MLS Wildcard Playoff – LA Galaxy (2) – Vancouver (1)

The Galaxy fight back after an early Darren Mattocks goal and advance to take on San Jose. Vancouver is left fuming after a questionable penalty sets up the winning Galaxy goal after putting in a spirited defensive effort.

Galaxy Setup

     Bruce Arena was able to fit all of his attacking players on the pitch in a 4-4-2 alignment. Tommy Meyer, Omar Gonzalez started at center back with Hector Jimenez and Todd Dunivant playing right and left back. In the middle, Juninho was relied upon to prevent any Whitecaps counter attacks. David Beckham also played in the center but focused on drifting to the right side where he found space to get on the ball and pick out long diagonal passes. The wide players, Landon Donovan and Mike Magee tended to drift inside. Robbie Keane played up top alongside Edson Buddle; Buddle tended to stay up high looking for crosses while Keane tended to drift into the wide zones and drop deep and play with the ball at his feet.

Whitecaps Setup

     Martin Rennie came into the match looking to play a defensive style. His side stayed compact with two banks of four. In front of these lines were Barry Robson and Darren Mattocks. The issue with this counter attacking setup was the lack of linkup play between Mattocks and Robson. As a result, Vancouver struggled to find any relief of the pressure as LA kept pushing numbers forward.

Barry Robson cannot get on the ball. 

     Nevertheless, the defensive performance was solid. Jay DeMerit and Andy O’Brien showed why having two veteran center backs can benefit a team in the playoffs. They dealt with all of the Galaxy crosses and kept their lines tight and organized. Lee Young-Pyo and Jordan Harvey occupied the fullback slots. In midfield, Alain Rochat, John Thorrington, Gershon Koffie and Matt Watson acted as a four man shield in front of the defense. The 4-4-1-1 shape was well drilled into the side and was almost enough to spring the upset.

Fast Start Perfectly Suits Vancouver

     The visitors were in dreamland after three minutes. Matt Watson flew past Hector Jimenez down the left side and squared a ball to Darren Mattocks who cleverly guided his first time strike off the far post woodwork and in. Mattocks’ astute run away from goal opened up space for himself to receive the pass and put his side ahead.

     The early lead gave Vancouver zero impetus to push forward and all the inspiration to defend what they had. Immediately, they dropped very deep into their own half and put ten or eleven players behind the ball at all times.

     While this strategy was effective for the first 70 minutes of the match, it was always likely that LA was going to score. Vancouver conceded too much space in their own half. This allowed the Galaxy to dominate possession on the right side. Beckham and Donovan, along with Jimenez overloaded the right side of the pitch. This led to the Galaxy having 74% of the possession in the first half.

Beckham and Donovancontrolling the right side. 

     However, the Caps were able to limit the number of chances the Galaxy were creating. Most of this was due to the number of interventions won by DeMerit and O’Brien as seen in this MLSsoccer.com chalkboard.

Frantic Stretch Decides the Match

     Bruce Arena went to the bench to tweak his setup. Strangely, he brought on Marcelo Sarvas, normally a central midfielder in place of right back Jimenez. This brought another player on the right side and more domination for the Galaxy on this side of the pitch.

     But, Sarvas is not a right back and was caught out of position in the 68^th minute, when Thorrington launched a counter to Watson. Watson carried the ball down the left played a one-two with Kenny Miller and forced a terrific save by Saunders. The rebound shot by Miller was off target and Robson had the third chance but was blocked.

     The Caps would rue this missed oppurtunity once LA equalized a minute later. The Galaxy switched up their style and played a short corner to Donovan who found Mike Magee unmarked at the penalty spot to first time volley the opener from LA. Key in this exchange was an injury to Jay DeMerit who had to leave and Martin Bonjour came in. Bonjour would give away a penalty a minute later as Donovan tried to run past but was impeded by Bonjour’s raised arm. There was definitely contact but the decision seemed quite harsh.

