What did our beloved Claret and Cobalt do the evening of March, 10th? They did what they trained for. They did what they most wanted. They did what they are capable of. They “came to score” (The Aggrolites).
—El Güero,
Match Report: Midfield rotation defines 1-0 RSL win over NYRB
Match Report: Midfield rotation defines 1-0 RSL win over NYRB
Sunday, March 4, 2012
In arguably our best performance of the Desert Diamond Cup — a 1-0 consolation win (of course, they're all rather consolation matches in pre-season, aren't they?) over New York Red Bulls that saw a young midfield performing at the peak abilities.
It is there that the most interesting patterns emerged from the win. Last season I repeatedly argued that we were more akin to a 4-3-3 in shape than a 4-4-2, especially with Javier Morales on the pitch. Last night, it would appear the tactic has been tweaked slightly.
A midfield three of Sebastian Velasquez, Luis Gil, and Ned Grabavoy — two ostensibly attacking midfielders and one in a more box-to-box role but with an eye for attacking runs — played an interesting half of football, pulling and pushing defenders out of shape with an effective rotation policy.
When one or two players would go forward, the other one or two would hold back — and while you'd expect perhaps Ned was the player to stay back on most occasions, you'd be wrong. While we've seen him as a defense-minded midfielder before, we've seen him all pre-season as a crafty, shifty attacking player who can get back and get stuck in. Instead, last night, we saw Sebastian Velasquez go very deep, Luis Gil go very deep, and Ned Grabavoy very deep.
Such repeated rotation has a few effects: First, defenders are pulled out of shape if they're employing a stringent man-marking setup, opening holes for attacking play and incisive passing. We'll have a midfield built largely out of players who have an eye for pass: Kyle Beckerman, Javier Morales, Luis Gil, Enzo Martinez all stand out as players who look to thread the needle. Second, it provides defensive stability when two of the midfielders spring forward in attack, leaving two back — Kyle Beckerman and the attacking midfielder who remains — and ostensibly keeping shape.
Another unforeseen effect of the rotation is that it's forced our full backs to work more in the midfield. We already know that Tony Beltran and Chris Wingert were essential as defense-midfield links, but last night illustrated that further. Chris Wingert, more visible with the largely ineffective camera angle last night, found himself tucking into the midfield to make up the numbers, ticking play on a bit. Chris Schuler, playing on the left, and Jamison Olave, playing on the right, compensated for the width by stretching a bit, and Kyle Beckerman dropped deeper into the center. This left us with what might be described as a 3-5-2 — it's interesting how quickly our shape can change.
But it's that tucking in that led to our solitary goal. Chris Wingert, very good with his right foot, came forward from his vaguely midfield position and unleashed a shot that even the vaunted 101 Great Goals called a golazo (
). It's a wholly and utterly deserved plaudit for the wing back, who spotted space and took his chance with the most graceful aplomb you could imagine.
Now, after the 60th minute, we did see a bit less of that: Jonny Steele and Javier Morales came on, and while there was certainly some rotation in the midfield, there was a bit of a drop-off. Perhaps it was something Kreis wanted to see more with a lineup involving more attacking players, or perhaps it was more important to seek fitness for Steele and Javier in more familiar circumstance. Speculation takes root, but it is largely useless at this point. March 10th will eke out more details on this fascinating matter.
A word, too, for the defenders: Jamison Olave was in fine form, but Chris Schuler will be the one who caught eyes. He broke up play after play before issues cropped up, leaving us looking rather defensively solid at most times. While we did seem a bit vulnerable to attacks on the break, it was the wonderful work of our central pairing — as well as everyone else on the pitch — that saw us not concede. Chris Schuler, no doubt, deserves consideration for the U.S. — especially over some of the candidates who've looked nothing but pedestrian.
Further, a word for the strikers. With our midfield finally taking shape, we can begin to expect more chances for them, and thus more goals. Most of the big chances we've seen have come through individualist midfield graft and skill, and the forwards have been given hardly a chance to shine. Come March 10, we'll be expecting a bit better from the boys up front. I don't doubt that they'll be up for it as well.
