Seattle v Colorado (2-1) – Sounders Break Winless Streak

 Rapid’s comeback falls short in Steve Zakuani’s return to the pitch after being injured against Colorado 15 months ago.

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.

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.

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.

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 90^th 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.

Seattle Through Balls Negated by the Turf

    

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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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Colorado v Columbus (2-0) – Rapids Rush Past Ineffective Crew

Rapids' Strategy
    With Nyassi on fire, it was easy for Gary Smith to maintain his dynamic strike partnership with Omar Cummings. The home side employed their usual 4-4-2 lineup with Mastroeni and Larentowicz in central midfield and Mullan and Thompson on the flanks. The first half strategy was to switch the ball across the field to Mullan who was in acres of space because the Crew kept a narrow defensive shell.
    Colorado's back five of Pickens, Moor, Marshall, Wynne and Kimura have been preferred lately, and they have started to forge a cohesive unit. The back four kept a high back line to close down space in midfield. This strategy worked better against the Crew than in Seattle because Columbus started two target forwards who did not try to get in behind the offside trap.

Crew's Strategy
    Robert Warzycha had to make a change in his starting lineup in the fifth minute. Eddie Gaven suffered a right leg contusion and was replaced by rookie Bernardo Anor. The early loss of Gaven was critical as he is their most creative player and the most comfortable at keeping the ball.
    Columbus started in a 4-4-2 with Heinemann and Mendoza up top. The two strikers are big and physical but lacked movement which made the Crew attack predictable. Also, Columbus’ wide players like to tuck inside to get the ball. As a result, Rogers and Anor made the Crew attack narrow and were not in positions on the flanks to cross the ball to their strikers who have a formidable aerial presence.
    Defensively, the Crew dropped deep into a 4-4-2 shell. They swarmed the middle of the field to cut off supply to Nyassi and Cummings. Colorado responded by finding Mullan out wide, who had space though the first half.

First Half Stalemate

     Columbus’ ability to funnel everything out wide allowed Mullan to fire in a multitude of crosses in the first half. However, the Columbus defense was able to comfortably clear each and every one of these passes. When the Rapids played through the middle, Larentowicz would look for Cummings who would drop back into midfield. The striker had room to turn but often he or Nyassi would shoot the ball early or from a poor position, instead of working harder for an easier chance to finish.

     The Crew tried a more direct style towards goal. They would win the ball back from Colorado and look to find Rogers or Anor to start the break. The wide players failed at engineering a chance for a forward because the Crew strikers lacked movement and the central midfield did not support the flanks in possession. As a result, Columbus was easy to dispossess and Pickens was not required to do any work in the first half.

Mullan Golazo Opens up Game
    Nine minutes into the second half, the Crew's resistance was broken. Mullan received a ball on the right after Columbus tried to clear a corner kick. He took a touch a launched a speculative effort from thirty yards since the Columbus midfield did not close him down. The right footed rocket screeched into the top left comer giving Colorado the 1-nil lead.
    After going behind a goal, Columbus’ attack momentarily woke up partly due to the substitutions of Meram and Gehrig. The Crews best chance came in the 74th minute when the substitutes Meram and Gehrig combined in midfield. Gehrig found Mendoza through on goal as Colorado's shape had been disfigured. Mendoza's weak left footed shot was saved by Pickens, as the Peruvian knew he should have leveled the match.
    Five minutes later, the Rapids sealed the three points. Gehrig's slack pass for Ekpo was picked off by Nyassi. The striker was in space running towards goal. He slid a perfectly weighted ball to his right to Cummings who finished past a helpless Hesmer.

Conclusions

     With the Union dropping two points on Saturday, the Crew remains in first place in the weak Eastern Conference. This is unexpected and warrants praise of Warzycha and the front office because they have revamped their squad from last year to a younger unit. However, the Crew will have no prayer to advance to the MLS Cup if they cannot find ways to score goals. Warzycha needs to experiment with the side: whether that is a new formation, a shift in tactics or using the young attackers more, something needs to be done to try and improve their attack. Defensively, the Crew has been rock solid all year starting with Hesmer, Marshall and James. This will make the squad tough to beat come playoff time, but ultimately an inability to score will be their downfall.