     After defending so fiercely, Vancouver lacked the energy to push for an equalizer and never threatened.

Can LA beat San Jose?

     For the two legged affair against the Quakes, Bruce Arena will have to tweak his lineup. He should consider removing Edson Buddle and starting Sarvas to sure up the midfield. With Beckham tending to drift wide, Juninho will need a partner to help control San Jose; a team with a much more attacking approach than Vancouver. Playing with Robbie Keane alone up front will help Magee and Donovan find space when they make forward diagonal runs from the outside.

     Defensively, Sean Franklin will be critical. If he is still injured, then Jimenez will have to start. He does not have a lot of speed and would concede tons of crosses for Gordon, Wondo and Lenhart to latch onto. Also, Josh Saunders will have to be confident and aggressive in the air. If he is caught flapping at a cross, the ball will end up in the net.

     San Jose should be heavy favorites and the tie should be extremely intense and competitive. After the last matchup resulted in a war of words, the Galaxy will be ready to kill the Western Conference giants.  

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Real Salt Lake v LA Galaxy (2-3) – Galaxy Rally from Two Down with the Help of RSL Mistakes

For the first time in club history, Salt Lake lost a home match when they had a two goal lead.

Los Angeles Setup

     With Edson Buddle out injured and Robbie Keane returning from the European Championship, Bruce Arena elected to start Landon Donovan as a lone striker. The Galaxy played a 4-5-1 and looked to attack on the counter. The move would typically start with David Beckham or Juninho hitting a long ball to Donovan or Mike Magee, who played on the left wing.

     The visitors from California had an unusual shape to their 4-5-1. Juninho played as the lone holding midfielder and Beckham played slightly in front of him and to the right. Sarvas played in the middle and struggled to get on the ball or close enough to Donovan to provide attacking support. On the wings, Bryan Jordan played more defensively on the right and Mike Magee was used as the secondary threat towards goal down the left side. Interestingly, the fullbacks Sean Franklin and Todd Dunivant only combined for one cross. Usually, the fullbacks are relied upon to get forward when a team operates with one striker and two deep lying midfielders.

Salt Lake Setup

     Jason Kreis is known for setting his side out in a 4-4-2 with a diamond midfield. Kyle Beckerman protected the back four. Will Johnson played on the left and Ned Grabavoy and Johnny Steele interchanged between a narrow right position and a central attacking position. Without a right sided player giving the side width, Fabian Espindola drifted out to the right flank which provided a one v one matchup with Todd Dunivant that produced the opening two goals.

Real Start Fast

     The matched started with the Galaxy willing to sit back and concede possession and Real looking to control the tempo and get the fullbacks forward. Nine minutes in, Chris Wingert switched the ball from the left to the right side to Espindola. Espindola was given space by Dunivant to reach the endline and play a low ball across the six yard box to Kyle Beckerman who made a clever near post run and slotted home the opening goal.

     Opting to play in a defensive and counter attacking style, going behind in the first ten minutes was not the end of the match for Los Angeles. Salt Lake continued to pour forward and push for a second which opened up space to counter.

     The Galaxy responded when Donovan got in behind the defense but Nick Rimando collected quickly off his line. Then the Galaxy threatened from the set piece on two occasions but failed to test the keeper. Although the Galaxy retorted well, they would find themselves two goals behind in the 29^th minute. Johnny Steele laid the ball off to Espindola who had room to cross from the right side. His ball was directed toward Alvaro Saborio whose (intentional/fortuitous) touch directed the ball into the far corner.

How Each Side Attacked

     Salt Lake were at their best when they pressed the Galaxy back four and forced long kicks up field. Applying pressure for 90 minutes is too taxing, so the home side pressured in spurts. Also, the understanding between the Saborio and Espindola troubled the Galaxy defense. Espindola’s runs out wide started to draw the attention of one of the center backs which allowed Saborio a one on one matchup the produced chances but not goals.

