MLS Wildcard Playoffs - Chicago Fire (1) v Houston Dynamo (2)

The Dynamo invaded Toyota Park and left with an impressive road win. Houston advances to face Sporting KC after Will Bruin’s brace.

Houston Setup

     Dominic Kinnear elected to field a 4-4-2 on the road. Will Bruin and Calen Carr started up front with Brad Davis wide left and Boniek Garcia on the right. Especially in the first half, Davis stayed wide to swing in crosses while Boniek was free to drift inside to try and find space between the Fire’s lines. In the center, Adam Moffat played as a holding player which allowed Ricardo Clark to play a battling role in the center. Clark was instructed to play higher up the pitch to try and pressure Logan Pause and Pavel Pardo and make the Fire’s attempts to build attacks more difficult. Defensively, Corey Ashe and Kofi Sarkodie were the fullbacks. They saw a lot of the ball, but were cautious going forward not wanting to leave the center backs (Bobby Boswell and Jermaine Taylor) exposed.

Chicago Setup

     Frank Klopas went with a 4-2-3-1. Sherjill MacDonald was the lone striker up front with Chris Rolfe the number ten behind him. On the right was Alvaro Fernandez and Patrick Nyarko played on the left. The two holding players were Logan Pause and Pavel Pardo. In defense, Jalil Anibaba, Arne Friedrich, Austin Berry and Gonzalo Segares played from right to left. The tactics from Klopas were not overly profound, but built around the creative skill of Rolfe, Nyarko and Fernandez. Unfortunately for Chicago, these three players struggled to consistently trouble the Houston back four.

Houston Set Pieces

     The visitors have been renowned for producing on set pieces; Brad Davis has 27 set piece assists since 2009. Even before the opening goal in the 12^th minute, Sean Johnson had some troubles dealing with crosses. Houston won a corner and Davis’ curled left footed ball into the near post was met by Will Bruin and went in off of a slight Anibaba deflection. Anibaba was the man responsible for marking Bruin but he slipped tracking the big forward.

Key Midfield Battle

     With an early lead, Houston turned to a defensive approach while Chicago had to push numbers forward to equalize. While only having two central midfielders, Houston got the better of the play in the center. The key role was Ricardo Clark playing almost a rover type central role. He had the freedom to venture up the pitch and from side to side. His goal was to win the ball back and make life difficult for Pause and Pardo. He finished the match with five ball recoveries, five clearances and two interceptions.

Ricardo Clark's role higher up the pitch, winning the ball & distributing.

   

   This role of Clark negated the impact of Chris Rolfe on the game. The Fire turned to Nyarko and Fernandez out wide to create but were unable to link up with Rolfe in the center. Rolfe has had a standout season, but on the night, he was quieted. When he was able to receive the ball, Houston forced him to play the ball wide instead of towards the goal, as seen in the graphic below. Furthermore, the Dynamo played a high line in the first half and MacDonald was frequently caught offside.

Rolfe's attacking third passes were forced wide by Houston. 

Chicago Chasing the Game in the Second Half

     Down a goal at the break and struggling to threaten the goal, Klopas brought off Pause and brought on Alex. The shift resulted in a 4-1-4-1. However, the team talk went out the window when Will Bruin doubled the lead one minute after the break. Clark won the ball off of Segares, which fell to Calen Carr who set up Bruin through on goal to finish far post. The center backs Berry and Friedrich were spread out wide and unable to recover from the poor giveaway.

     Now down two goals, Klopas brought on Oduro for  Pardo, moving to a 4-4-2. Oduro and Alex brought life to the match, but were unable to threaten goal until ten minutes to go when Alex pulled a goal back.

How Far Can Houston Go?

     The Dynamo will be a tough opponent for Sporting KC. The number one seed from the east has had a great season defensively but has struggled to break down defensive teams. Houston will be comfortable in playing a defensive system in the away tie in the second match, so Kansas City will have to earn a good result on the road.

