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.  

Thoughts on the match? The Crew in 1st place? Freddy Adu's best position?

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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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LA v Columbus (1-0) – Beckham’s Bevy of Set Pieces Pays Off Late in the Match

Columbus’ Strategy

    Coach Roberto Warchyza employed the exact same 4-5-1 formation on Wednesday night that he used Saturday night in the Crew’s scoreless draw at home against the Earthquake. Gehrig and Ekpo both played centrally in the midfield. Gehrig sat deeper than Ekpo especially when the crew moved up the field in attack. Ekpo led many Crew ventures forward from the middle and got off several long-range shots. In defense they both sat side by side in the hole in front if the back line.
    Gaven and Rodgers were out wide. They switched sides often and both drifted inside to receive the ball. They would often even be on the same side of the field when the Crew was trying to break down LA’s defense. Because of this the Crew lacked width at times and it showed in their inability to provide any meaningful service in the air to Heineman.
Heineman came on for the injured Andres Mendoza in the first few minutes and looked to hold up the ball and give the Crew an aerial threat, since he had a size advantage due to the absence of Omar Gonzalez. Anor played in behind Heineman and received passes in all parts of the pitch. His first touch looked quite a bit better than it did Saturday night. One would like to see him be a bit more eager to play balls wide to Gaven and Rodgers especially, but for a young player he shows quite a bit of promise.

LA’s Strategy

    Bruce Arena employed a basic setup, but as always with Donovan and Beckham it was very free flowing with players moving all over the pitch. At left and right fullbacks, Dunivant and Franklin got forward with regularity. Donovan played inside left, especially with possession but he defended out wide left. Juninho played mostly in the hole in front of the back four but got forward on quite a few occasions. This allowed Beckham to drop very deep to set the LA attack in motion. Beckham mostly played in the right center of midfield but drifted out wide right frequently to provide service into the box.
    Kirovsky started playing out wide right but he was also all over the pitch, often drifting inside and even at times all the way over the left center of the middle of the field. Lopez played just a little deeper than Angel who was on the right.
Tactical Observations
         It was no surprise to see Columbus finish without a goal as their leading scorer and designated player Andres Mendoza went off in the opening minutes with a hamstring injury. Gaven and Rodgers are the Crew’s creative players, but it is clear that they miss their true playmaker from the last few years, Guillermo Barros Schelotto. He was the player who provided passes to spring Rodgers and Gaven in space which allowed them to create goal scoring opportunities. Without any real playmaker, the Crew has struggled mightily to fashion chances. Gaven and Rodgers would often be on the same side of the field with possession. This meant Anor, who was playing just behind Heineman, in a similar position to the one Schelotto played last season. The three attacking midfield players would be in such close proximity that they were unable to provide service into Heineman. This let the LA defense off easy as they were able to cover the Crew attack, even when they had a numerical advantage. The Crew needs more off ball movement in order to create more chances. Heineman did not make as many off ball runs as Mendoza would have. Also, it seems that Ekpo is too deep. Especially with Columbus struggling to score his dribbling skills and long range shoting could be very helpful, and one wonders if having him play wide and moving Gaven inside would make the Crew more dangerous.
    LA had the majority of the possession and Beckham took an extravagant amount of corner kicks. They were clearly the more dangerous side. However, their lone goal came in the 70^th minute from of a deflected Beckham free kick that Sean Franklin blasted in after a second deflection. The lead was warranted and it seemed like they would eventually find a way to put at least one goal in the entire night. LA did not put much pressure on the ball, which was surprising as it seemed as though it would have helped them shorten the field. Thus, when they finally recovered the ball they often started their attack deep in their own half of the pitch.

     Angel has had a splendid career but for LA to win MLS Cup they are either going to have to get more out of him or they are going to have to find an alternative solution at striker. This was never more evident than in the 30^th minute when Donovan put an ankle breaking move on Gehrig and laid off a perfect ball to Angel on the right side of the 18 yard box, and instead of blasting past Hesmer, Angel chipped it wide left. Chad Marshal had recovered and would have easily cleared the chip off the line. This display from Angel showed that he is not confident in front of goal, and the Angel from a few years ago would most likely have buried that chance.
Conclusion:
    It was a deserved 3 points for LA as they were the definitively more dangerous team. With that being said, and in the overall big picture of the race for the MLS Cup, LA was not that impressive and with their current striking duo of Angel and Lopez, they do not appear to have enough firepower to bring home the championship. Beckham provides great service but he needs someone to latch onto his crosses. In this regard, the Galaxy have yet to replace Edson Buddle. With Donovan looking a bit tired, LA is going to need him in form for the stretch run.
    Considering the sum of their parts, Columbus has done well to be near the top of the east. They have a staunch defense but are sorely lacking in creativity, and with Mendoza, their leading scorer likely out for quite some time, goals for the Crew are going to be few and far between. They are still likely to advance to the playoffs because of that reliable defense but anything more than a first round exit would be very surprising.

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