When Atlanta United heads to Yankee Stadium to play New York City FC on Saturday, the task will be large and the margin for error will be small.
Almost as small as the field.
“It’s a small field,” said defender Sal Zizzo on Friday morning. “Obviously it’s not that much fun to play on a field like that, but that’s what you’ve got to do.”
How small, exactly?
Officially, the pitch is listed as 70 yards wide and 110 yards long, though opposing coaches and players insist it’s smaller than that. General consensus pegs the baseball-oriented field at 68x106.
In MLS, there is no uniform field size, though there are minimum and maximum standards that teams must operate within. Mercedes-Benz Stadium, for example, runs on the larger side with a 75-yard width and a 115-yard length, helping aid the free-flowing, spread out Five Stripes attack.
Last year, Atlanta United struggled with the conditions and the opponent, losing in New York City 3-1 in what defender Michael Parkhurst called “was probably our worst performance of the season.” In that game, potent striker David Villa netted a goal early on and the home side never looked back.
“Things happen really fast on that field. You turn the ball over at midfield line and you’re in the 18 real quick,” Parkhurst said. “Its tight. Long throw-ins, corner kicks come in a little bit quicker. Things just happen a little bit faster on that field, so there’s even less time to think about things and to adjust, so you have to be weary at all times, especially when you’re playing a guy like Villa.”
This year, the play on the small field will have big-time implications in the race for the top of the Eastern Conference.
The Five Stripes will enter New York City two points clear of the home side. A win in New York would do wonders for Atlanta United’s chase for the top of the East, but it certainly won’t come easily. NYCFC enters the game a perfect 6-0-0 at home.
Parkhurst notes that, while the field will present a challenge, NYCFC has managed to succeed on it without compromising their style of play.
“We know the field is tight, they play really well on their field – there’s a reason why they’re 6-0 on their field,” Parkhurst said. “We have to make sure that – even given the dimensions – we try and play. We talked about it a couple guys in the locker room, that you feel like you can’t play on that field because it’s so small, yet New York City plays on it.”
Atlanta United manager Gerardo Martino reiterated that the dimensions will not force any major tactical adjustments. He looks to last season’s 3-1 victory at Bobby Dodd Stadium and this season’s 2-2 draw as evidence that the Five Stripes can thrive against NYCFC.
He expects the same Saturday.
“We played well in those games. I understand the field is small, but I don’t think there’s any reason we can’t go up there and have a good performance,” Martino said. “As I said, we have a style of play that we like to stick to and we won’t change it aside from minor things.”
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