Tactics: Timbers, Whitecaps struggle to recover from deficit

by John Pelini

Saturday night saw Portland fall in Houston while Vancouver were beaten at home by Seattle. Each side went a goal down early to an opponent that elected to a play similar style and struggled to get back into the match.

The Dynamo and Sounders executed a simple and identical tactical plan to perfection. With Obafemi Martins out injured, Sigi Schmid turned to veteran Chad Barrett to partner Clint Dempsey up front. This forced a slight change in tactics for Seattle; Dempsey moved into a deeper role as the creative fulcrum in a 4-4-1-1 setup. Barrett operated off the shoulder of the center backs which gave Dempsey space to operate and Marco Pappa tucked inside off the right to provide Dempsey with a short passing option.

Coincidentally, Owen Coyle’s Dynamo side lined up in a similar manner, although their players fulfilled slightly different roles. Will Bruin was up front on his own; while he played off the shoulder he is more capable in the air and can be a better hold up option than Barrett. Behind him, Giles Barnes has been unleashed in a free role. He occupies the playmaker role differently than Dempsey; relying on pace, dribbling by defenders and drifting out wide when the center gets crowded. To his left, Brad Davis offers a left foot for crosses and an overlap partner, Demarcus Beasley, capable of troubling any right side. The other wide players, Boniek Garcia and Lamar Neagle, threaten with their energy. They are defensively diligent and sprint forward to add another option on the counter attack.

Four minutes in, Dempsey scooped up a stray header at the center circle and played a perfect chipped pass over the top of the Whitecaps defense. Chad Barrett beat the offside trap and placed a perfect outside of the right boot finish into the far corner. Nine minutes into the match in Houston, Will Bruin found himself unmarked on a Brad Davis set piece and headed home the opener.

It was the worst case scenario start for each side. Going a goal down is never a good scenario, but trying to breakdown sides who prefer to play reactive soccer is less than ideal. Vancouver tried to turn the tide by speeding up the tempo. For the opening 25 minutes they pushed up the pitch trying to stretch the game. As I wrote about last week, the Sounders back line struggles when playing a higher line, but on Saturday they were disciplined and did not chase upfield. Also, the Sounders dealt well with the Caps’ pressure, either passing through it or playing the ball long. With the humidity slowing down the pace in Houston, Portland tried to find an equalizer through possession. Each side was wise not to press high up the field; a strategy impossible to play in the summer weather of southeast Texas. Rather, they looked to get Darlington Nagbe and Diego Valeri on the ball facing goal to try and craft a chance for Fanendo Adi.

Each side found out that breaking down two banks of four is extremely difficult. Luis Garrido and Ricardo Clarke for Houston and Gonzalo Pineda and Osvaldo Alonso for Seattle had less space to cover which allowed them to completely lock down the center of the pitch. Seen above, Brad Davis  smartly chased Nagbe when he drifted inside to prevent Portland from having a numbers advantage in the center.

Having put a tremendous amount of energy into the game and being a goal down, Vancouver’s intensity dropped toward the end of the first half and found themselves two goals down. Pappa drifted inside and played another pass over the heads of the Pa Modou Kah and Kendall Waston and Chad Barrett once again required only one touch to tally a Sounders goal. The communication between the center backs was poor and the pair do not have the pace to recover leading to two goals conceded in similar fashions. 
 
While Portland found it difficult to create chances, they settled into the game and three minutes after the break they equalized. Diego Chara pressed Luis Garrido inside the Dynamo half, won the ball and played it to Valeri. The Argentine finally had space to operate and was able to turn towards goal and slip in Adi who powered a right footed strike past Tyler Deric. 
 
As each side pushed for a winner, the game opened up which brought to life the Houston counter attack. First, Barnes headed over the bar from a Boniek cross after a Timbers corner kick. Then, with fifteen minutes to go, Davis and Beasley combined down the left leading to a Barnes combination with Alexander Lopez culminating in a Barnes goal. While Powell was stretched on the left, the center backs dropped off their marks allowing two passes inside the 18 yard box without a challenge. Things got worse for Portland when Powell mistimed his jump on a header and Will Bruin was free on goal to chip the keeper and add a third.

Vancouver never got into the match in the second half and really did not create a chance, let alone two. Seattle was completely comfortable in their shape and pushed everything out wide. Kekuta Manneh saw a lot of the ball but had poor final balls and could not dribble by anyone. Pedro Morales was taken out of the game by Alonso and Pineda, just checkout his chalkboard above. Carl Robinson brought on Darren Mattocks to play on the right. While Mattocks is a promising player, this was a terrible role for him to play. He lacks the crossing ability and creativity, rather he thrives on operating in space, getting in behind the defense or threatening in the air.

Seattle is now 6-1-0 when scoring first. Their plan is simple and effective; the back seven defend, the front two have the freedom to create and the two wide players have a two way responsibility. Houston, while similar to Seattle, is not nearly as lethal but will be tough to beat at home as the weather gets warmer. The only issue is relying so heavily on Giles Barnes, who has rampaged defenses in his free role, when he will miss matches playing for Jamaica at the Gold Cup this summer.