Fire Finally Earn 3 points Over Visiting Rapids

Chicago Fire Setup:

        Frank Klopas’ side continued to show how much they have upgraded in this dominating victory over the Defending MLS Champion Colorado Rapids. The speed in the partnership of Oduro and Nyarko up top was too much for the Colorado back line to handle. Without Marvel Wynne’s speed to cover for the rest of the 3 defenders, Colorado would have conceded quite a few more goals. Nyarko would often drift deep and especially wide to the left to receive the ball and immediately look for Oduro to make a run in behind the defense. Oduro would use his speed to beat the Colorado center back Marshall mostly to get in for a goal scoring chance, or look to pass back to Nyarko for a chance at goal.

     Pause lacked width and did not get forward enough, as it could be seen he is more comfortable in a holding role, but that position has been taken up by Pavel Pardo, who had a quite night before being replace at halftime. Pappa played wide right and Grazzini played in the center behind the two strikers, and both looked comfortable with possession and helped the fire to control the ball and linked up well together and with their two strikers.

Colorado Setup

     The Rapids set up in their usual 4-4-2 with recent USA call-up Larentowicz partnering with Mastroeni as the two holding midfielders. Thompson played wide left and played much too far into the center of the field and hurt Colorado’s width in their attack. Mullan played out to the right, and Folan and Nyassi were up top together. Cummings started out on the bench and played briefly in the second half, and his presence was missed. Nyassi was the lone bright spot in the Rapids attack as he was very active in moving around the pitch looking for the ball and when he did have it, he looked to take on defenders and create. Unfortunately for him his teammates looked tired and fatigued from their Champions League match and lacked movement and energy in the final third which was the main cause for Chicago keeping a clean sheet.

Tactical Observations:

• In the 17’ minute, Pavel Pardo played an excellent long ball down the right wing to a streaking Oduro who easily outran the Colorado defender Marshall and slotted one past Perkins to give Chicago 1-0 lead. It was a sign of a long night for Marshall, as he had trouble dealing with Oduro’s speed all night. It was also an excellent ball by Pardo all the way from his holding midfield position.
• Colorado, minus Nyassi, looked content to only look to score from set pieces. They drew many fouls about 30-40 yards in front of their goal that they used like corner kicks from straight on, and they would try and create as many chances for corners as they could.
• Nyarko was often found wide to the left, where he could isolate the Colorado Left Back Kimura 1-on-1. Nyarko owned this matchup and by the end of the match Kimura looked like he had had enough.
• In the 35’minute Grazzini and Pardo worked a nice give and go on the left wing after a long throw was cleared out, and Pardo was able to play in a perfect cross that Gibbs headed in to give the Fire a 2-0 lead they would never see seriously threatened.
• It is obvious that Colorado needs more playmakers, with Casey out for the season and Cummings playing just the last 30 minutes or so, they had no one minus Nyassi who could create a chance for themself or a teammate. Their two wings, Thompson and Mullan, are fine players but neither is dynamic in any facet of the game and did not contribute at all to any major Colorado attacks.

Conclusion:

     For a fan who may not be a close follower of MLS, after watching Saturday nights game, if they had been asked which team was the defending MLS champs, they would have said the Fire for sure. They were much more lively, determined, and dangerous than the Rapids. The Rapids may have been tired from their Champions League game midweek, but with the absence of Casey for the season, it seems unlikely that they have enough firepower to repeat as champions.

 

 

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Chivas USA v Real Salt Lake (0-1) - RSL Execute to Perfection with Ten Men and Secure Road Win

The Setup after the Red Card to Borchers

Salt Lake welcomed Jamison Olave back into their defense after returning from an injury in the all-star match. Chivas USA was coming off a tough midweek loss in Portland and needed to take the home three points to push towards a playoff spot.