     The Galaxy were dangerous when Donovan had the ball running at the back four with an option to pass or shoot. He was able to setup Magee and Sarvas at the end of the half but the finishing was poor. Hopefully when Keane returns, Arena will use this formation and play Donovan in Sarvas’ central role where he would have the ball at his feet more and be the creator for Los Angeles.

A Two Goal Lead is the Most Dangerous in Soccer

     Trailing by two goals, the Galaxy looked bereft of comeback ideas. However, the home side gifted a lifeline to Los Angeles five minutes after taking a two goal lead. Tony Beltran played a lackadaisical back pass towards Rimando which was picked off by Landon Donovan who rounded Rimando and put his team on the board.

     Just after halftime, Olave was carelessly caught in possession by Mike Magee who had space on the left side and finished with his left foot into the far post. The Galaxy were now level after two Salt Lake gaffes. With Real pushing to try and retake the lead, the Galaxy almost scored on the counter. Beckham hit a beautiful ball to the left to Donovan whose first time volley went wide.

     Jason Kreis made two changes around the hour mark to try and win the match. Javier Morales came on for Johnny Steele in a like for like swap and Luis Gil replaced Jamison Olave. Will Johnson moved to left back and Chris Wingert to central defense. Bringing on two attacking and creative midfielders made sense but Salt Lake struggled to craft any chances in the last half hour. Since Gil played in the Morales role last season, the two players occupied similar areas on the pitch which made the side easier to defend.

     Bruce Arena made a key change bringing off Sarvas for Michael Stephens and moving Mike Magee into the middle. This switch setup the winning goal five minutes later. The Galaxy setup the counter attack after with Magee making a run to the left touchline opening up space down the middle for Donovan to run past Nat Borchers, who was caught to high upfield. Donovan received the pass from Magee and Rimando was unable to tackle the ball away allowing Donovan to score his brace with a simple pass into the net. After the goal, Real struggled to create for an equalizer and LA hung on to steal the three points.

Conclusions

     Suddenly, the Galaxy are showing life after taking six points from the last two matches. Although the result was great, LA were the poorer side during the 90 minutes and were economical in taking advantage of two horrible Salt Lake defensive errors. Real will be furious at throwing away a two goal lead at home in front of a sold out crowd but Jason Kreis will use the poor result as motivation in future matches.

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LA Galaxy v San Jose (2-0) – Galaxy Get Goal from Keane and a Win over Dormant Quakes

LA’s Strategy

     Bruce Arena gave a start to Robbie Keane even though he had only arrived at the club 48 hours prio. Keane took the place of Juan Pablo Angel up top and paired with Adam Cristman. The 4-4-2 formation placed Juninho and Beckham in the center of midfield and Donovan and Franklin out wide. In defense, Frankie Hejduk got the start at right back, his second start of the season. The veteran defender conceded a couple of fouls that made it look like he was slightly off the pace of the game, but overall he handled himself well and had a solid evening.

San Jose’s Strategy

     Frank Yallop set his side in a 4-4-2 as well. The strikers were Wondolowski and Stephenson, who played slightly deeper of the two. Gjertsen played wide right and was most dangerous cutting inside of Dunivant rather than swing in crosses from out wide. Bringing energy and endeavor from the left side was Bobby Convey, but he was ineffective at providing service for the two forwards. Baca and Corrales played in central midfield. Corrales was the more creative player, looking for through balls and trying to find his forwards going towards goal, to which he had moderate success.

Galaxy Take Lead After Roaring out of the Gates

     The home side looked eager to show off their new attacking addition at the outset of the match. The movement between Keane and Cristman was great early on. One striker would come to the ball while the other was trying to get in behind. They also had a few scissor movements which especially confused San Jose’s back line. In the opening minute, Juninho put Cristman through on goal and the striker’s stop and go movement allowed him to get a shot away that went just wide.

