of MLS in so many different ways but this team has been the potential has been there for a lot of the season we just didn't think that all those things were going to hit at the same time that Morgan would produce and be able to be fit for a super long period of time that
Forgesburg would be in the team that Van Zier would be scoring goals that did have all the pieces all of it came together and clicked in this series and I do think they've got a shot to do it in the next in the next round even if I think the both potential opponents pose different and potentially harder at least
In different ways challenges to how shores wants to play So I'd like to go down a like theoretical tactical philosophical road for a moment so you say a way to handle them is just to give them the ball which makes complete in total sense You mentioned that like if they go all go down then the Red Bulls have to kind of attack that plays into your hands if you're the team trying to give them the ball
If they get a red card same thing short of those situations that force them into having more of the ball how can an opponent go about giving them the ball in a controlled way because to my mind it's not just Kick it long and give them possession but now they have to kind of build and come forward because eventually that leads to they have just all of the momentum
So is it just about picking the spots when you feel like you have the numerical advantage or the the attacking superiority to make something happen is it really just bunkering and clearing long and just holding on how do you envision what is the most successful way you think a team can sort of seed possession in a controlled way
A couple of things come to mind first of all that's a great question Taylor the first thing that pops up for me is when you're defending think about maybe the other team having a goal kick right and and you're defending
Maybe setting a lower line of confrontation by line of confrontation. I mean where you're where the top of your defensive shape is maybe instead of setting up to press right at the edge of the box you drop closer to a mid block and you allow the other team to sort of push forward and you have numbers behind the ball in a controlled way like you said
And that gives you a chance to set up your structure and also to sort of put the impetus in possession onto the opposition another thing that comes to mind for me you talked about going direct I do think that's part of it
The way I would think about it maybe is just quicker attacking sequences that doesn't have to look like just pumping the ball long and hitting and hoping but it could look like hey we have the ball we want to be extremely purposeful and vertical with how we want to go out there and attack. I think using those things and speeding up your own possession play so that either you're creating a chance or the ball is back in the opposition's hands so that they then they have to march back up the field and how we're talking about the line of confrontation again they march back up the field and you're forcing them to have the ball which is just basically a whole elaborate rules for them giving you a chance to do that.
That's the set up those are some of the things that I would think about we will not see a team whether it's sincere or NYCFC just like sit back against the ball and have 5% possession that doesn't happen in soccer those teams will have the ball but I'm imagining a world in which that series whatever the series is excuse me that that game like it's hard to shake that habit I guess I'm imagining that game being closer to 45 55% possession or 50 50 instead of Columbus having some of the things that I'm going to do is I'm going to do that.
And with the American condition or 50 50 instead of Columbus having 65 and, you know, the Red Bull is having 35. All right, let's take a quick break. Joe we've talked about two games we have many more still to discuss will come back and talk about the other New York team and the other Ohio team back soon. Today's episode is brought to you by Shopify.
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Merrill, a bank of America company. What would you like the power to do? Investing in Valve's risk, Merrill Lynch Pierce Fender and Smith Incorporated Registered Broker Dealer, Registered Investment Advisor, member SIPC. Welcome back to the Total Soccer Show, where NYCFC fans will love being called the other New York team, and FC Cincinnati supporters will love being called the other Ohio team.
Joe, in this match, which NYCFC won 3-1, New York came out of the gates, raring to go, Cincinnati struggled to settle, play their game. That's the understanding that I have from what I've seen and what I have read of this one, which makes me wonder for you looking at that Cincinnati team for a moment.
If you are looking, if you are a Cincinnati supporter, and you are looking for a player or a couple players to be the ones to calm things down, slow things down, and basically just be that source of strength, that source of calm in turbulent moments. Who are the players you think are most likely to do that are most capable of doing that? Well, it's funny, Taylor, because I would agree with that assessment of this game for Cincinnati.
I think Pat Noon talked about how they were a little too direct in the special in the first half, and they weren't doing a good job of winning some of those second balls. And it felt like a rushed game for Cincinnati, and maybe part of that's because they're they're down a goal inside, you know, 25 minutes. And you feel some pressure to get back into this game to try to end the series. But you look at this Cincinnati squad, they've got a bunch of veterans.
Like starting at the top of the shape and moving our way backwards, Yuyakubo is not a superstar, but he's a 30 year old veteran who's played in the Bundesliga, who's played several seasons in MLS, and has been part of this Cincinnati turnaround basically from the beginning after he got here in 2020. Lucho Acosta has played in playoff games before he's an MVP winner, he's a veteran. We know what Lucho Acosta brings, and he understands these games.
You go back a line and think about the wing backs. The Andre Yeblin is an MLS veteran, World Cup veteran. Yomila Saad has played for Atlanta United. He's played for DC United. He's 30 years old. He's another veteran, Miles Robinson anchoring the back line. There is not a shortage of MLS experience in this team, which is part of the confusing thing for why Cincinnati seem to struggle so much in this game. A couple of things are true here, as far as maybe reasons why that is the case.
