10-30 Toronto

1: Luiz is that guy. He can develop the attack in midfield. He can drop back and defend. He can finish chances. He create them on his own.He had a gift of a goal but he’s still gotta unwrap it. That’s not the first time Luiz has got a goal out not giving up on the play. 

2: Moreno my god. The amount of distance we can travel. With the ball. Holding off a defender. 🤯

3: BAMM BAMM. When it’s in full effect we are seeing some of the most threatening creative attacking sequences we have ever seen in this club. Balls over the top, building out of the back, quick counters, crossing quality balls into the box. This is attacking on all fronts. 

4: And for all the attacking soccer…we get a draw. Having an XG of 2.6 and only one goal to show for it against bottom feeders Toronto is simply not good enough and won’t get us far in the playoffs, which, we still have to make. 

5: It was nice to see Jake again, if only for a brief Cameo appearance. When our starters are playing well we can forget we still have his as an ace in the hole. He always answers when called upon and it was a good move by Pineda. But it wasn’t really a spark that we needed tonight. The effort was there. The chances were there. We just weren’t clinical enough. Plain and simple. 

10-27 Miami

1: Josef had a poor first half. He wasn’t able to get on the ball and when he did he was easily taken off it. A lot of that I think comes down to positioning. Playing out wider and deeper doesn’t suit him. Like we talked about last time, I’m really happy we’ve been able to figure out how to score when Josef can’t go, but when we can and when he’s on the pitch…we kinda need him to. Fortunately he did just that in the 2nd half. Twice. Josef says FUCK YOUR OFFSIDE. 

2: I think Luiz is really figuring this soccer thing out. Totally deserving of Man of the Match with a goal and an assist. That goal was hugely impressive. Keeping it on the ground with enough pace to sneak it under the keeper is not easy. He’s been a natural fit for this team from the jump and now he’s becoming consistent with his goal/assist production rate. 

3: Gonzo made great subs again. Bringing Moreno on immediately at the half for Walkes was the right decision. We were chasing the game and it needed to be full attack. It also allowed Barco to drop back and have Josef assume his natural position. When BAMM is in full effect……you’re gonna like the way we score, I guarantee it. 

4: 25 fouls…… that we know of. 5 yellow cards. Seems Phil Neville’s side has adopted the strategy of, if you can’t beat’em, kick’em. LGP of course his contracturally obligated yellow. They were just playing a really aggressive ugly brand of football all night. We handled it well. Credit to the guys for not losing their heads. Also, half of those fouls…yeah…they were on Barco. HALF. 

5: No rest for the weary. We do control our own destiny. There’s still the possibility of a home playoff game but that’s gonna require at least two more wins and probably a draw.  There’s still the possibility of not making it. It’s gonna be a fight. Bare minimum we need at least a win and two draws. We would be at 51 points and that’s probably enough to play soccer in November. The schedule is in our favor. The points are there for the taking.