Andrew Gutman spits out the truth every time he uses a microphone. Don’t play with it, he’s not chasing the team, he’s just living the same feelings as anyone reading this article. frustration.
The amount of frustration among Atlanta United fans and players appears to have increased tenfold after matches like the one that fell at Saputo State in Montreal yesterday. Losing 2-1 is another result that looks like a missed opportunity. The Five Stripes always seem to be “one tweak” away from liberating and turning their dominant possession into results, but that hasn’t happened. From a fan/supporter/writer’s point of view, it sounds worse than just having a bad cast; Atlanta won the majority of the battle in terms of playing offensive football and it looks really good playing from the back and moving the ball up the field. But that final ball isn’t there, and so everyone is left with a lot of “what should have been” feelings.
If you don’t usually read many full quotes by Pineda and players after matches, you may not want to skip this quote. I think it’s fair to say that Gonzo is probably the most frustrated person out there and Andrew Guttman and Bobby Shuttleworth do a great job of expressing with words how anyone connected to Atlanta United feel. Appreciate their “reality” and get what you want out of the press conference, but when the locker room starts to get frustrated, it tends to be either too good or too bad. Players love Pineda and seem really convinced of his system, so maybe that moment of clarity, an “aha” moment, might come? One cannot help but feel that once that moment occurs, it will be glorious, but the current reality is that Atlanta appears to be sipping on a bottle of fortune that has dried up.
Check out the quotes below and as always we’d love to hear everyone’s thoughts. What does the team change/modify/do differently?
His thoughts on the game
“I think there was some frustration, obviously, with the result but also because I don’t think the team’s performance was worth losing the game. I think we definitely controlled the game, we were definitely in control of the game but we couldn’t get a good result because of the lack of the final product. In both boxes. I think we need to do better in the very limited times when the opponent is in the box. We need to do a much better job. And a lot of times we are around the box we need to create more. So, I think that That will be the focus this week before preparing for Chicago but we are disappointed to give up a game again, I think we should have won.”
About team set-piece defense issues this season
“I think set pieces are a theme. It’s about focus, it’s about working as a team in a very specific game, but we also have to face that many teams in MLS have taller players than us. And we want to play in a very specific way and not so much on set pieces but There are definitely teams that have taller set-pieces and are harder to defend. I think the way we try to defend is not to receive too many set-pieces, and to have the ball too much in the opposite half, but the few we allow in each game become dangerous. Need to review, check why, sometimes we also need to give confidence to the opposition. Their delivery was very good and sometimes it’s hard to defend those kinds of balls. I don’t rely too much on that but I think we can improve that aspect.”
If he thinks of any possible changes to the squad next week
“We have to check the movie. I think now we’re obviously upset and disappointed about the result and it’s hard to make an assessment like that when there are so many days until the next game. What we’re going to do is check the movie. What we’ve done well, what we’re losing to get the results and then we’ll try to work through the week And come up with the best lineup to face Chicago.”
On his message to the team in the first half after controlling possession
“I said we need to carry on with the same style and the same ideas. I felt we were very good at playing between the lines, very good at building us and disrupting their pressure in the middle, which is not easy to do against a team like Montiel. It’s a very good team and it’s hard to break in some. And I felt the team did it really well. Then, in the final third I felt like maybe we weren’t that strong on the last pass, that we tried to run behind and create really dangerous chances for us, but the little we did was let down and that was the story of the game. “So my message in the first half was just to try to continue in the same style, with the same ideas, with more faith. I think that’s what the team did with Marcelino’s goal. We started to think we were in control, and it was just a small moment of set pieces that we missed and they got their momentum.” which led to their goal.”
If he has the same feeling after this match as the last matches
“It’s just the same old story again. I felt like, again, we were the better team by a mile, but we just stopped for a few moments during the game. They score on a set piece and then score, basically a set piece recycled as well. We’re playing really well. Good 89 minutes into the game We’re the better team We keep them fixed We push the pace, create chances, all that stuff We just turn off for a moment and it hurts I think, for us, he completes the full 90 minutes No mental lapses, no mistakes and we’re going to start in achieving victories.
About the team’s defense of free kicks
“I think it’s just a lack of fighting, a lack of mentality ‘I’m going to win this ball on you. I will fight, push, and fight to win the head and clear the lines. I think that’s what hurts us now because we don’t have a position enough where “I’m going to get the ball before you and you don’t get a chance”.
If such losses drain the confidence of the team
“It’s very early in the season, it’s only nine games. I think now, we have to unite more as a group and become more family. We just have to fight for each other in those moments that the team is looking for in the game. We play with a lot of teams, especially in This match, Montreal had nothing in attack. They were almost trying to play for free kicks and that was their attack, because we controlled most of the match. I think we have to go back to what the badge really means. We’re not a team that’s okay with being in MLS, maybe we’ll run The playoffs, we’re just playing our game. This is Atlanta United, we want to play for titles. We want to win trophies. I think that’s just the small edge we’re missing. We just have to motivate ourselves, whether that’s just pushing each other into training a little bit harder on the field. Cover each other if someone messes things up in games over the course of 90 minutes you just have to have your teammate behind you if you mess up they’ll hide from you I think once that happens we’ll start spinning and get to work I think that’s going to be a conversation Completely different at the end of every match.”
On what happened to the goals
“In the first goal, we set our lines. Hitting a good ball at the top of the area. Clearly the set pieces are something we need to work on and work on in training, get through. Something we need to keep working on solving problems. We’re moving in a positive direction. But That’s definitely something we definitely need to keep looking at and finding solutions in this area, because we’re training it. We have to do better in those areas. Goal two, I haven’t really been able to comment on what happened much. I’ll have to watch again, never watched it again. Others yet, so I’ll have to watch the video again and see it.”
On the impact of matches like this on team confidence
“These games are definitely painful. You won’t find a man in the locker room who is happy with the way things are now. We controlled long and long periods of the game and had possession of the ball for long periods of the game. Unfortunately in front of the goal offensively and then conceding where we should not concede, We go out with zero points. It’s a long season. This is the ninth game so the way we play is positive. We create chances and control possession. There are definitely positives going forward. However, there are definitely things that we need to adjust and look at and keep working in training and try Solve those problems. Because at the end of the day, it’s about winning matches and the last results, maybe we got the best of matches and lost zero points. There is something that has to change.”
On what Alan Franco looked like on his return to the starting line-up 11
“Great on the ball, he picks up some good points, he’s aggressive, he wins with good tackles. I think for us, at the back, it’s just as much about communicating as we can, keeping trying to help each other, picking the good points, blocking the teams trying to beat us over the counter.” Looks like that’s the way we’re playing now, teams are trying to absorb our pressure and hit the counter. However, I think we did well today. We prevented them from facing us at any time. I think he did a good job for sure. We are looking forward to him to play the ball well. Good from the back and continuing to be aggressive.”
As always, if you have some time, listen to Twitter Spaces after the match. Guaranteed you’ll appear on the other side with either a bunch of new picks or nothing at all, but either way you’ll have fun.