     Hats off to Gary Smith for tweaking his tactics on the fly after the season ending injury to Connor Casey. The Rapids are now based on speed up top with Nyassi and Cummings. The two work well together as Cummings likes to move off the shoulder or go wide to pick up the ball while Nyassi stays in the middle looking to run with the ball at the defense. This change has resulted in a resurgence for the defending champions and has them looking like a contender to defend their crown. 

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Seattle v Colorado (4-3) – Open and Attacking Match Yields 7 Goals and a Sounders Win

Seattle’s Strategy

     Hurtado went off injured v Portland and Ianni was brought on to replace him at center back. Other than that, the starting XI seems to be the preferred lineup for Sigi Schmid. Alonso and Friberg paired in the center of midfield with Fernandez and Rosales out wide. Roger Levesque got the start as the central striker and Freddie Montero played his typical free role behind Levesque.

Colorado’s Strategy

     The Rapids went their usual 4-4-2 lineup. Coach Gary Smith chose to leave Brian Mullan at home in Colorado to not distract the fans and team with his presence after he controversially injured Steve Zakuani when the two sides last met. Jamie Smith pulled his hamstring in warmups which forced the Rapids to start Nyassi on the right wing. Larentowicz and Mastroeni paired in the middle and Casey and Cummings played up top. While in the game, Casey played more as a second forward, dropping deeper to hold up the ball to try and link up with Omar Cummings who was looking for space in the channels behind the Sounders back four.

The Goals

     Colorado were gifted a lead in the opening minute of the match. Kimura played a cross in that should not have troubled the Sounder’s defense. However, Jeff Parke made a mess of the clearance and the ball dropped to Thompson at the top of the 18. He silenced the crowd with a shot that went into the corner.

     Though, the Sounders were quick to respond. After nearly scoring in the previous minute, the Sounders leveled the match in the 7^th minute. Ozzy Alonso played a ball out wide left to Fernandez. He used his strength to cut inside of Kimura and finished with his right foot to the far post.

     With Casey off injured, the Rapids took the lead back at the end of the first half. Cummings drifted to the right and launched a cross to Thompson. He was sizing up Riley one v one, but Friberg came over to double. Larentowicz saw the double and ran to the edge of the 18 where he was open to receive the pass and smash a low strike off the post and in.

     Three minutes after halftime, Seattle was able to level the match. Alonso sprayed a long ball to Rosales down the right wing. Rosales played in a low near post cross to a charging Levesque who flicked the ball with his right foot beautifully into the far corner.

     Seattle kept up the attacking pressure but was only able to take the lead in the 82nd minute. Rosales and Alonso engineered a move down the right wing. However, the ball was cut off by Colorado but a poor touch by Larentowicz gave possession to Brad Evans a mere eight yards from goal. His cross from the right of goal to the back post was deflected by Pickens, but was still able to make it through to Montero who put it away with a diving header.

     A mere two minutes later, the Sounders added a much needed insurance goal. Montero dropped deep and Rosales made a run behind the defense. He found himself through on goal and slotted it past Pickens for the home teams fourth.

     Caleb Folan added the seven goal in the match in the 90th minute from a corner. Keller saved expertly after a great header by Marshall. Then, the ball dropped nicely to Folan who easily finished at the far post.

Tactical Observations

     Seattle was able to draw defenders to Montero when he dropped deep to collect the ball. This allowed for runs in behind from Rosales and Fernandez and a few times Friberg. FSC commentator Kyle Martino astutely mentioned that Seattle’s quick movement of the ball caused Colorado’s back four confusion. Additionally, the early distribution of Alonso and Friberg out wide gave Kimura and Moor little time to cover.