Two Early Defensive Errors

     In the 11th minute, Jazic played a chipped, blind back pass that was intended for Junior Lopes. The ball ended up being directly between the two Chivas center backs and it seemed Lopes was not at full speed trying to recover the ball. Conversely, Saborio’s goal scoring instincts took over and the Costa Rican put Lopes under pressure causing him to misplay a last ditch clearance attempt. Then, Saborio collected the ball and rounded an on rushing Dan Kennedy and passed the ball into the back of the net.

     Chivas USA quickly responded to being a goal down. Two minutes later, Flores tucked inside and forced Rimando to save. Then, in the 18^th minute, Angel controlled a cross off his chest and ripped a left footed side volley off the cross bar. A minute later, Flores took a shot instead of playing Angel through to his left, and the veteran striker was furious at not being given the glorious chance.

     Six minutes later, it was Real who committed the defensive error. Borchers failed to control a Beckerman back pass and LaBrocca quickly seized on the mistake and headed towards goal. Just outside the area, Borchers brought down LaBrocca and was shown a red card by Kevin Stott. There was little merit to the visitor’s argument that Borchers was not the last man and the red card was justified.

Chivas Strategy as a Man Up

     A man up, Robin Fraser kept the diamond 4-4-2 shape. The strategy was to push the full backs up and use the overlap to swing in crosses. Jazic was more involved on the right than Umana, which is why Fraser brought in Trujillo at half time to try and create a threat on both wings. Instead of tucking inside like they did early in the match, Gavin and Flores stayed wide to link up with the full backs. However, the midfielders never tried to take on Salt Lake’s full backs to get inside the box, or play the ball early into the middle. The crosses were dealt with well by the towering center backs Olave and Schuler and the goalkeeper Rimando. As a result, Chivas swung in 26 unsuccessful crosses and only 6 successful (according to opta stats).  

     Chivas also failed to get Nick LaBrocca involved in the match. He has been operating and flourishing this season in the playmaker role. His play earned him a spot on the all-star squad, but on Saturday night he was a non-factor. The midfielder logged a full 90 minutes but only attempted 16 passes. Considering the Goats had 65% possession, this paltry number of passes explains why they had no creativity. LaBrocca has the inventiveness and the skill to unlock defenses, but Chivas never even tried to probe the ball into the middle which made defending easy for Salt Lake.

     Another failure in the Goats attack was the slow ball movement and the nonexistent player movement. It seemed like they were out of ideas and did not understand how to play with an extra man.

     Chivas had a couple of half chances in the remainder of the game but only heavily tested Rimando once. In the 78^th minute, the ball was played across the top of the 18 and LaBrocca’s dummy left Angel with room to shoot. His shot dipped in front of the keeper but Rimando reacted well to push the effort wide.

Real Playing With Ten

     Jason Kreis’ side played as well as they could have with 10 men. They dictated how the game would be played, which made it easy for them to defend. The strategy was to clog up the middle and force Chivas to play out wide. Schuler and Olave are huge, physical center backs and were easily able to deal with the aerial balls.

     Real clogged the middle with a couple of slight adjustments. Kreis maintained his diamond midfield shape, with Espindola playing behind Beckerman and Johnson and Gil playing on the wings. Espindola did a good job of getting in front of Chivas’ holding player Elliott and forcing him to play the ball wide instead of to LaBrocca. Additionally, the value of Beckerman to RSL was on display Saturday night as he patrolled and controlled the middle of the pitch, totally eliminating the impact of LaBrocca. Furthermore, when the ball went wide, the opposite wide midfielder (Gil or Johnson) would tuck inside to help Beckerman. This left the switch open for Chivas, but Real was able to recover because Chivas passed the ball around too slow. As a result, Real kept a perfect defensive shape and was never stretched.

     Going forward on the rare occasion, Real was able to create as many chances as Chivas. The counter attack would begin with a long ball to Saborio, who either took up a position in the left or right channel. One v one with a center back, he was usually able to win the aerial battle. RSL expertly used the wide space that was vacated by the advanced Chivas full backs. The lone striker would then look to Espindola for support. The Argentine would run to the same area as Saborio. Upon giving up the ball, Saborio would run centrally towards goal looking to latch onto a cross from Espindola. The work rate of essentially the only two RSL attacking players was fantastic and they came up with a few chances. They failed to add a second goal but Chivas had to respect their threat.