Cincinnati are finding what a lot of teams have found, which is that it's hard to plan the road. It's difficult to plan the road in MLS. It's hard to go especially after a long season and have the legs, since he've had a ton of injuries this year. They've chopped and changed a bunch. This was the same line for them as it was in game. One of this series, that continuity is probably more helpful than harmful.
But a lot of things have happened for Cincinnati, and I think they are not above having a blip of a performance every now and then. I think that's part of it. I think another part of this is the tactical conditions of this game did not favor Cincinnati. Or maybe another way to phrase this is, I don't think Pat Nounin won the tactical battle. I don't think Cincinnati did a great job of reacting to some of the things that were happening in this game.
In general, I saw NYCFC doing a really good job of exploiting space in central midfield against Cincinnati. To the point where NYCFC would carve through them and break their lines open. And if they would turn the ball over, Cincinnati would win it back. They were pretty quick to counter press NYCFC and forced some of those long balls.
NYCFC just did a good job of overloading the midfield spaces against Cincinnati's midfield three, and I don't think that set the stage for Cincinnati to have a terribly composed performance in the first place. Tossin, just a howler of a set piece defense moment from Miles Robinson, where he just basically heads the ball to Tiago Martins. For the header of that NYCFC score to put them up to NIL, it just didn't seem to be FC Cincinnati's game.
Joe, if MLS players or US M&T eligible players in Major League Soccer could stop having questionable moments to outright back. That would be lovely because yeah, watching Miles Robinson head that one to no one other than an opposition player to score made me a little bit nervous about what happens when he is in a backline for the United States against a team that has a bit more talent, a bit more technical ability. Oh, don't you worry Taylor, I'm already nervous about that.
I've been nervous about that for years. Every time CCV and Austin trustee come up on the the the weekend review or whatever it is, maybe we can review extra. I just I just can't shake the fact that none of these centerbacks seem to be any good for the national team. So I'm a bit jaded even as to their performances at club level, but Miles Robinson with a howler here, Zach Stefan will get to that later.
And and and Bragg who's in former US M&T goalkeeper with the wild mistake for the Miami opener that we talked about in the last segment just just a nutso weekend in general. I do think that this was for as as poor of a performance as it was for Sinci. It was a really good bounce back performance or NYCFC. They struggled in the first game like for as as bad as they were in game one since an adi war in game two. There's some sort of through line there.
They were good. They they bounce back very well in this match. And I think the the real cause of it was that midfiel overload that I mentioned before. So Nick Cushing sets this team up in what is roughly a 4 2 3 1 shape. I understand now that you said so Nick Cushing, but for a moment, I genuinely thought he said Sir Nick Cushing and I was like, yeah, you know, big big if true. Yeah, you know, all takes us to be a six seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs and
get nighted if English. It's not it's not that hard. They used to be harder to become a night, but it's just nothing more. He said this team up in a 4 2 3 1 and you had Keaton Parks and James Sands at the base of midfield. Maxi Morales was into the team for Andres Perea. Perea went to the bench. Africa game one Morales comes in and plays as the 10 and Sinci. I'll read guys is back in that left half space role. Those players almost always had a plus one.
So four of them versus the three central players. For since Nadi, whether that was a cost or maybe it was Kubo with a cost for for the forward, but it was it was one of the members of that front three for Cincinnati dropping back in the midfield and then Obyn and Woboto and and Buka at the base in midfield. And when I see if see exploited that midfield overload time and time again in the early stages of this game. They had a ton of nice, you know, really clean possession structure.
They did a really easy time, frankly, playing through what was more man oriented defending through midfield from Cincinnati. Because they almost always had that man advantage. The center backs for Sinci were slow to recognize that their midfielders were down a man in general, since he were slow to react in this game. They get carved open on what I think was a 16 past sequence for the first goal that Alonzo Martinez scores. Yeah. He plays a beautiful ball.
Martinez to kind of break the back line for Cincinnati and then gets back in the box to get on the end of the assist from Ilnitch. And why see if see were just really sharp on the ball in this game. And since he were slow to react offensively. That slow buildup goal. And I want to emphasize how slow some of the buildup was there. It was a great sort of example.
If you were trying to show how that slow possession and some bounce passes and just inviting the opposition to just creep out a little bit and try to start applying some pressure can very much lead to strong attacking opportunities in only a few passes. So I loved that goal for everything that it put on display. Joe, in the final match of this series. Are you expecting any changes tactically, stylistically? Do you have any expectations for how it might play out in that third game?