     Early on, the Galaxy passing was sharp and very quick giving San Jose little time to react. The away side looked outclassed and overwhelmed at the start. The fast start paid off in the 21^st minute as the Galaxy took the lead through Keane. Beckham took a quick free kick from the center circle that was misplayed by Hernandez. This error gave Keane an open path to goal and the Irish international rounded Jon Busch and finished with ease.

     The partnership of Beckham and Juninho worked better than v Portland. Playing against two in midfield and against a side that did not counter attack made the defensive duties for the central players easy to manage. Unlike San Jose, Portland used a quick counter and also dropped a striker deep to pick up the ball. It was disappointing to see Yallop not try to exploit this as a possible weakness.

Galaxy Lay off the Gas & San Jose Comes to Life

     At around the half hour mark, LA seemed content to sit back and let San Jose control the ball and the run of play. The Galaxy dropped off to the midfield line and would only pressure once San Jose crossed into their half. The home side appeared to be content to hold a one goal lead going into the locker room. The Quakes were able to control the match, but did not have the quality or the creativity to break down the Galaxy defense. San Jose lacked ideas and Wondolowski and Stephenson were hardly involved in the attack. Instead, San Jose found most of their success out wide through Convey or Gjertsen cutting inside from the right.

     However, the Quakes were able to fashion a couple of half chances. Gjertsen cut inside and had a shot saved by Saunders in the 24^th minute. Seven minutes later, Baca had a go from distance that was saved. To start

San Jose go Down to Ten & LA add a Second

     The strong fight back by San Jose to try and equalize seemed to be fading a little passed the hour mark. Just before being subbed off, Keane nearly replicated his first goal in the 64^th minute but put the shot over. Yallop went to the bench to try and provide a spark in the 71^st minute. He took off Wondolowski (who did not look happy) and Stephenson and brought on Dawkins and newly acquired Ecuadorian Edmundo Zura. Bruce Arena then brought on Mike Magee for Robbie Keane, who most likely is working towards full fitness.

     Ten minutes later, San Jose was reduced to ten men after Steven Beitashour was sent off. The Quakes defender jumped over a sliding Landon Donovan but he left a foot down and his studs connected with Donovan’s knee. The incident looked like it could have been avoided as the replays showed Beitashour looking down at Donovan before extending his boot towards him.

     After the sending off, the match looked like a formality. The Galaxy had chances from crosses but Lopez and Magee were unable to finish. Then, in the 90^th minute, LA finished off the match. Donovan played it wide to Franklin whose ground cross found Mike Magee rushing to the near post, and he put the ball by Busch before the keeper could come out and collect the cross.

Conclusions

     LA definitely deserved the three points and were the better side. With the addition of Keane, LA finally have a consistent goal scorer. One downside to the win was the play of Sean Franklin. He did not look comfortable playing in the midfield and was missing in action for much of the match. He should return to right back and Magee or Stephens should play in midfield.

     Also, the Galaxy cannot think that they are the best team and not go out and show it on the field. For large stretches, they looked content and almost uninterested. Bruce Arena has the job to push the Galaxy to play hard every match if they are to pick up the Supporters Shield, MLS Cup and advance into the Champions League.

     San Jose looks lost and appears to have no shot at making the playoffs. The Quakes have no ability to create chances and thus score goals. Yallop should try and experiment with a new formation to try and breathe life into the attack. A change from the 4-4-2 may not be the answer, but the status quo could certainly cost the experienced manager his job. 

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FC Dallas Loses The Aerial Battle At LA Galaxy 3-1

FC Dallas’ Setup:

     Dallas set up in a 4-5-1 with newly acquired Maicon Santos up top. Santos was up against Gonzalez most of the night and just could not get by him in 1 on 1 situations. Vilar and Guarda patrolled the middle behind Santos and in front of Hernandez, who played the holding midfield spot.  Hernandez played an excellent match, showing a lot of aggression and won numerous balls for FCD. Chavez played wide left and scored a wonder goal early to give FCD their only lead. His speed was troubling to LA all evening. Shea played wide left and cut inside frequently as usual but did not see enough of the ball to be very effective. He was effective when he did get the ball however, and played in some dangerous crosses. FCD’s back four remain unchanged from their previous game.