    For Colorado, the strike duo of Casey and Cummings linked up well until Casey picked up a non-contact leg injury that appeared serious. The Rapids will be blaming the shoddy temporary grass if the injury turns out to be significant. Casey dropped deep to hold up the ball while Cummings was working behind the back four in the channels. When Folan came in, he took up a target forward role and Cummings was left to drift wide. This lineup looked more out of sync.

     In central midfield, Larentowicz and Mastroeni were overrun by Alonso and Friberg. The Sounders denied the pair the ball and forced Colorado to attack out wide. On the bright side, Nyassi was able to find space cutting in from his right wing position. With Alonso and Friberg focusing on Mastroeni and Larentowicz, there was space to exploit in front of Seattle’s back four.

Conclusions

     Colorado’s back four was a disaster. They were not organized and out of position. If it were not for Wynne’s recovery speed, Seattle could have had 6 or 7. The Rapids high defensive line may have worked if they had played on the usual field turf of Century Link Field. With the match on the temporary grass, Seattle was able to play through balls without worrying that the ball would roll all the way to the keeper.

     For Seattle, Sigi seems to have found the perfect strike partnership. Levesque complements Montero well. Whilst Montero is given the free role to drop deep and be creative, Levesque works hard to press and occupies defenders to give the South American trio, Rosales, Fernandez and Montero, space.

     Credit Seattle for consistently playing free flowing attacking football. However, they seem to be prone to a miscue in the back. This error prone style particularly frustrated Keller when he was seen scolding his defense after they conceded a third goal. If the Sounders want to compete in the post season they must sure up the back line.

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Colorado Rapids v LA Galaxy (1-3) Undermanned LA Score Huge Road Win

The 4^th place and defending MLS Cup Champion Colorado Rapids (5-3-7) entered their showdown with the 1^st place LA Galaxy (8-2-7) leading the MLS in goals scored while only conceding 14. That + 8 goal differential was good enough for 3^rd in the league. They ran into a Galaxy squad that was without starting Jamaican national team goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts and USA star Landon Donovan, as they were set to duel Saturday afternoon at RFK Stadium in D.C in the Gold Cup Quarterfinals. David Beckham was also absent, as he did not make the trip to the mile high city due to a back injury.

     This looked like a match that coach Gary Smith and Colorado would look to try and steal three points at home from the short-handed Galaxy, while coach Bruce Arena and the Galaxy would be happy to sit back and defend and walk away with one point considering their circumstances.

Colorado’s Strategy

Coach Gary Smith employed a straight 4-4-2 with two big, physical strikers up top in USA International Connor Casey and Caleb Folan. Nyassi and Thompson played out wide on the right and left respectively and looked to put service into Casey and Folan, who played with their back to goal for much of the game. Larentowicz and Mastroeni played in the center midfield just in front of the back four. They both got up the field significantly in support of their two strikers as well as the two wingers. Youngster Danny Earls got his first career MLS start and played left back and looked to overlap with Thompson on the left wing to supply service. However, he stayed fairly deep as compared to right back Kimura, who advanced significantly up the field and provided plenty of service into the box. His positioning so far up the field came back to haunt him quite a few times, especially in the second half. Center backs Moor and Marshall looked to distribute the ball long to Casey and Folan from the back line.

LA’s Strategy

     Bruce Arena stayed fairly defensive employing a 4-1-2-1-2. De La Garza and Gonzalez paired in the center of defense with Dunivant at left back and Franklin at right back. Dunivant was able to get forward on numerous occasions, and Franklin struggled to make an impact on the game. Juninho was playing a center defensive midfield role sitting just in front of the two center backs and stayed very defensive throughout, and he supplied some service to the LA wings. Magee played on the left flank and Birchall on the right, and both looked to cut in and supply service to Lopez and Angel, who paired up top for LA. Stephens was playing in the center of midfield just behind the two strikers and in front of Juninho. He was not able to provide any threatening distribution to either of the two strikers or wide players.