I don't think we will see Nick Cushing deviate from this midfield grouping. I think we will see Max and Marales retain that starting slot. Although there was some logic in being a bit more combative on the road figuring that the conditions are going to be a little harder. Having Pareya on the field to cover some of that ground. I thought made sense on paper. It just didn't work in reality. So I would expect the lineup at least in midfield for NYCSU to be very similar coming into the next game.
And since he just don't have a lot of flexibility to change. So we could see Sergio Santos in put into the starting lineup and look at Oriana move back aligned to wing back. He scores a great goal in this game. We could see Pat Noon and do a handful of different things. But I think the really important thing for Sensei will be. Can we try to control a little bit of the game to force NYCFC back?
And when we don't have the ball, can we get our centerbacks to be a little bit more active, especially Chinozia Wazim? Can we get him to be a little more active stepping forward into the half space to negate that main advantage that NYCFC had? If Wazim can step forward to create parity in the middle and maybe destabilize Santiago Rodriguez a little bit in whoever it is in that half space, that will serve Sensei now to be better.
So those are some of the things that I would be watching for next weekend. All right. Final game in the east before we move to the west. Charlotte Nill or Orlando City Nill, Charlotte winning three to one on penalties. So now we get that final decisive game as well since Orlando won the first. Joel, I'm aware of the question I'm about to ask is almost certainly going to end with you saying a bit of both, but I'm going to ask it anyway.
Was this a case of Charlotte's defense under Dean Smith being that strong, being very tight in that low block that it just kind of limited Orlando City to half chances or was this Orlando not being able to kind of find a way through not really having the attacking firepower to make the difference in this game? Yeah, you call that. I definitely think there is both in this game. Charlotte have the defensive personnel to be incredibly good against the ball.
They just haven't been in the last third of the season. Tim Rehm comes in and you think that that's going to give them even more stability. Well, they shipped a lot of chances really in the last third of the season. They've struggled against the ball. They struggled against the ball in game one. So we saw Orlando have the attacking quality to break them down. But clearly, Charlotte were more intentional with their defensive work in this game.
They gave the majority of the ball to Orlando in the first half. It was 40% of the ball for Charlotte 64 Orlando City. They were very content to sit deeper and play against the ball to make Orlando break them down. And that's not where Orlando is at their best. They have a bit of success in game one, the Lions. But that is not when Oscar Parayah thinks about the best ways for his team to create chances. It's not with long sustained possession sequences.
Ben, we remember reference Ben right earlier, he wrote in that back he'll recap that I'm also referencing for this game. He wrote about how slow and ponderous Orlando City seemed on the ball. And that's not a huge shock when he think about how it's Wilder Cartagena. And says Arraha with the base of midfield, both more destroyer types and they are rhythm-building chance creation, line breaking types in midfield.
Oh, hey, that has been excellent at the 10 this season, but he is still somebody who is working his way into that spot. So Charlotte with a more purposeful defensive game plan. And Orlando's sitting in a more difficult environment. The bank was rocking in this game. The crowd sounded great. I'm going to give all credit to Ryan Bailey because I know he was there and I'm assuming it was just all him.
It was a more difficult thing for Orlando to do to get a result out of this game and they didn't play to a level where you think, oh, wow, they really did deserve it. No, Charlotte were the better team in this game. Even though it goes to penalties, Kalina makes huge saves and that one he saves two different strikes. One from Ladaro, one from Duncan McGuire to Winnet. It's the walkoff save. Really good performance from him.
And he saw it enough performance from Charlotte to force that game three. How impressive has Kalina been this season in terms of best goalkeepers in the league? Where would you put him on the list? I voted him as goalkeeper of the year. I think he has been the reason why Charlotte, despite their downturn in defensive form, with they've given up a lot of chances. Kalina has erased so many of those chances. He saved something like 10 goals above expected.
According to FBREF this season, he was tops in that category in the entire league. He has been the stabilizing force for Charlotte FC. And without him and without his performance in that shootout, Charlotte are probably done. Or at least we don't know what that shootout would have looked like. It wouldn't have been as simple for them as it was. So yeah, Kalina has been massive this year. There's probably not a goalkeeper I would rather have anchoring things.
I know this question is potentially going to get you in trouble, Joe. But I'm going to ask it anyway. Oh, wait, do with it. Do you have thoughts on how that final game plays out between Charlotte or Orlando? Or, and I don't mean this to be as rude as it's about to be, do you care less because you don't have high expectations for either one of these teams in the next round?
More of the ladder to be honest, although I will say, even though it seemed very clear that it was going to be Miami coming out of that series, Miami or Atlanta will play the winner of this Charlotte Orlando series. It seems like with the way playoffs have gone, top seeds, losing games, top seeds getting knocked out, that it really is kind of anybody's game. And the playoffs more so than I would have thought, even understanding how the structure of MLS
does make those sorts of things possible. So I do think there's a lot to be played for in this in this final game of the series. I don't think either team has a real shot to win MLS Cup, but given what we've seen so far, what do I know? Right. As far as how that third game is going to go, I think it's going to follow a pretty similar pattern where Orlando are controlling a bit more of the ball. They'll be back at home in this game.