LA’s Setup:

     LA set up in a 4-4-2 but did not start Angel and instead played Mike Magee up top alongside Cristman. This shows that coach Bruce Arena is losing faith in Angel, and one wonders if LA should have worked harder to keep Eddson Buddle. Donovan played on the left, Franklin moved up a spot to right mid from his usual right back, and Beckham wandered around the pitch as usual but particularly looked to get to the right wing when LA had possession so he could swing in balls into the box. Juninho played in the hole in front of Gonzalez and Berhalter. De La Garza was moved out to right back and Dunivant played left back.

LA Dominates despite going behind early:

     Chavez had a strike in the 9^th minute for FCD that gave them a 1-0 lead. After the goal FCD became much too passive, and let LA dominate possession. A big part of LA’s strategy was to advance the ball up the field before letting Beckham cross balls into the box, along with letting Donovan build up a head of steam running through the midfield to try and set up his teammates. This worked throughout the game as Beckham played in an inordinate number of balls that FCD dealt with fairly well. However, it was the set pieces that LA earned that gave them the upper hand in the match. LA did a good job of drawing fouls in dangerous areas to set up these Beckham’s trademark set pieces. In fact, all three LA goals were off of Beckham set pieces, with one being a corner.

     The first LA goal was due to a total miscommunication between Hartman and John that ended with the two colliding and Gonzalez heading in the loose ball to tie the game. The second came off another Beckham set piece. The ball was deflected out to the top of the box to an unmarked Juninho who one-timed one past Hartman to make the score 2-1 in favor of LA. The third and final goal came off of a Beckham corner that was headed in by Mike Magee, who broke free from his man, Vilar.

     FCD started to get some offense going in the second half by getting the ball to Santos in dangerous positions but he was unable to shake Gonzalez, and often he was alone up top ahead of his teammates and had no one to play the ball back to. Vilar and Guarda did not come back deep enough for the ball which led to too many balls being blasted long by the Dallas back four that did not trouble LA at all. They were also ineffective in getting Shea the ball where he could create some offense. It was clear he got frustrated with his lack of impact on the match.

Conclusion:

     FCD, in my opinion, would be better off playing Chavez at striker over Santos and moving Jackson back into the team on the right once he is eligible again. It will give them more speed and Chavez has been finishing well the past few weeks. Shea needs to find the ball more, and whether it was his teammates not looking for him enough or him just not getting himself open, he needed to create more offense than he did for FCD to win Saturday night.

     LA coach Bruce Arena clearly has not been impressed with the form of Angel, and started winger Mike Magee up top in his place. As we have said before on this blog, LA will not be able to win the title until they find a consistent threat at striker.

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Portland v Los Angeles (3-0) - Timbers Trounce Lackluster Galaxy

Portland's Strategy

       John Spencer reverted to a 4-4-2 after experimenting the past few weeks with a 4-5-1. To pair with Jorge Perlaza, Kenny Cooper was recalled to the lineup only after Eddie Johnson suffered a concussion in warmups. Sal Zizzo and Darlington Nagbe operated on the wings with Diego Chara and Marcelin anchoring the center of midfield. Chara was the engine behind Portland's attack while Marcelin did the dirty work.

LA's Strategy
     With David Beckham back in the Galaxy lineup, Bruce Arena moved Sean Franklin back to right back and AJ DeLaGarza to his usual center back. Beckham and Juninho paired in central midfield with Stephens and Birchall on the flanks. Donovan, like in the second half v Vancouver started up top along side Angel.

