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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DC United at FC Dallas: (0-0) - Dallas Heat Shows No Home Field Advantage

The extreme heat and humidity in Saturday night’s contest was extremely evident on the faces of the players of both teams. FC Dallas was coming off a disappointing effort on the road at Real Salt Lake that we profiled earlier this week. DC United was going into their third game with their new acquisition, MLS All-Star Dwayne DeRosario. They were coming off an impressive road win at New York that we also profiled earlier this week.

DC United Setup:

     Coach Ben Olsen employed the same strategy that he has employed since acquiring DeRosario. The only difference Saturday night from the first two games was that DeRosario played the playmaker role behind Davies and Ngwenya instead of Wolff. DeRosario seemed to be extremely exhausted by the heat and had a surprisingly miniscule impact on the match. He did not see very much of the ball at all. 

    Simms was once again heavily involved in collecting the ball from the defense and trying to distribute forward, but with Dallas applying some high pressure he was not very effective in doing so. Kitchen at right back did not get forward as much as he had in the previous two games and it showed in DC’s lack of attack and service into the Dallas box.

FC Dallas Setup:

     FC Dallas set up in a 4-5-1 again but looked to attack much more than they did on the road at the Rio Tinto. Brek Shea was prominently featured mostly on the left wing, but he did switch sides with Jackson several times. He was extremely aggressive in attack, often cutting inside and looking to lay the ball off for a quick one two after a run behind the defense. Other than Shea the FC Dallas was disappointing to say the least, with the absence of their injured playmaker David Ferreira never being more evident, as they lacked that final dangerous ball to create a quality scoring opportunity.

     Chavez played up top with Villar in behind him and neither created many chances. Chavez is blessed with top end speed, but unfortunately for Dallas he seems unsure of how to use it properly for the teams benefit. He demonstrated this by being offside on the majority of his off ball runs, resulting in him not being able to use his speed to test the DC back line.

Extreme Heat a Debilitating Factor on the Match:

     Both sides seemed to be lacking energy at times and one could only deduce it was due to the heat. Dallas dominated the match but failed to create enough quality scoring opportunities. They played far too many long balls, especially from their back four. When they did have the ball in the final third they were too impatient with it, never really troubling the United defense, settling for long shots outside the box far too often.

     In the second half there were two opportunities for Dallas with numbers, and both times they were too selfish and squandered their chance. The first chance saw Chavez being a bit too greedy while the other with Shea doing much of the same, even though the aggressiveness from Shea was much more warranted than the same from Chavez.

     DC failed to make any sort of real imprint on the match and were far too willing to sit back with little to no pressure on the ball. They did not get the ball to their playmaker DeRosario often enough and it showed as they failed to create any dangerous scoring opportunities. Also their two center backs in particular were devastatingly wasteful with possession, often turning the ball over right back to Dallas without their midfield ever getting the opportunity to have the ball. Because of this Najar, DeRosario, Davies and Ngwenya were never able to have enough possession to make a meaningful impact.     

Conclusion:

     FC Dallas were clearly the better side but seemed to get in their own way more than DC did. They were too impatient in the final third, and this was due to them being too selfish. They also are in need of a better striker, as Chavez has the speed to get in behind the defense but due to his lack of patience is offside far too often and lacks the finishing touch that Dallas needs to push for the Western Conference crown.

     DC had to feel great to earn a point on the road. They clearly did not play their best match, and they will need much more from Najar, DeRosario and Davies going forward if they are to continue to make their push towards the playoffs.

  

New York v DC (0-1) – DeRo Sticks it to His Old Team

New York’s Strategy

     Hans Backe utilized a strange formation which emphasized possession of the ball in the center of the pitch. Medhi Ballouchy was employed as a left sided midfielder but too often tucked inside to pick up the ball. Joel Lindpere played mostly in the center in front of Dax McCarty and behind Thierry Henry. Too often Lindpere and Ballouchy would be too close to each other, making it easy for DC to mark them with one player. McCarty operated as the holding midfielder but in possession he often times dropped in the middle of the two center backs. Henry was the playmaker behind Luke Rodgers, who may lack size and pace but he knows how to use his body to shield players and always finds good space to collect the ball and trouble the defense. Dane Richards played as a right winger. When involved he made diagonal runs in the right channel to try and get behind the defense.

