Sounder’s Setup
Sigi Schmid decided to
place Freddie Montero on the bench and start Eddie Johnson as a lone striker.
This resulted in a very fluid midfield five behind Johnson. Osvaldo Alonso was
the holding midfielder and Andy Rose played as a box to box shuttling player
working hard in the center of the pitch. Alex Caskey started on the right with
Alvaro Fernandez on the left and Mauro Rosales as the playmaker between the
Rapids lines.
Rapid’s Setup
Oscar Pareja countered with a 4-1-4-1. Without
Pablo Mastroeni, Jeff Larentowicz operated as the lone holding player with
Jaime Castrillon as a midfielder in front of him. Brian Mullan and Jamie Smith
played on the flanks with Martin Rivero tucked in behind Conor Casey up front.
Seattle Starts Fast
The Sounders midfield five combined well
and had a fluid style of play from the outset of the match. Fernandez and
Rosales were getting forward to feed the ball to Johnson who was working the
right side of the pitch and finding space between Moor and Zapata. Rose was
effective in helping Alonso recover the ball and also spring attacks, mostly by
distributing the ball out wide.
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| Rose Interceptions & Distribution |
For the opening half hour, Colorado had a
broken formation consisting of an attacking five and a defensive five.
Larentowicz was the only midfielder helping protect the back four while the
fullbacks struggled to get up the pitch to provide crosses for Casey. Smith and
Mullan struggled out wide taking on defenders and supplying crosses to Casey.
This lack of penetration from the flanks allowed the Sounders to squeeze the
space in the middle to nullify Rivero and Castrillon. Pareja adjusted his
formation by moving Castrillon deeper to play more as a box to box player which
helped, but he was less effective than Rose at recovering the ball.
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| Castrillon Drops Deep to Help but Not as Effective Defending |
Martin Rivero operated as the playmaker
but he could not find a way to influence the game. Alonso cut off his supply line.
When he managed to find the ball most of his passes forward were intercepted
and resorted to playing the ball wide or backwards.
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| Rivero Not Creating Enough Chances |
While dominating the run of play, Seattle
was unable to take the lead in the opening half. Fernandez had a chance saved
from Pickens after Eddie Johnson played a cross field ball from the right
touchline and later Johnson put a volley wide after Birch played an inch
perfect early cross. The crowd was growing a bit restless and Seattle panicked
a little and lost patience in the final third. Instead of trying to pass their
way through the defense, they opted for earlier balls in behind which were
ineffective. Colorado almost took the lead after a misplaced Alonso was taken
by Casey who found Rivero who hit the side netting.
Second Half Goals Open up the Match
Seattle finally broke through in the 51st
minute from a set piece. Rosales sent in a swinging near post corner kick which
was headed in by unmarked Fernandez. The DP has taken heat recently, and was
even challenged by his head coach and responded with a goal. Three minutes
later Johnson sent Fernandez through on goal and the Uruguayan sent his chip
over Pickens but wide of the target. The Sounders were bursting with confidence
after the opening goal and nearly won a penalty after Eddie Johnson skipped
between two defenders and was taken down in the area, but the official ruled
Zapata took the ball fairly. Finally, Seattle added a second after Rosales
planted a perfect cross into the back post which was headed back across goal by
Eddie Johnson from six yards out.
Down two goals and looking defeated,
Pareja brought on Omar Cummings and Edu for Conor Casey and Jamie Smith. The
change ignited the Rapids. Adding to this was the lack of initiative by the
Sounders after earning a two goal lead. Instead of maintaining their style of
play, the home side dropped deeper, deemphasized possession and allowed the
Rapids to find a way back into the game. We often see teams take a lead and
employ this strategy and it often comes back to hurt them. Well, the Sounders almost
threw away the lead after Zapata swung in a perfect cross to the back post and
Cummings lost Ianni and finished past Meredith. Cummings actually added a
second via a lovely back heel, but was ruled offside. Rivero had a 90th
minute chance to equalize but put his effort over the bar after a nice layoff
by Edu.
Conclusions
Obviously, the
introduction of Steve Zakuani back onto the pitch is the story of the week. It
was fitting he returned against the Rapids after being injured in Colorado 15
months ago. He traded shirts with Brian Mullan afterwards marking a nice moment
of closure and hopefully Zakuani can return to his old dynamic form.
It will be interesting to see if Sigi
continues to play with one striker. Eddie Johnson put in a fantastic
performance and linked up well with the midfield. The starting XI looked
comfortable playing with each other and everyone maintained proper spacing and
movement.
The Rapids will have to reconsider their
approach. Oscar Pareja should be looking to add a flying winger to his lineup
to offer a second approach to attacking. Colorado struggled to find to link up
and pass through the Sounders defense.
A final thought is on artificial turf and
soccer. Playing on turf hinders the ability to play through balls over the top
or on the ground past a high defensive line. The ball picks up speed allowing the
keeper to play as a sweeper. I know turf will continue to be present in several
MLS stadiums, but the Sounders could have scored a couple of more if they were
playing on grass.
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| Seattle Through Balls Negated by the Turf |
Thoughts on the match or on the All Star
selections? Or opinions on turf?
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Follow us on twitter @kpngacleansheet or write and discuss MLS or European Soccer on our Facebook Page.