They've controlled more possession in both of these matches so far, relatively similar possession numbers from one game to the next. I think Charlotte are going to have to trust that, hey, we can sit a little bit deeper in our lower block. We can trust Kalina to claim balls in the box to make some of those big saves. And we want to see our guys try to go out there and create chances on the break. I thought the the front three of Patrick Ajuman on through the middle was the
nine. Cohen Vargas says that right winger and then Leila Bada as the left winger pulling a little wider even at times and Tim Reem stays deeper at left back because he is playing as a sort of pseudo left back Tim Reem. I thought that front three caused more problems in transition than a Swadarski through the middle pet be all on the right and Leila Bada on the left trio. So I do expect Charlotte to be a bit more dynamic in transition in game three. And it will come down to who controls those
transition moments better. I think as to who's going to book that slot in the next round. All right, let's move to the Western conference then we've talked about the four Eastern conference clashes so far. Let's talk about the galaxies nine to one aggregate win even though aggregate doesn't matter anymore. They got a four to one win on the road at Colorado. That couple with a five new win at home tells me the galaxy are good at scoring goals and handled this one
comfortably. How much can we learn from this one Joe given those score lines? To be honest, I don't think there's a ton that we can learn because of how broken the rapids seem to be coming into the series call Bassett didn't play a minute in this series. He was injured. He was massive for the rapids when he was on the field this season. George, my halivage comes back to play in this game. Man, he did not look like himself. This one feels like a blowout because then it's four one.
And this is on the on the Georgie point for the rapids. It feels like a blowout but really it's two one at half time and it's two one all the way until the 91st minute the rapids had something to play for even though they were the second best team on the field Ricky Pooge then scores two goals in about three minutes and second half stoppage time to really seal this whole thing. And the third goal for the galaxy the one that ises this game. The galaxy win the ball and start
to transition forward. George, my halivage is in position to make a play and he just completely pulls himself out of any sort of transition defending. He just like steps wide and turns around and watches the game happen like George my halivage and I had the exact same view on Ricky Pooge's goal.
And that ended the guy that ended the rapids season. It was honestly it was shocking from George my halivage truly and the only thing I can think about is that he was not fit enough to get back and to make that challenge like his body was hurting so badly that he could not step in to make that play. I don't know if it would have mattered at all but I tweeted this out if you go and watch
this watch this clip. George is a total passenger and a season on the line. This is all we have left to play for kind of moment where the galaxy then are pushing numbers forward that if you win the ball maybe you've got a chance to go out them the other way. This was not the most shocking moment of the whole round because heck to arrest it on somebody but like I couldn't honestly could not believe my eyes like the rapids seemed broken. That's the only thing I keep going back to is they just were
not able to truly compete in this series. And so for the galaxy yeah they had a plus eight goal differential in this series. They scored nine goals across two games. They lit the rapids on fire with their possession play and their attacking quality. That's not a huge surprise. The galaxy lit a lot of teams on fire. A lot of teams that are better than this version of the rapids on fire in the regular season and they weren't tested defensively because Georgie wasn't in this series. He
wasn't even though he was. He really wasn't in the galaxies. Excuse me the rapids attacking play was just not good. They took one shot in the first game. I think they had four shots from inside the box and eight total shots in this game. The rapids were ultimately this version of the rapids were not good enough to be in the postseason and that the galaxy dispatched them so easily is is not a huge shock to me. For the galaxy we do from Greg Van he get unchanged 11 from one one game to the
next. Do we feel like the galaxy have settled on a lineup and approach that works for them? I think so I mean Edwin Cereo looks like a match winner type of number six at the base midfield right now. He's been awesome for the galaxy and Mark Delgado playing next him. He's been really sharp on the ball. Those two players give push the level of cover that I think he needs to go and freelance and
do whatever it is that he wants to do all the time. The front three is not going to change of Yovolich to the middle peck on the right pants on the left and the back four seems pretty well set to John Nelson plays 90 in this game. Yamane is locked in Yoshi does locked in and it has been Garcis Carlos Garcis in the middle of that back line who's played pretty well but again he just hasn't been tested really in this series. So the galaxy are going to have to take their lumps
defensively against Minnesota. I expect they will give up some real chances in a way that they didn't in this series. But man they were so precise on the ball and that's still the question. We talked about it before the playoff started. The question for the galaxy is can their attack be good enough to carry some of the defensive mistakes and in this series it absolutely was no matter what Chris armistruth them and he did try to throw a wrench at the galaxy by shifting into a back
three in this game. He went three four three and ditched the back four trying to add a little more defensive soliderity. The galaxy caught that wrench and just chucked it right back at Zach Stefan and the in the rapids. Gabriel peck just exploited a lot of suburbacar every single possible chance he had in the first half to the point where armistruth had to move a boobacar away from peck side to start the second half and Reggie can and then moved over to peck side like the damage was was so
clear so early it's a Gabrielle peck racing forward that Zach Stefan just hits the ball off of trying to clear it long Stefan just wails the ball into Gabrielle peck and the ball ends up in the back of the rapids net just from so early on in this game the galaxy found the weakness they started to exploit it they caused problems the rapids didn't look comfortable and being bang boom the rapids are going home and the galaxy are headed to the conference some ice.