DC’s Strategy

     Ben Olsen employed the same diamond 4-4-2 formation he used last week v Philly. Clyde Simms was the holding midfielder and Dwayne DeRosario played behind Charlie Davies and Josh Wolff. Contrary to last week, Wolff played a little behind Davies, who was playing off the shoulder of the Red Bulls center back. Andy Najar was on the right wing and cut inside and shot the ball four times. These attempts on goal showed his youth as they were rash and hurried. Chris Pontius played on the left and was the less involved of the two wingers.

First Hour Even with Both Sides Creating Chances

     From the opening whistle, each side created half chances which made the match exciting and entertaining. Tim Ream displayed his distribution skill in the 14^th minute when he sent a ball long to Thierry Henry which found him behind Ethan White and through on goal. Bill Hamid was quick off his line and Henry tried to chip him, but his effort went over. DC had a similar chance when Simms found Pontius on a long ball on the right side of the goal, but his first touch let him down and he was unable to test Greg Sutton.

     The best chance of the half came two minutes before the break. Charlie Davies beat Tim Ream for pace and picked up a through ball. He went to his left and rounded the keeper Sutton. Davies angle was not great and he passed the ball towards goal but Ream never gave up and was able to clear the ball off the line. Similar runs behind by Davies opened up a lot of room for DeRosario and Wolff to collect the ball and find space in front of the Red Bulls center backs.

DC Takes the Lead and Holds onto It

     The lone goal came from nowhere in the 61^st minute. New York cleared the ball to the halfway line after a DC corner kick. Kitchen collected the ball and found Najar on the right touchline. Najar slided the ball inside to DeRosario, who let it roll by him and sprinted towards goal. The dummy caught McCarty and Miller off guard and DeRosario found space on the right side of the box. Wolff gave the ball to DeRosario and he buried it low with his left foot off the left post and in.

     After the goal, DC knew exactly how to kill off the game. Olsen brought on Joseph Ngwenya and he did well to hold possession and find space to possess the ball. New York was unable to rally and create another chance to level the match.

Conclusions

     New York created some decent chances, mostly from Henry’s creativity. However, they were not effective enough in attack for a few reasons. First, Dane Richards was not involved enough in the match. He did not trouble the susceptible Daniel Woolard by running at him with the ball or trying to get in behind the left back. Richards received little service all night.

     Second, New York lacked width in their attack. Solli and Miller did not get forward and overlap as often as they normally do. Also, Lindpere and Ballouchy were often tucked inside and close to each other which made their roles easy to defend. In total, Lindpere, Ballouchy, Richards, Solli and Miller only combined to make eleven crosses from open play, with only two being successful. Hans Backe will have to make adjustments to his formation this week if they are to advance in the US Open Cup on Tuesday at Chicago and then travel to Chivas on Saturday.

     DC, on the other hand, will be thrilled with the road victory over their Conference leaders. Ben Olsen has successfully brought in DeRosario to the starting XI. Davies gave Tim Ream and Carles Mendes something to worry about as he lurked on their shoulders looking to latch on to through balls. Najar’s traits of releasing shots from anywhere and his speed to create space trouble MLS defenders. Olsen will also be happy that DC was able to kill off the game by holding onto the ball. Joseph Ngwenya was brought on and did a great job linking up with DeRosario and finding space to hold the ball.

     Centered around DeRo, DC’s new possession based style has helped their ‘no-name’ defense cope with attacking threats. Kitchen and Woolard sniffed out the threats out wide whilst White and McDonald did well to step in front of shots and clear the ball away from danger. It must be noted that Bill Hamid and Clyde Simms also deserve credit for the clean sheet and create almost a defensive back six. Simms did well to pick up the ball and find DeRosario to launch an attack. Hamid only made four saves, but is so quick off his line to collect through balls behind the back four. With their recent acquisition, look for DC to climb up the table and into a playoff position in the near future. 

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DeRosario and DC United Tie Philadelphia 2-2

Philadelphia Union at DC United

Saturday night’s contest was an exciting one, at least on paper leading up to the match, as it put the Eastern Conference leading Philadelphia Union on the road at DC United, who were excited to show off their new acquisition, MLS All-Star Dwayne DeRosario.

DC United Setup:

     Coach Ben Olsen had to be excited when DC made the trade to acquire Dwayne DeRosario from the Red Bulls in exchange for Dax McCarty. He featured him prominently in his first game for DC as they set up in a 4-4-2 with DeRosario playing the playmaker role behind the duo of Davies and Wolff. DeRosario was the link between the defense and the attack. Simms, who set up in the holding midfield position just in front of the back line would gather the ball from the defense and look for DeRosario, either long or short. Once DeRosario received the ball form Simms he looked to distribute anywhere and everywhere. He completed 43 of his 57 attempted passes (according to mlssoccer.com) with many of them long arcing balls down the flanks to either of the two strikers, or Pontius. Najar played wide right but was usually not as far forward as Pontius was on the left.