Galaxy Control Possession But Portland Lead

    The first half saw the Galaxy control 59% possession but register zero shots. LA easily passed the ball around the back but had no ability to create in the Timber's half. Angel received zero service from out wide or to his feet. Donovan tried to make runs in the left channel and also failed to collect a pass.
    The central midfield pairing of Juninho and Beckham did not work. They each tried to create from deep with creative long balls but neither of them got forward to link up with the strikers. Additionally, the two midfielders failed to get close to Chara which allowed him space to find Timber attackers. Also, Birchall found space out wide but failed to deliver a dangerous cross, which Beckham could have provided.
    On the other hand, Portland's 4-4-2 dropped off when they conceded possession and allowed LA to hold the ball in non dangerous areas. The Timbers were perfectly placed to win the ball back deep in their own half and counter. Chara resembled a basketball point guard and received the outlet passes from defense. He would then find Perlaza, Nagbe or Cooper in space. The runs were either in behind the defense by Perlaza or to hold up play with back to goal like Cooper. The runs from Perlaza especially troubled DeLaGarza as he could not match the Colombian stride for stride. Perlaza kept himself onside and thus found himself behind the defense.
    Contrary to Vancouver on the weekend, the dominant start paid off in the 26th minute. Mike Chabala, newly acquired from Houston, played a nice one-two down the left with Nagbe. Nagbe's return ball put Chabala in space inside the box and he fired a right foot shot by Saunders.
    The lead was doubled seven minutes later. Off a throw in, Chara found Perlaza in space at the top of the 18. The speedy striker let the ball roll by him and caught DeLaGarza looking. Perlaza caught back up to the ball and steered it beyond Saunders.

Arena Changes Yield Similar Results

    Going into the break down two goals, Arena was not content with his lineup. Thus, he brought on Lopez and Cristman to play striker. Beckham moved to the right, Donovan to left wing and Birchall to the center while Stephens and Angel were taken off.
    The sweeping changes failed to deliver. Beckham was able to swing in crosses but the strike force could not latch onto them. Donovan pushed high up the left side but could not find space to shoot. Cristman and Lopez's movement were predictable and never found space.
    Meanwhile Portland maintained the same tactics and achieved the same results. The partnership of Cooper and Perlaza looked fluid. One would drop back to pick up the ball while the other played higher, tip toeing the Galaxy's offside trap. This spread out the LA defense leaving one v one matchups in space.
    The Timbers sealed three points in the 68th minute. A corner kick was swung in to the back post where Bruner was free to beat Saunders. Sean Franklin allowed the central defender to get goal side of him which made for a simple finish.

Conclusion

    Credit to Portland for a sharp and inspired performance. They out hustled LA and were more tactically prepared to execute a simple game plan based on a compact defense and a quick counter attack. The Timbers have a young squad that should be able to build on this performance going into next season.
    For LA supporters, you hope that this was blip in the season instead of a massive problem. The Galaxy seemed flat and overwhelmed by the Timbers which may have been from a second consecutive road match in the past 5 days.

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Vancouver v Los Angeles (0-4) - Second Half Adjustment Propels Four LA Goals

Vancouver’s Strategy

     Still trying to figure out how to best use his new signing, Tom Soehn made a formation adjustment from the San Jose match. Peter Vagenas was left on the bench and Davide Chiumiento started in the center. The switch resulted in a diamond 4-4-2 look, with Chiumiento in front of the holding midfielder Koffie.

LA’s Strategy

     Without David Beckham, Bruce Arena made slight tweaks to the Galaxy approach but maintained his preferred 4-4-2. Sean Franklin played on the right side of midfield and AJ DeLaGarz moved to right back. Juninho and Michael Stephens paired in midfield and Mike Magee and Juan Pablo Angel were the two strikers.

Vancouver Can’t Finish First Half Chances

     Through the home crowd’s enthusiasm, Vancouver was able to start the match off brightly. Hassli and Jarju looked lively and were interchanging well. Hassli prefers to come deeper and work the channels to find space. He did a good job finding Jarju on crosses and also does well to half turn and fire off an unexpected shot. Also, Chiumiento was influential sitting behind the two strikers. He was given a free role and found space between LA’s midfield and defense. Koffie was not over stretched because Salinas and Camilo took turns tucking into midfield to support him.