Joe here's an obvious tangent you saw coming my grandfather on my mother's side used to buy me stocks at when I was little that was his like birthday present for me every year okay which worked out really well in some cases and then in others left me with like toys our rust stock I don't think I
had a whole whole whole thing just don't happen I think I I would equate the stock I continued to have in Zach Stefan to maybe some of those stocks and I'm just going to say I quietly offloaded my roommate from my remaining Zach Stefan shares this weekend for so you're definitely less than I
purchased them yeah those lost value I hate to say it I had some Zach Stefan stock at a point in time he is he is not the player he used to be and really he hasn't been that player for a long time the galaxy needed the galaxy didn't need to to put a lot of effort into this series and part of
that is because Stefan seems slow to his reads he was obviously poor on that that moment and people make mistakes goalkeepers make mistakes those kinds of errors happen but the rapids don't have the quality to compensate for an error of Stefan's size on that moment of distribution it was just a
whole big mess for the rapids and it's a shame because they did have a good season they had the third largest points for game improvement from last year to this year an MLS behind the galaxy and behind into Miami they had a good season there are building blocks here the question is will they
maybe will they use some of that most one beat oh money that seven million dollars according to reports that they got by selling one veto to niece will they use that to go out there and find one more piece in the attack because you know man the series really showed that they need it
if nothing else was this year was this season a sort of redemption story for Chris Armas do you feel like rapids fans should feel better about having him as their coach I mean I was harsh on the rapids for making that higher I was hard on them for making that higher because it didn't seem like
terribly innovative and inventive yeah Armas has done a really good job this season I think he's given the rapids a clear defensive identity I really do respect the fact that even though the galaxy susten out very early I respect the fact that he he tried to change shapes in this game if the rapids didn't change something from game one to game two they were going to lose that seemed very very clear to me and clearly it seemed clear to Armas as well he's talked about how they struggled
against against the galaxy this season he wanted to change and even though that that 343 didn't work I think it was so much better than doing nothing in this second game so I respect the job that Armas has done I respect the way that the front office has assembled some semblance of a talented squad
even though they don't spend a lot of money I don't love all the decisions that the FOS made I don't think there are stacked with talent I think they're going to have a hard time next year competing up at the top of the west again as they did for some of this season but are they do they
look like a serious team under Chris Armas and with some of the talent they have absolutely they do and that is in some ways a real improvement over last year all right we've got three games remaining to be discussed one more quick break we'll be back to wrap up this set of games this episode is
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soccer show we hope you never left Joe we've talked one LATM let's talk the other the galaxy had quite a bit of joy in there two matchups with Colorado LFC having significantly less joy in this one a three-nail loss to Vancouver on the road I asked if the performance in the first leg for
Vancouver might be a spark for them in the second and I'm going to say it was what did they keep from that first leg what did they adjust for this one so the the macro approach from Vanne 13 was the same and and so team he gets a lot of flak for chopping and changing so often and
at times he has done that he really hasn't chopped and changed his tactical approach a whole lot this year it's almost always a three diamond three in possession so think about three centerbacks three forwards and a midfield diamond in between those things and he shifted from a back three
in the last third of the season or so to a more of a flat back four that has been a shift but in general a lot of the things have stayed the same for sartini so most of most of the most of the the momentum that Vancouver had for a decent if not incredible performance in game one in LA
was still there it wasn't like he threw the the baby out with the bathwater sartini but he did make what I think was a really really sharp couple of changes the first was to put 5 5 pico on the field for Pedro Vita and and 5 pico is more of a forward winger type he's a
bit more direct Vita is more number eight slash you know maybe eight and a half as it's kind of a creative midfielder type pico gave them more more speed to run at lafc in transition and to run them in possession as well and the other change was alley on med and steward armstrong the two number
eights in this system they swap sides and so you had on med and pico on the same side and you had galled an armstrong swapped over to the other side so pico and on med had the chance to run right at the weakest point in lafc's backline and this is purposeful from Danny sartini they were able to
run at Christian Olivera who I talked about after game one all the various scores the the second goal for lafc in that game has some really good moments in possession the guy is a winger he is still learning how to play wingback but see torundale has put him at wingback to great effect at
times this season but he is vulnerable defensively and by stacking pico and I'm at on that side ready to race in behind olivera already to capitalize on any sort of turnover coming from that right side of lafc's backline by sartini putting pico and I'm at on that side they pressured lafc they ran
into that space they nearly draw a penalty in the 17 minute of this game with pico running one v one at olivera they found the weakness in lafc's backline they set up to exploit it and that's exactly what they did they were all over lafc all over them in the first 15 minutes of this game then