     The key player for Houston will be Boniek Garcia. He will have to step his game up for Houston to win. They need him to take players on and dribble past them. A dynamic counter attack will at times be open for the Dynamo if Sporting are chasing a match. At times, Espinoza will drift too far forward opening up a huge space in the center. Boniek has the speed and the technical ability to exploit this space if his Honduran compatriot has a lapse in concentration. A third method of attack, through Boniek, will add another dimension for Kansas City to defend.

     Finally, Houston is a dangerous team on set pieces, which can bode well in any two legged tie. Sporting will have to be wary about giving away free kicks in their defensive half and unnecessary corner kicks. A slight edge should go to Kansas City for their solid regular season, but Houston has key traits in teams that can win knockout rounds so the tie should be tightly contested. 

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Houston Holds Off Portland 2-1

Portland Setup:

     Portland set up in a variation of a 4-4-2 with two holding midfielders in Jewsbury and Chara. Chara and Zizzo would take turns moving forward partnering with Nagbe in the center behind Johnson. Zizzo played wide right and Nagbe played wide left but could often be found central with Cooper moving out wide to the left. Johnson played centrally and was substituted for just before halftime. Cooper played with back to goal and would play balls back to Nagbe and Jewsbury who would look to distribute to Zizzo and Johnson. It was effective when Cooper was able to successfully hold the ball up but often his 1^st touch failed him. He did not have his best match whatsoever and squandered two great goal scoring chances late in the second half that could have netted the Timbers a tie.

     For the Timbers back four, their two outside backs pushed up field, and Chabala played many dangerous crosses to Cooper who unfortunately for Portland was unable to do anything with them. Brunner and Horst partnered at center back.

Houston Setup:

      The Dynamo also set up in a 4-4-2. They were looking to play from out wide to create scoring chances through crosses created from overlapping runs off of give and go’s. Davis and Clark played wide right and left and Ching partnered with Costly up top. Cameron and Moffat played the two holding midfield roles. Houston was arguably most effective when Cameron pushed up the field while Moffat sat back to defend. Cameron made many nice runs, and created a great scoring chance for Ching that may have trickled just over the goal line past Perkins, but either way Ching should have buried it to leave no doubt in the mind of the referee. Ashe was dangerous, often using his speed up the left flank to work with Ching and Davis, but Palmer of Portland gave him trouble all game long.

1st Half:

     Portland opened the match with creating several scoring opportunities. Johnson was clearly much faster than either Houston center back, and it was unfortunate for the Timbers that he was taken out with an injury, after he had nearly scored a goal off of a nice pass from Chara in the opening minutes. After Moffat let loose a shot out of a cannon from about 40 yards to give the Dynamo a 1-0 lead, Houston started to take control of the game. Just 10 minutes later, with Clark all the way on the left, he partnered with Davis and Ching to create a goal for Ching to give the Dynamo a 2-0 advantage. Houston was particularly attacking from their left wing through Ashe, Ching and Davis. The only possession that Portland had in the first half was in the midfield, and nothing came of it as they were unable to adequately deal with the Houston pressure.

2^nd Half:

     Portland had some success when Cooper was able to hold up the ball and play it back to Chara and Jewsbury and Nagbe, but because he struggled with his first touch a big part of Portland’s game was ineffective. With Johnson already having to be taken off, Coach John Spencer was unable to replace Cooper as he may have otherwise done. Zizzo created Portland’s only goal in the 56’ minute when he beat Ashe down the wing and floated a cross to Nagbe that he headed back to Jewsbury. he shot it straight out of the air and it was deflected past Hall to cut Houston’s lead to 2-1. It was a nice run by Zizzo that created the goal. After this goal Houston was clearly trying to hold onto the ball by playing low risk easy passes to eat away some clock. It worked for much of the second half, but Portland started to come alive in the last 10 or 15 minutes. Cooper had two clear goals scoring chances off of two balls from Chabala that he botched, and Portland walked away with no points.

Conclusion:

     Portland played a very unusual formation, and it may have been better for them to just play a 4-5-1 and replace one of their strikers (probably Cooper) with another midfielder like Alhassan. It would have given them more width, and Nagbe more room in the middle to create for himself and his teammates. It would be surprising to me to see Cooper start next game. He did not look in form and it leaves one to wonder whether he is carrying an injury.