Conclusions

     To borrow a term from commentator Mark Rogondino, Chivas USA’s ‘anti-speed’ attack and their overall old age has me worried for their playoff chances. The combination of Moreno and Angel brings experience and awareness, but the strikers now have too similar qualities to form a lethal partnership. Neither man has the ability to run behind the defense or dribble by defenders. Thus, defenses can mark them closely.

     Also of note, Heath Pearce was subbed off with a right hamstring injury. This is a blow to Pearce because he will most likely miss the upcoming friendlies for the US national squad. If serious, this could further weaken a defense that has already lost Jimmy Conrad to retirement due to concussion problems and Zarek Valentin to a quad injury.

     Real will be ecstatic with these three points. They still have a few games in hand on the West teams in front of them and have further separated themselves from fellow playoff aspirer Chivas. Jason Kreis should possibly consider using Schuler more often in place of Borchers. Borchers has not been as formidable as he was last season and his confidence seems to be low. Alternatively, maybe letting him play through his struggles will be more beneficial in the long run.

     Finally, the play of Luis Gil looks better and better each week. In 25 minutes in the playmaker role, the youngster looked more comfortable and even tried a few bits of bold skill in tight spaces. Also, he displayed tactical awareness moving out to the wing to help secure the three points. It is great to see a young American player getting his chance and thriving in a position (#10) where foreigners have tended to dominate (I have no problems with foreigners but like to see Americans getting a chance to play a position where we have not produced many quality players in). 

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LA Galaxy v San Jose (2-0) – Galaxy Get Goal from Keane and a Win over Dormant Quakes

LA’s Strategy

     Bruce Arena gave a start to Robbie Keane even though he had only arrived at the club 48 hours prio. Keane took the place of Juan Pablo Angel up top and paired with Adam Cristman. The 4-4-2 formation placed Juninho and Beckham in the center of midfield and Donovan and Franklin out wide. In defense, Frankie Hejduk got the start at right back, his second start of the season. The veteran defender conceded a couple of fouls that made it look like he was slightly off the pace of the game, but overall he handled himself well and had a solid evening.

San Jose’s Strategy

     Frank Yallop set his side in a 4-4-2 as well. The strikers were Wondolowski and Stephenson, who played slightly deeper of the two. Gjertsen played wide right and was most dangerous cutting inside of Dunivant rather than swing in crosses from out wide. Bringing energy and endeavor from the left side was Bobby Convey, but he was ineffective at providing service for the two forwards. Baca and Corrales played in central midfield. Corrales was the more creative player, looking for through balls and trying to find his forwards going towards goal, to which he had moderate success.

Galaxy Take Lead After Roaring out of the Gates

     The home side looked eager to show off their new attacking addition at the outset of the match. The movement between Keane and Cristman was great early on. One striker would come to the ball while the other was trying to get in behind. They also had a few scissor movements which especially confused San Jose’s back line. In the opening minute, Juninho put Cristman through on goal and the striker’s stop and go movement allowed him to get a shot away that went just wide.

     Early on, the Galaxy passing was sharp and very quick giving San Jose little time to react. The away side looked outclassed and overwhelmed at the start. The fast start paid off in the 21^st minute as the Galaxy took the lead through Keane. Beckham took a quick free kick from the center circle that was misplayed by Hernandez. This error gave Keane an open path to goal and the Irish international rounded Jon Busch and finished with ease.

     The partnership of Beckham and Juninho worked better than v Portland. Playing against two in midfield and against a side that did not counter attack made the defensive duties for the central players easy to manage. Unlike San Jose, Portland used a quick counter and also dropped a striker deep to pick up the ball. It was disappointing to see Yallop not try to exploit this as a possible weakness.