     After all the good football the Caps played, they were unable to test Josh Saunders. Jarju shot high a few times and the Whitecaps were incapable at finding the final ball to set up a clear chance. The Galaxy would have been thrilled to go into the intermission level. Their passing was sloppy and predictable. Passes wide to the left in search of Donovan were the only strategy they had to create chances. However, Donovan could not find players with his crosses.

Arena’s Adjustment

     Looking in danger of dropping two or three points, Bruce Arena adjusted his tactics at halftime. Donovan was moved up as a second forward to Angel. Magee dropped into the left side of midfield to help defensively. Suring up the midfield stifled the Caps second half attack as they enjoyed much less of the ball than they did in the first half. Also, Dunivant was urged to attack and got higher up the pitch trying to exploit left side which was Vancouver’s soft spot.

     This all paid off in the 61^st minute. A mere two minutes earlier, Salinas had picked off a Magee pass and made a solo run but was unlucky in hitting the inside of the crossbar. This consistent inability to finish was finally punished when Juninho sent a high through ball towards the left channel. Boxall slipped on the turf and Donovan was free on goal. His first touch was good and he sent a sweet left footed shot with the outside of his boot past Joe Cannon.

     The floodgates were officially opened in the 74^th minute when Jordan Harvey inexplicably stuck out his right arm to deflect a long ball away from Franklin. The position of Franklin was not dangerous and the play by Harvey was unnecessary. Donovan buried the penalty for LA’s second and the life was sucked out of the stadium.

     Six minutes later, LA had a third when Donovan picked up a long ball from Dunivant down the left hand side. Soehn had taken off Leathers and no right back was on the pitch. Donovan squared the ball to the back post and Franklin was able to get his foot in ahead of Harvey. It is worth noting that Franklin made an incredible sixty yard run to find that position and was rewarded for his determination. The fourth goal came in the 90^th minute and was an embarrassing one for the home side to concede. Adam Cristman floated a header over the head of Joe Cannon, after Rochat and Harvey declined to contest the substitute striker in the air. The humiliating fourth simply highlights the needs for Vancouver to bolster their defense in the offseason.

Conclusions

     Vancouver can take some positives out of the match. Hassli and Jarju seem to linking up much better than they were a week ago. With Chiumiento and Camilo in midfield, the Whitecaps can create chances, but desperately need to capitalize on them to gain confidence. Give the attackers some tme to gel and I think they will score goals.

     Meanwhile, the Caps are a defensive mess. New arrival Jordan Harvey conceded a penalty and allowed Franklin to beat him to the back post for the third goal. However, the right side was far worse. Leathers could not contain Donovan and Boxall did not support his fullback. The Galaxy focused on attacking this flank with Donovan, Magee and Dunivant.

     For LA, they got the three points they were looking for. It was a solid road performance but one where you would have expected more from them in the first half. The back four were okay, but DeLaGarza did not look as comfortable playing on the right side. Gonzalez was welcomed back in and played well. The Galaxy conceded possession around their penalty area, but did not allow many shots on Saunders’ goal.

     Los Angeles’ problems were in two areas. The partnership of Juninho and Michael Stephens in midfield struggled defensively. In the first half, the Galaxy were stretched in the middle when Chiumiento and Hassli dropped into midfield. Arena did fix this problem by dropping Magee to the left, who helped tuck inside to do more of the dirty work that Donovan did not do. Also, Gonzalez and Dunivant were keener on stepping up to try and dispossess players further from goal.

     Secondly, LA has an anemic strike force at the moment. Sounding redundant from earlier articles, Juan Pablo Angel and the rest of the forwards are not getting the job done. Angel made little impact and was hardly involved in the match. Putting Donovan up top, with Angel, could be the solution to ignite the strikers. Donovan would do the running into the channels while Angel could stay more central to hold up the ball and receive passes from Donovan in space around the box. We will just have to wait and see how Arena approaches this minor dilemma.

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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.

Thoughts on the Match?

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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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