kouver had the energy they had the tempo they got the tactics right from the very jump lafc it didn't seem to me like they knew what hit them in this game that is a real credit to the white capsule are now really really back in this series for lafc was this familiar problems coming home
to roost this obviously is not the first time they failed to show up in big moments is this more of the same or is this more so van kouver adjusting to really capitalize on like small little details like you've outlined it is both of those things but really it is troublingly for lafc more
of the same I think about all of the defensive lapses they've had this season they lost by a huge score line I think I think they shipped five goals maybe it was for to columbus in july in the regular season they were poorest defensively in that game they lose the leagues cut final to
to columbus yet again and and they were sloppy and set peace defense they were sloppy to end that game as well they get smacked by the galaxy in september allowing four goals really really slow to react really poor performance in that game in general for lafc especially against the ball
then you come into this game and they they give up two goals inside the first 15 minutes or so of this game the first one is a Vancouver press them high up the field lafc turn the ball over with with some of that direct play sort of that they struggle to deal with in this game coming
from Vancouver's left side and olivera and Aaron long and a couple others for lafc or ball watching in the box Vancouver get to their spots first lafc are down one nil then they give up a second goal off of a set piece the second phase of a set piece where olivera maybe gets his
positioning a little bit wrong but again lafc are slow to react and ryan hauling said put the puts the ball in the back of his own net the third goal another own goal this one from eddie segura 68 minute i think this is the worst one of all it's a throw in for vankuver high up the field on
the left side and ryan goal can just drifting to the box nobody picks him up off the throw in nobody decides to market ryan goal drifts in the box and a few seconds later the balls at his feet and a few seconds after that it's three no vankuver it is like inexcusable stuff from lafc
and it's popped up in so many big games this season i still think they're super talented they still are the favorite to advance from this series i would not be bold enough to pick against them just yet there are levels that try to look and pull man they were second best in this game by
not a mile but by a noticeable margin and that has been a problem for them in far too many really really important games this season i am concerned about lafc playing against the ball and there's no reason i should be given the personnel that they have i want to double down on something there joe
because i don't i don't always buy into the idea that like if you can see on set pieces that that's a preventable mistake that that's like set pieces that pieces that pieces how could you concede there uh lawless is big on kind of pointing out how like teams that's the one thing you can
prepare for that's the one thing you can truly practice and and sort of know what's coming and know how to defend against it or theoretically know what's coming i don't always subscribe to that because i think when that corner is taken there can be chaos there can be collisions there can just
be a fortunate balance a fortunate flick what have you so to some extent i think like getting scored on off of a set piece is is somewhat more forgivable getting scored on because a a playmaker is wide open to receive a throw in is is inexcusable and i fully reinforce what you said there joe using
that word inexcusable that is just ridiculous for your whole team to switch off like that and it truly is like six players surrounding him and and there's just a gap there that no one really thinks to step to that feels like such an obvious mental lapse and an unforgivable one at that
that i do would be somewhat concerned where i an lfc supporter yeah it's it's a worrying trend it really really is throwing to you have no excuse not to be dialed in uh it makes absolutely no sense to me whatsoever lfc had a few looks in transition but wanga has chances taqueoca has to come
up really big at times in this game and he he did exactly that so it wasn't like lfc were completely shut out from having any joy in this match that wasn't the case man vincouver armstrong was the guy who i thought was going to be the the piece to take them over the top if they were going to win
in this game because of how good he was in game one and how good he was in the wildcard he plays longer than he has in any game so far for vincouver he plays 82 minutes which is a really good sign his fingerprints weren't the ones all over this game it was sartini at the highest level by
shifting some players around and it was pico and and i'm ed and in ryan gald if if they get all of that and steward armstrong at close to his best i don't think anybody in the west wants to play vincouver i don't think anybody in mls wants to play vincouver so i am really really excited for
this game three because it feels like it is up for grabs in a way that honestly i never expected it to be one more question about this contest and it relates to steve torrentel though and it's very much a europeanian question joe so as you outline really well you have on med you have pico
kind of running it olivera who is not used to playing in that wing back role from what you understand or not as used to it yet uh from what you understand of steve torrentel though is he a manager you would expect in those moments as it's clear that they are trying to overwhelm and
capitalize upon olivera as a wing back is he the type of manager to adjust his team and react to that in a more defensive way of sort of shifting over giving more cover or is he more inclined to wear lafc we have so much talent we're just going to keep doing what we're doing and hope to
control the game by controlling the game basically based off of this match i would say it's the latter because olivera didn't get a ton of obvious help in this game we have seen torrentel o swap back and forth depending on the opponent we've seen polencia surgery polencia who was