     It was obvious DC was working on integrating a new key player into their side, and were still working out the kinks. Their build up and passing was not very fluid and at times they seemed almost too concerned with making sure DeRosario received the ball. This led to their two strikers going long stretches of the game without being involved very much, as evidenced by their two combined shots.

Philadelphia Union Setup:

     The Union started out in a 4-4-2 just as they did last week. Much to the delight of the members of Keeping a Clean Sheet, Danny Mwanga was rewarded for his excellent second half performance last Saturday against Chivas USA. Carroll sat in the holding midfield position just in front of the back four and put in an excellent performance, much improved from last weeks’ game. He broke up many of DC’s attempted attacks and was useful in distribution as well, especially to Paunovic, who sat much more forward this game behind Ruiz and Mwanga. Paunovic had some nice passes but was not into the game a ton as DC had much more possession then Philadelphia did.

     Le Toux and Mapp played much more narrow than last week. Le Toux would often get in just behind the strikers, and even sometimes be up top in a forward position. When he did this the striker on his side would get wide almost all the way to the sideline to balance the attacking third. This was a different approach for the Union but because they lacked the ball so much throughout the game their attacking players did not have the necessary opportunities to create more goal scoring chances.

     Le Toux has still not shown the attacking prowess that he did last season. He had a few chances to put a goal to his name, most noteably in the 36’ minute when Carroll and Paunovic linked up. Then Paunovic found Ruiz who, with his back to goal, put a through ball to Le Toux down the right wing. Le Toux then missed the goal going for the far post. It was a noticeable opportunity in the sense that one would expect a Sebastian Le Toux in 2010 form to bury that chance.

1^st Half:

     DC dominated possession but didn’t have as much to show for it as they should have, as they lacked the cohesion to put together that final dangerous pass to lead to a goal scoring opportunity for most of the half, with the exception being in the final minutes. Najar played a through ball to DeRosario (one of his many outstanding off ball runs on the night that one has come to expect from him) who then beat Carroll like a drum with some nifty dribbling and was able to blast a cross across the face of goal that Wolff was able to deflect in for a 1-0 DC lead 

     It was clear that Philadelphia were content to sit on the counter in the first half. They let DC control the ball and looked to spring a counter attack after obtaining possession in their own third from DC. Mwanga and Ruiz were hardly involved as a result. Mapp and Le Toux had a few nice combinations but besides the Le Toux miss in the 36’ minute, it was a rather mundane half from the Union.

2^nd Half:

     The second half was a much more up and down affair than the first, and saw three of the game’s four goals. In the 49’ minute Pontius tried an ill-advised maneuver of chesting the ball down to DeRosario despite the fact that Paunovic was practically standing between them. Then he floated a cross that was at an awkward height for rookie right back Perry Kitchen who kicked the ball with his right foot into the goal to tie the score at 1. Kitchen was caught in between in terms of deciding which foot to use and maybe with some confidence lacking in his left foot was charged with an own goal.

     Just about 10 minutes later, Andy Najar dribbled the ball up field and with no one challenging him he unleashed a rocket that beat Mondragon. Carroll was too deep to come up field and challenge him and neither center back stepped up. This was also a problem for Philadelphia last week against Chivas, they need to close down the space and it has to start with Carroll.

     For the rest of the game DC was looking very comfortable and it seemed as though they would have enough to hold on to win. But, in the 84’ minute Le Toux, who had drifted inside right played a through ball to the right back Williams, who had toasted Pontius. Williams put a cross to Ruiz in who tied the game at 2 with a nifty finish. Philadelphia had to feel pretty good about getting a point, after an own goal and one defensive slip up from DC.

     

Conclusion:

     The Union were able to earn a point in a difficult environment against a tough team boasting their new star player. They showed why they are currently the class of the Eastern Conference with their performance. For next game it would seem as though they really need to get Mwanga and Ruiz more involved. Despite Ruiz’s limited supply of balls he was still able to net the game-tying goal.

     DC had to feel sick to their stomachs at the conclusion of the game. They let two points slip away and had only a draw to show for their performance despite dominating the ball for the majority of the game. On the positive side they look to be an improved side with the addition of DeRosario and he might give them the necessary boost to help them secure a playoff birth.