Galaxy Lay off the Gas & San Jose Comes to Life

     At around the half hour mark, LA seemed content to sit back and let San Jose control the ball and the run of play. The Galaxy dropped off to the midfield line and would only pressure once San Jose crossed into their half. The home side appeared to be content to hold a one goal lead going into the locker room. The Quakes were able to control the match, but did not have the quality or the creativity to break down the Galaxy defense. San Jose lacked ideas and Wondolowski and Stephenson were hardly involved in the attack. Instead, San Jose found most of their success out wide through Convey or Gjertsen cutting inside from the right.

     However, the Quakes were able to fashion a couple of half chances. Gjertsen cut inside and had a shot saved by Saunders in the 24^th minute. Seven minutes later, Baca had a go from distance that was saved. To start

San Jose go Down to Ten & LA add a Second

     The strong fight back by San Jose to try and equalize seemed to be fading a little passed the hour mark. Just before being subbed off, Keane nearly replicated his first goal in the 64^th minute but put the shot over. Yallop went to the bench to try and provide a spark in the 71^st minute. He took off Wondolowski (who did not look happy) and Stephenson and brought on Dawkins and newly acquired Ecuadorian Edmundo Zura. Bruce Arena then brought on Mike Magee for Robbie Keane, who most likely is working towards full fitness.

     Ten minutes later, San Jose was reduced to ten men after Steven Beitashour was sent off. The Quakes defender jumped over a sliding Landon Donovan but he left a foot down and his studs connected with Donovan’s knee. The incident looked like it could have been avoided as the replays showed Beitashour looking down at Donovan before extending his boot towards him.

     After the sending off, the match looked like a formality. The Galaxy had chances from crosses but Lopez and Magee were unable to finish. Then, in the 90^th minute, LA finished off the match. Donovan played it wide to Franklin whose ground cross found Mike Magee rushing to the near post, and he put the ball by Busch before the keeper could come out and collect the cross.

Conclusions

     LA definitely deserved the three points and were the better side. With the addition of Keane, LA finally have a consistent goal scorer. One downside to the win was the play of Sean Franklin. He did not look comfortable playing in the midfield and was missing in action for much of the match. He should return to right back and Magee or Stephens should play in midfield.

     Also, the Galaxy cannot think that they are the best team and not go out and show it on the field. For large stretches, they looked content and almost uninterested. Bruce Arena has the job to push the Galaxy to play hard every match if they are to pick up the Supporters Shield, MLS Cup and advance into the Champions League.

     San Jose looks lost and appears to have no shot at making the playoffs. The Quakes have no ability to create chances and thus score goals. Yallop should try and experiment with a new formation to try and breathe life into the attack. A change from the 4-4-2 may not be the answer, but the status quo could certainly cost the experienced manager his job. 

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Crew Hold Off 2nd Place Philadelphia at Home 2-1

Philadelphia Setup:

     The Union set up in their accustomed 4-4-2 with a diamond midfield. Miglioranzi played in the holding midfield spot with Carroll out injured. Daniel played wide left and Mapp played wide right. Paunovic played in the center behind the two strikers. Le Toux and Mwanga were the two strikers. Le Toux enjoyed his usual freedom to roam and played a little behind Mwanga in order to do so. Because of this freedom he could be found on either wing, and when he did this Paunovic moved further up the field to partner with Mwanga and the wings would move more into the middle so that they could keep their attacking shape. Williams played at right back and Farfan played left back. Califf and Valdes partnered as the two center backs.

Columbus Setup:

     The Crew set up in a different formation as they partnered Mendoza and Renteria up top, which they had stated pre-season that this was their intention but they had been unable to do so as both have battled injuries all season. Mendoza played behind Renteria some and did a pretty good job distributing the ball wide, especially to Rodgers, whose cross to Renteria set up the Crew’s first goal. Rodgers played out wide to the left and the rookie Meram played out wide to he right. Burns and Ekpo partnered in the central midfield in front of the back four, and Ekpo was given more freedom than Burns to push up the field. James and Marshall were solid at center back, and may be the best tandem in the entire league. Miranda played right back and Gardener played left back. Both got up the field frequently to provide service.