brought into play fallback for lafc he shifted into that outside right sided center back role for torrentel o when it's been olivera as that right wing back but we have seen polencia play right wing back in olivera either be on the wing or on the bench this season so torrentel has different
options and i would sort of expect polencia to be the one playing right wing back because they don't really need what olivera provides it's nice when they get it but in a must win game i think you can rely on boanga and jiru and bogus enough that at least from the jump you want to maintain some
defensive solidity so that this doesn't happen again and then you go from there but torrentel seems pretty content to not massively deviate from his initial game plan what exactly he decides to rock out with for the third set of for the third game in the series i we lean towards a bit of
a change there but i don't think that is purely reactionary i think that's something he's done before because it is something he's done before and i think it will be born out of pretty logical thinking off of this game two more games to discuss joe uh let's go to minnesota one rsl one
minnesota winning three to one on penalties uh sweeping this one advancing to the next round chicho orango for rsl is benched in this game how does one go from by having MVP conversations to writing pine in a critical playoff game yeah it's been a wild downturn for chicho orango which i
think is a pretty strong microcosm for this whole season for rsl where they go from shield contender to uh not that as the regular season continue they go from mls cup threat to being bounced in the first round after two games so i think it all fits together really well for arongo he's performing
very very well and then he gets suspended misses the all star game misses a couple of games around that as well i think it was a four game suspension that somehow the all star game counted the language maybe was not the most precise on that from mls seem to be silly but arongo maybe didn't ever seem
to quite get right after that and you add to that off field stuff uh you add uh under his go mez who i've talked about a thousand times i feel like and i don't really feel the need to do it again he gets sold for a figures tillie uh and all of a sudden the attack is just not the same go mez is
still the second leading scorer and the sister for rsl he was the one b two orango's one a like he was best eleven level you lose that and geogo gansalves comes in as a dp who's supposed to be more than number ten to elevate you before you've been planned on losing go mez geogo gansalves comes in
he's not been any good and you bring in marjouk on that right side who's a Polish youth international emphasis on youth international he's not been able to replace go mez's production anywhere near anywhere near what you would hope for but that's not a surprise right i mean marjouk is a young
player who's coming into a new country i don't believe he's ever played outside of his home country before coming in mid season towards the end of the season you're in a really really tough spot rsl and bi extent genchicho rungos struggles and those things are linked together
or a classic example of how fragile success seems to be a mage elixir and maybe a classic example of why amelesis talking about moving the calendar because rsl were in some ways a victim of their own success they did a good job of identifying developing and selling
for a profit uh andrish gomas and their season tanks no small part because of that rongo season tanks he's he ends up on the bench in this game rsl weren't really dangerous in the attack minnesota i thought were the better team at home in front of their home crowd and i don't think you
can really argue with the fact that they are deserving winners despite the fact that this series was super narrow and they end up winning in not in regulation but nil nil penalty shoot out winning the first game one one penalty wins in the second game and and with that form in mind joe so
you get the two draws that are penalty shoot out wins uh prior to that a very good run of form from minnesota its wins and its draws a lot of draws and a few wins uh they haven't lost since mid september thereabouts uh so in a very good run of form in strong form but now having swept rsl
and the galaxy having swept calorado they will meet in the next round as has been uh covered somewhat ad nauseam on social media we get about a three week break between uh these games and that next round that's the other reason i'm lost wants to move its count anyway please
continue that's fair um between the galaxy and minnesota which one do you think is more afraid of losing momentum in that three weeks which one do you think could sort of come back uh i'm assuming training will still be happening but you're not going to have games obviously so which one could
potentially look a little bit rusty or do you think i think it's the the team with the player who added mls on twitter about this whole three week break i think it's ricky poosian the elegalaxi minnesota united are not going to try to seize that game on the road in karson they're going to sit
in their five four one uh maybe they're going to step up and press like the red bulls do the Columbus i would be surprised that that happens i think they're going to try to let the galaxy come to them and i i think that's a simpler thing to sort of dust off and come back in even though you haven't been in the maturithm then it is for the galaxy and their their silky smooth possession play to just be dusted off i still think the galaxy are going to win that game i still think the galaxy are going
to be in the western conference finals but minnesota united they're going to be the underdog they've got three weeks to stew and to listen to all of us talk about how they're not going to make the conference finals and how they're going to lose to the galaxy they're going to be amp for that game
i think their skills and in the way they're going to approach it under arocramty will translate fairly simply from now to uh you know a couple of weekends from now three weeks whatever whatever it's going to be i think that they will be at less of a disadvantage although i don't i don't