     Houston played an excellent match, and had to walk away pleased with their performance. With Will Bruin still out injured, Weaver, who replaces costly in the second half would probably be a better partner with Ching. Costly had little impact on the match and his movement off the ball was poor at best. Davis and Cameron continue top play at an all-star level, and as long as they keep it up they will have a chance at the playoffs, especially being in the Eastern Conference. 

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Houston v Sporting KC (1-1) – Dynamo Lose their Heads and Two Points at the Death

Houston’s Strategy

     Dominic Kinnear went away from his preferred 4-4-2 and set his side in a 4-5-1. Will Bruin was left on the bench and Brian Ching started alone up top. Brad Davis was used as a deep lying creative midfield player. Danny Cruz was on the right wing and the most supportive attacking player for Ching.

Sporting’s Strategy

     The visiting side from Kansas City set out in their usual 4-3-3/4-2-3-1. Diop played as a holding midfield player. Espinoza was the box to box midfielder and Zusi was the playmaker in the middle. Omar Bravo played off to the left as a winger or second striker. CJ Sapong was the central striker and Kei Kamara tried to find space on the right wing.

Houston Lead in Strange First Half

     The first good chance in the match led to the opening goal. Brian Ching was fouled outside the area to the right. Brad Davis took the free kick with his left foot and bent it over the wall into the corner. The free kick did not have much pace and the “White Puma” Nielsen was only able to come across late but failed to keep it out of the net before smashing into the post.

     The remainder of the first half was quite strange. By about the 40^th minute I said to myself, “how have 40 minutes passed and I have no idea what is unfolding in this match.” Houston were very content to sit back and get to the locker room with the lead. The Dynamo were only able to pass the ball around the defense and struggled to even approach the Sporting KC area.

     Kansas City, on the other hand, used a different strategy. The back four was too committed on sending in long balls towards CJ Sapong. The young and in form striker was not able to win these passes. When they kept the ball on the ground, KC found space, especially through Myers overlapping past Kamara on the right side. Also, Espinoza and Zusi were able to find space between the midfield and defense of Houston, but lacked the final ball to create chances.

Sporting Dominates with Numerical Advantage

     At halftime, Bobby Boswell was brought on for Jermaine Taylor for Houston in a direct center back replacement.

     Just six minutes after the break, the Dynamo found themselves down to ten men. Collin Clark lost out on the ball on the left sideline. He looked frustrated and responded with a lunging off the ground slide tackle into Aurelien Collin. Refere Kevin Stott immediately reached into his breast pocket and sent off Clark.

     With ten men, Houston went to a 4-4-1, relying on Brian Ching to be the pressure release point up top to try and hold up the ball for the home side. When the Dynamo had the opportunity to get forward, they tried to get the ball wide and cross it in for Ching.

     Holding on to the lead with ten was proving difficult and Brian Ching made it more so in the 69^th minute. Ching kicked out at Collin after he had cleared the ball. Once again Referee Kevin Stott sent off a Dynamo player, reducing them to nine men. Seeing the replay, the straight red was justified as the kick by Ching was dirty and unnecessary.  

     Playing against nine men, Kansas City resorted to packing the box and swinging in crosses. This seemed like the only way through the Dynamo defense. Houston committed all eight outfield players towards defending and bunkered down deep into their own half. Even the stats backed up Sporting KC’s dominance; they played in 37 crosses and took 25 shots during the ninety minutes.

     All the attacking initiative paid off for Kansas City in the 90^th minute. Collin received the ball 25 yards out from Espinoza. His left footed shot was deflected and went in past Hall. It may be a bit harsh to say that Hall could have done better since he had such a great match.

Conclusion

     Credit KC for their persistence in seeking a goal and probably deserved all three points.

     However, it would be unfair to criticize Houston for playing a defensive second half. The players did not get discouraged after going two men down. They fought hard and nearly kept a clean sheet, only a lucky long range shot beating Hall.

     Each manager would have left the match feeling disappointment with only a point. Dominic Kinnear will be angry at Clark and Ching for getting sent off with a lead at home. On the other side, Peter Vermes will feel that his side could have scored two and stolen a road win after having a numerical advantage and creating plenty of chances in the second half. 

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