Thoughts On The Match:

      It was surprising that Adu did not start for the Union, especially after starting last week just days after his transfer was completed. With that being said, Philadelphia should be happy with their performance Saturday night, as they appeared to be the more dangerous team and were unlucky not to win the game. They created many more scoring chances than Columbus, and if not for some excellent saves by Hesmer they may have had a few more goals. They created many dangerous crosses down the wings from Mapp and Daniel, and Daniel is much more effective in his new position than he was at left back, were he played some earlier this season. Paunovic was very involved in the match and played one of his best games of the season, and was the best Union player on the field. He troubled the Crews’ Burns especially all night. He distributed many dangerous passes to his teammates, scored a goal, and had a few more shots, one of which he should’ve scored towards the end of the match that would have given the Union the tie. When Nowak finds a way to get Adu into the side, Philadelphia will be very dangerous come playoff time.

      Columbus, even though they were outplayed, showed why they are in first place, Defense. The Columbus back four and goalkeeper are among the best in the league. James and Marshall partner very effectively with one another and continue to pile up good performances game after game. It was obvious that the Crew miss Gaven’s presence in the lineup as they lacked the dangerous passes and runs that he provides. Rodgers continues to impress and was very dangerous for the Crew all evening, creating both of their goals. It was interesting to see Mendoza and Renteria partnered up top, with Mendoza sitting a little deeper. Even though Mendoza made some nice passes, he looked out of position and the Crew would have been better off had they let him play all the way up top with Renteria and moved Ekpo up to play behind the two strikers, forming a diamond midfield. It would have given them a more attacking edge that they lacked Saturday night.

Conclusion:

     The Union should feel good about their performance, as they are still in second place and are not at full strength as they are still trying to integrate Adu into their team. It looks as though Nowak will look to play Adu wide, as that is where he finished lat weeks match and that is where he played vs. Columbus on Saturday after being substituted in. I would look for him to replace Daniel and witch sides with Mapp so he can play wide right, in a similar position to the where he played for the USA in the Gold Cup final against Mexico in Bob Bradley’s 4-4-2. Union fans should be feeling good with the team that they have, as they will be the favorite to come out of the East.

      The Crew have to feel good to get the three points and increase their lead to 6 points over the Union. They tried a new look up top with Mendoza and Renteria, and they may tinker with it as they get more games together under their belt. As Gaven returns they will be even more dangerous, and with their stalwart back line, they could make a run in the playoffs if they can find goals as they did Saturday.  

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Chicago v DC United (1-1) – Fire Surrender Lead & Draw, Again

Chicago’s Strategy

     Frank Klopas’ side has been significantly upgraded in midfield upon signing the defensive minded Pavel Pardo and the attacking playmaker Sebastian Grazzini. These two players are very comfortable on the ball, possess a wide passing range and have the technical ability to play with a man on their back.

     Moreover, the dynamic partnership of Patrick Nyarko and Dominic Oduro up top troubled DC’s defense all night. In possession, the two strikers looked to find space in the channels which stretched DC’s center backs out wide. More dangerously, Chicago’s counter attack started with Nyarko as the outlet man who would find Oduro in behind United’s back four.

     One problem with the Fire’s formation was the narrow attack. Logan Pause and Marco Pappa played out wide, but too often cut inside when Chicago had the ball. Additionally, Chicago’s fullbacks did not get forward leaving the Fire attack with no options out wide to try and spread the field or get in a cross. As a result, Chicago had plenty of possession in the final third but struggled to fashion chances since their narrow attack was easy for DC to deal with.