think it really helps anybody final uh game of the playoffs to discuss we get Seattle advancing uh one-to-one uh at houston in regulation we go to penalties Seattle winning seven to six on penalties no jordan morris no abut ruse nacken this one no problem sort of uh joe i don't mean to be
discouraged to Seattle this is the second time i've had to do this preamble but did we learn much about them aside from that they can win in shootouts when they're opponents is a man down uh no i don't think we learned anything about Seattle i think i wrote for back yield that they weren't
really tested in this series they didn't have to to push to their limits game one super narrow goes to penalties that one was basically a toss up Seattle had the advantage in that game of cocoa car scale losing his mind and getting sent off and they ended up prevailing good penalty shootouts
maybe there's some veteran savvy that we should give credit to Seattle for they were probably the slightly better team on balance in game one up at lumen field but it's very very tight and in general they don't have to do anything that's outside of their cumbridge on they come to the second game against houston and i thought houston was probably the subtly better team they created a few more chances on balance for the game goes to penalties in Seattle outlast houston and penalties
and they get there in no small part because hector harera uh commits a foul that is a yellow card it's a late challenge on jackson regan in midfield that's going to be a card in the first place the referee doesn't waste any time pulling the card out of his pocket harera turns around is not
pleased about it whatsoever walks around the back of the referee when the referee is not looking and spits not on but at the referee very clearly trying to show his displeasure by spitting to make the very clear he spits at the referee and i've already said it but i just want to emphasize that
he gets sent off in the most obvious red card that you will ever see v a r catches it it's inexcusable behavior it is truly shocking from the veteran savvy the veteran player for this use in dynamo team i know it's not totally out of character for hector harera but to have your two
most important players i think karsk here and her Aaron be sent off and back-to-back games when the dynamo had something to play for they it was nil nil when actor rara goes off in this game they just totally imploded they completely imploded like the in embarrassing fashion the use in dynamo
they have no one to blame for accident the postseason but themselves i don't think i've seen a postseason meltdown like this actually since the Yankees like in game five of few things but real realistically speaking mls no team is imploded as hard as the use in dynamo imploded in this
couple of games it's it's just horrific stuff from houston so Seattle to loop it all the way back around the question that you asked they didn't have to do a whole lot in this series even if they lost this game in the shootout they would have the chance to go back in front of their home crowd
rusknaq and mora seem to be out with short-term injuries they're probably back for that game i don't know that's just me supposing here they might be back for that game and you cruise because houston don't have the attacking talent to threaten Seattle Seattle have a little bit more juice
to threaten houston and probably unbalanced with a slightly better team and you move on from there so now i really don't think we learned anything about Seattle we did learn that houston can't finish the season without shooting themselves in the foot though so there's that yeah man and you
laid out well like he doesn't spit on the ref but he definitely spits at the ref and when i say definitely i mean don't do that like yeah so stupid because no matter what like if you're gonna try to then have the defensive like no i was just pitting it happened to be near the official that's
not that much better but when it's very clearly like waiting to get around the back of him to then spit at his feet you know what you're doing there and then also there's the are there are cameras everywhere you are very high profile player even if there were only a few cameras that's
getting picked up and so yeah to your point between that and the car skier red it just feels like houston lost their composure melted down did not have it all together the way we hope they might heading into the playoffs heading into this season but we would assume they will be back for more next year for now though joe Seattle advance we've got more games coming up the third game of this first playoff round still learning the terminology and still not getting it entirely
uh one question for you mr. lowery are there and i think that we might have to make this into a a bigger show down the road are there players uh that are eligible to play for the united states uh from these playoff games or since we last saw the u.s. that you would like to see are there a
couple players you would like to see pochettino call in because you think they could add wrinkles do something different not look off the pace something like that i i we've talked about max artheson before i would be interested in seeing him in a january camp with the usm it the left wing back
for the clumbus crew pretty too footed uh plays in a position of need for the us and then get left back although i don't know how well he translates to a flat back four left back role i'd be interested in seeing dea galuna under under pochettino not that i think he's a total game breaker
i would love to see luccio acosta come january or february or whatever it is that he's somehow going to get all that citizenship stuff sorted out outside of that i don't think the list is super long but but maybe i need to think about it a little bit all right well we will give you time to
think about it for now though joe thank you for thinking about all of these games in a good amount of detail i really enjoyed this one i always enjoy getting to chat these games out to kind of get a better understanding of what we just saw especially when it comes to columbus being eliminated
definitely not a result we saw coming joe lowery thank you for all of your efforts my friend oh tell the right back at you tons of fun listeners thank you all so much for listening hope you all had tons of fun as well we'll be back with more ts episodes soon to come