Toronto's Strategy
Under fire manager Aron Winter set out his Toronto team in a 4-3-3. Martina was used as a central striker, a position he is not accustomed to. Joao Plata and Nick Soolsma were the left and right wingers respectively. Plata was supported well on the left by left back Danleigh Borman and was the most dangerous Toronto player on the pitch. The central midfield players were Mikael Yourassowsky and Gianluca Zavarise. Yourassowsky was more involved than Zavarise who astonishingly only made 13 successful passes in 73 minutes on the pitch. Sturgis sat deep in a holding midfield role.
Toronto's defense relied way too heavily on kicking the ball long. Thus, they were not able to maintain possession. Ty Harden and Richard Eckerseley often played it long to a wide area and Vancouver controlled these passes.
Vancouver's Strategy
Tom Soehn opted for a 4-2-3-1, similarly to the style that earned the whitecaps a point in Seattle. However, this lineup had many changes as Soehn rested players for the Canadian Championship Final on Saturday, where the winner will earn a spot in the CONCACAF Champions League. Additionally, first choice defenders Jay Demerit and Alan Rochat were injured giving way to an iffy back line.
Youngster and 2011 number one pick Omar Salgado started as the lone striker. Jeb Brovsky played behind Salgado in the playmaker role. The wide players were Shea Salinas and Russell Teibert. The key players in the side for Vancouver were Gershon Koffie and Peter Vagenas. The two holding midfielders were the focal point to the Whitecaps side. They combined to make 20 ball recoveries and 111 completed passes.
Vancouver Dominate but cannot create
With Koffie and Vagenas controlling the match, Vancouver was dominating possession. The Whitecaps ended the match with 66% of the overall possession. However, they were unable to create chances. Omar Salgado was effective at getting the ball back to goal and holding up the ball by finding a pass. He did not get the ball facing goal or a through ball with a chance to run at a defender. He also got very few crosses to get a head to. They tried to catch Plata up field by releasing Wes Knight down the right flank, but this strategy failed as most of the long passes were too long for Knight and rolled out of play.
Under fire manager Aron Winter set out his Toronto team in a 4-3-3. Martina was used as a central striker, a position he is not accustomed to. Joao Plata and Nick Soolsma were the left and right wingers respectively. Plata was supported well on the left by left back Danleigh Borman and was the most dangerous Toronto player on the pitch. The central midfield players were Mikael Yourassowsky and Gianluca Zavarise. Yourassowsky was more involved than Zavarise who astonishingly only made 13 successful passes in 73 minutes on the pitch. Sturgis sat deep in a holding midfield role.
Toronto's defense relied way too heavily on kicking the ball long. Thus, they were not able to maintain possession. Ty Harden and Richard Eckerseley often played it long to a wide area and Vancouver controlled these passes.
Vancouver's Strategy
Tom Soehn opted for a 4-2-3-1, similarly to the style that earned the whitecaps a point in Seattle. However, this lineup had many changes as Soehn rested players for the Canadian Championship Final on Saturday, where the winner will earn a spot in the CONCACAF Champions League. Additionally, first choice defenders Jay Demerit and Alan Rochat were injured giving way to an iffy back line.
Youngster and 2011 number one pick Omar Salgado started as the lone striker. Jeb Brovsky played behind Salgado in the playmaker role. The wide players were Shea Salinas and Russell Teibert. The key players in the side for Vancouver were Gershon Koffie and Peter Vagenas. The two holding midfielders were the focal point to the Whitecaps side. They combined to make 20 ball recoveries and 111 completed passes.
Vancouver Dominate but cannot create
With Koffie and Vagenas controlling the match, Vancouver was dominating possession. The Whitecaps ended the match with 66% of the overall possession. However, they were unable to create chances. Omar Salgado was effective at getting the ball back to goal and holding up the ball by finding a pass. He did not get the ball facing goal or a through ball with a chance to run at a defender. He also got very few crosses to get a head to. They tried to catch Plata up field by releasing Wes Knight down the right flank, but this strategy failed as most of the long passes were too long for Knight and rolled out of play.