1^st Half:

     The first half was a well played and fairly even half with Colorado having a solid chunk of the possession yet still unable to create any dangerous attacks resulting in true scoring opportunities. Casey played with his back to goal but struggled to hold up the ball and keep possession for Colorado. Gonzalez was matched up with Casey one on one and got the better of their match up all game, but especially in the first half.

     In the 25’ minute Franklin was able to play a direct ball to Lopez who made a nifty one time through ball down the right wing to Birchall (who appeared to be offside, especially to the Colorado supporters) whose cross was put into the back of the net by Colorado center back Moor’s attempted sliding clearance. Moor clearly should have done better but the aggressiveness of Birchall was rewarded.

     Nyassi was involved plenty in the first half and stayed extremely aggressive throughout, but the fruits of his labor were unrealized as his service to Casey and Folan was poor. His corner at the 41’ minute found the head of Moor but Moor’s effort sailed high over the crossbar, never troubling Saunders, the LA keeper. That was the only scoring chance created by Colorado in the first half.

     Just after this corner Saunders’ goal kick was flicked on by Birchall to Angel, who held up the ball nicely on the right wing and laid off a through ball back to Birchall whose cross was deflected back out to Juninho at the top of the 18 yard box, and he unleashed and absolute missile into the top right corner past Pickens to give LA a 2-0 halftime lead. Colorado was slow to close out on Juninho and he made them pay dearly, nearly scorching a hole in the back of the net. Despite LA having less of the ball, they were more dangerous when they had it and thus the halftime advantage was theirs.

2^nd Half:

     Omar Cummings was on at the start of the second half for Nyassi much to the joy of Rapids fans, as he had missed the previous seven games while nursing an ankle injury. With the arrival of Cummings Colorado was much more patient with possession in the final third, and this led to more scoring opportunities than the first half. In the 63’ minute Cummings, who had moved to the left wing, cut onto his right foot past Franklin and put a shot of the near left post that deflected right to Casey who had an easy finish to cut the Galaxy lead to one. It was clear that the introduction of Cummings gave Colorado a much-needed injection of speed and creativity into their attack, making one wonder if the outcome would have been different had he been able to play from the start.

     Just a few minutes after the Rapids goal Casey played a cross-field pass to Cummings, who was back on the right wing, and he laid off a perfect set up to Larentowicz who ripped a shot into the side netting. The look on his face said it all as it was clear he wished he could’ve had that one back, and so would Colorado as it was their best chance to score for the rest of the game.

     A red card to Folan in the 70’ minute after his take down from behind of Juninho seemed to put the game out of reach for the Rapids, as LA was able to sit back and defend even more comfortably with the man advantage. Rapid fans were not the least bit pleased that Juninho was able to continue playing after he was strecthered off.

     In the 80’ minute LA was able to seal their 3 points after a Cummings turnover found right back Kimura out of position being too far forward and Dunivant was able to advance past him down the left wing and lay a soft ball across the 6 yard box to Barrett (who had subbed on for Lopez in the 60’ minute) who about as easy a finish as one could have, to give LA the 3-1 lead and the 3 points.

Conclusion:

     A steal of 3 points by the Galaxy on the road against the defending champions, with Bruce Arena and Co. showing the rest of the league why they are in first place. LA was extremely disciplined and well-organized and even though Angel seemed a bit off the pace, they were able to attack from the flanks and exploit the aggressiveness of the Colorado wingers to net 3 goals without their two main players.

     Colorado walked off the field Saturday night feeling like they should have done better against the short handed Galaxy. Gonzalez and De la Garza of LA proved to be the victor of their matchup against the partnership of Casey and Folan. After Folan’s sending off Casey was stranded alone up top. Colorado can take solace in the fact that with a healthy Omar Cummings the outcome may have been entirely different.

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