DC’s Strategy

     Ben Olsen has slightly adjusted his tactics since DeRosario has arrived at the club. After first, DC set up in a 4-4-2 diamond with DeRo playing behind Wolff and Davies. On Thursday night, Olsen played DeRo at striker to pair with Charlie Davies. Stephen King was brought in to play midfield. King did not play as a playmaker but more of a box to box player slightly in front of the holding midfielder Clyde Simms. Andy Najar and Chris Pontius played on the flanks of midfield.

Fire Dominate First Hour, Pays off with lead

     From the opening whistle, Chicago dominated the run of play. However, the home side, especially Dominic Oduro, did not take advantage of their chances. Oduro had his first chance nine minutes in when he was one v one with McDonald after a quick Chicago counter. He cut inside of the DC defender but his shot was straight at Hamid. Five minutes later off a DC giveaway, Grazzini played Oduro through on goal from the left side. His shot beat Hamid but clattered off the far post.

     At the half hour mark, Bill Hamid was forced into a terrific save after a superb free kick from Marco Pappa. Except for his powerful shots, the Guatemalan was quiet on the night and failed to find space out wide to swing in crosses. Pappa is a free kick specialist, but Chicago has struggled when it comes to set pieces. The Fire have yet to score from a corner kick, which is  unlike most MLS teams who rely on set pieces for goal scoring opportunities.

     DC was lucky to be even at the intermission. They registered zero first half shots and their best chance came in the 42^nd minute. However, DeRo’s shot was expertly saved by Sean Johnson and he was already ruled offside. Kitchen and Davies did well on that particular buildup for United’s lone first half chance. Other than that, DC looked shocking going forward. The away side lacked movement and seemed to be playing as individuals rather than as a unit. Each player was looking for his own opportunity to take someone on one v one. The lack of movement resulted in an inability for DC to string a pass together in Chicago’s final third.

     Also, King was not the answer as a creative midfielder. He only had a handful of successful passes that were going forward; instead he often played the ball back to a defender. This particularly frustrated Charlie Davies, who at several times could be seen throwing his arms up in the air at the lack of service he received. Further complicating the match for DC, Bill Hamid pulled his right hamstring taking a free kick at the end of the first half resulting in Cronin playing the second half in goal.

     The Fire finally broke through in the 59^th minute. Nyarko beat Jakovic down the left side and sent in a cross. The effort was poorly headed away by Woolard and dropped perfectly to Grazzini who smashed the volley off of Cronin and into the net.

     Davies was replaced by Wolff at the hour mark and was frustrated all night due to the lack of service he received.

DC Equalize

     Chicago has been known for surrendering leads and the home side did just that in the 73^rd minute. DC swung a ball in that was deflected to Wolff inside the box. He played the ball to Quaranta whose first touch since coming on for King was sent straight back to Wolff. The veteran striker and former Fire player had space to shoot and he smacked the ball off the underside of the crossbar and into the back of the net. It is worth noting that Wolff appeared to be offside, but regardless, Cuesta temporarily switched off and was caught out of position instead of marking Wolff.

     The final fifteen minutes played out with each team searching for the winner. However, neither side was able to create a good scoring chance or even test the keeper. Thus, the match finished at a goal apiece.

Conclusions

     Chicago has now set an MLS record with their 15^th draw of the season. Worse than that, the Fire has only collected 11 out of a possible 33 points at home carrying a 1-2-8 record. Chicago now sits at the bottom of the Eastern Conference and look like a long shot for the playoffs. However, with the additions of Pardo and Grazzini, the Fire could become an attacking force if Oduro can improve his finishing. Nyarko and Oduro have formed a cohesive partnership but creating chances must soon turn into scoring goals.

     For DC’s attack to be successful, they must adjust their starting XI. One option would be shifting DeRo back into midfield, but his scoring ability would be lost. Another option would be to start Quaranta instead of King and play with one of Najar, Pontius or Quaranta in the central midfield role. A third option would be to push Kitchen up into midfield (where he played a lot for Akron) to pair with Simms in midfield to try and distribute the ball from deep. One of these solutions needs to at least be tested because the status quo (last night’s starting XI) will not bring MLS Cup back to the nation’s capital.

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