Toronto’s best chance of the match came in the 14th minute. Wes Knight made a blind back pass that was intercepted by the Reds. Plata was then free down the left side and squared a pass that was knocked away from Soolsma. The ball rolled to the top of the box and sat up well for Yourassowsky but he struck well wide of Nolly’s net.
Whitecaps Halftime Switch
Tied nil-nil at halftime, Soehn attempted to capitalize on his side’s domination of the match by making an attacking substitution. Eric Hassli was brought on to replace Jeb Brovsky. Brovsky looked out of sorts in the playmaker role. Looking at the chalkboards (via mlssoccer.com) his passes were either sideways or backwards. This lack of creativity from him made Vancouver’s attack predictable and easy to quash. In turn, Soehn went with a 4-4-2 with two big strikers, Hassli and Salgado up top. Even with the changes, Vancouver still struggled. They only put in eleven crosses in the second half, and only two of those were successful or decent balls in. One would have thought the Whitecaps strategy would have shifted to supplying high balls for Hassli and Salgado to win in the air. Hassli was not the spark Soehn had hoped for as he had zero shots and was only able to hold up play and not provide a killer pass to free up Salgado or a wide player. Nevertheless, give credit to the Whitecaps manager to for attempting to liven up the match as Aron Winter’s side came out with the same 4-3-3 setup.
Soft Penalty leads to Win
Soft Penalty leads to Win
The lone goal of the match came out of nothing in the 52nd minute. Nick Soolsma picked up the ball on the right edge of the box and was making his way toward the end line. The defender Greg Janicki was in a good position to defend, but he gambled on the ball and lunged to knock it away. Janicki made little, if any, contact with the ball and Soolsma was tripped, falling to the grass. Referee Mark Geiger pointed to the spot and Soolsma buried it, only after re taking it because Plata encroached on the first attempt.
Toronto Comfortably Holds onto the Lead
After the goal, the match took on a surprisingly similar trajectory. Vancouver controlled possession but could not threaten Toronto. Vancouver’s lone chance came from Salgado. He was fed a pass from the substitute Camilo on the left edge of the box. Salgado was able to turn onto his left foot as the marking from Eckersley was loose. However, the youngster’s left footed strike was just wide of the target.
Toronto’s lone outlet of play was Joao Plata. The small speedy winger did well to pick up the ball and challenge defenders. He was dispossessed 26 times in the match by Vancouver. Though he may not have had a successful night creating chances, Plata was the only Red who scared the Whitecaps defense.
Conclusion
BMO Field is known for a boisterous atmosphere but last night the crowd seemed subdued. Also, this being a Canadian Derby, I expected a hostile environment. The fans came out to watch (over 19,000) but they were quiet and understandably so considering how little the Reds created.
Conclusion
BMO Field is known for a boisterous atmosphere but last night the crowd seemed subdued. Also, this being a Canadian Derby, I expected a hostile environment. The fans came out to watch (over 19,000) but they were quiet and understandably so considering how little the Reds created.
The crowd took on the attitude of the match as the play was slow and both teams defended deep. This match reminded me of a Champions League end of the group stage match where neither team had something to play for. The intensity was low and the players seemed content with not trying to score.
Toronto desperately needs their two new designated player signings, Torsten Frings and Danny Koevermans. Unfortunately, they will not be available to play until July 20th. Frings will play in the holding midfield role and should help Toronto maintain possession and distribute the ball effectively. Koevermans is a big man and a veteran goal scorer in the Dutch Eredivisie. He has scored 136 goals in his career, mostly doing damage with his instincts or in the air; he is 6 ft 3 in.
Any thoughts on the match or the signings?
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I think Koevermans will be good for the team. He's a classic target man and doesn't need pinpoint ground passes to make goals.
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