Other than the obvious issues with set pieces, reviewing the NYCFC match gives us another data point in where this team is, how they are or are not improving, and, yes, even a couple positives. The short answer is, FC Cincinnati struggled with many of the same issues that plagued them in the match against Nashville in match one. 

So other than the set piece defending, what else went wrong for the Orange and Blue?

In open play, FC Cincinnati had no answer for NYCFC’s #10 Maxi Moralez. He consistently offered an outlet going forward, receiving 16 progressive passes from teammates, according to Football Reference. He also moved the ball forward himself, completing 10 progressive passes and 9 progressive carries. Moralez’s 37 touches in the attacking third were the most of anyone in the match. His four key passes were also the most of anyone on the field. He was able to find space between FC Cincinnati’s midfield and centerbacks, causing havoc throughout the match. Morales is one of the best attacking midfielders in MLS so thankfully FCC won’t have to face off against players of that quality every week. However, a better plan to deal with elite playmakers will be a must. 

FC Cincinnati remains vulnerable to high pressure from their opponents. NYCFC pressured FCC players 119 times during the match, 59 of those were in the middle third of the field and 44 in FC Cincinnati’s defensive third. NYCFC’s pressures resulted in 40 instances where FCC lost control of the ball within five seconds of that pressure. Similarly to the Nashville match, the bulk of FC Cincinnati’s possession was its own third and the middle third of the field, so those turnovers became dangerous attacks more frequently. Though the match events are a little bit different across platforms, according to WhoScored.com’s chalkboard, FC Cincinnati’s lost possession of the ball 34 times, with 14 of those happening in their own half. 

FCC’s issues with the high press are like a chicken or egg situation. They’re vulnerable to the press because they lack a consistent, effective plan to progress the ball out of the back and they can’t progress the ball because they’re stymied by high pressure. Regardless, until they can navigate their way past the first line of confrontation, expect to see teams continue to press Cincinnati’s center backs in possession. On Saturday, Nick Hagglund and Tom Pettersson led the team in touches, combining for 135, with 104 of those touches occurring in their own defensive third. In contrast, NYCFC’s center backs combined for a similar number of touches, 128. However, 60 of their touches happened in the middle and attacking thirds of the field. 

The three starting central midfielders struggled to get on the ball, combining for just 114 touches, though it should be noted that Kamohelo Mokotjo and Yuya Kubo did not play the full 90 minutes. Allan Cruz, who replaced the injured Luciano Acosta in an attacking midfield role, struggled to assert himself offensively during the course of the match. He had 36 touches in the full 90 minutes, including just 7 in the attacking third. His 20 completed passes accounted for just 82 yards in progressive distance while his 22 carries covered just 18 yards towards NYCFC’s goal. 

Brenner’s 18 touches against NYCFC, including just 4 in the attacking third, remains concerning. A week after FCC completed just 13 of 34 passes to Brenner against Nashville, just 6 of 22 were completed against NYCFC. Finding a way to get Brenner more involved in open play will be imperative over the next few matches. 

Stam seemed to ask his fullbacks, Joseph-Claude Gyau and Rónald Matarrita, to take on more ball progression responsibility. The fullbacks combined for three progressive passes and nine progressive carries in the match. However, they could not do enough to establish FC Cincinnati in attacking areas of the field. 

FC Cincinnati did show limited improvements in some areas, however. Granted, the bar was set pretty low by the Nashville match, but still. 

Offensively, FC Cincinnati was nearly as dangerous against NYCFC as they were against Nashville, despite not scoring. FC Cincinnati created 1.4 expected goals on 11 shots. Against Nashville, FCC finished the match with 1.8 expected goals, though 1.7 of that total came on two shots, Acosta’s tap-in goal and Brenner’s penalty. Though the bulk of FC Cincinnati’s expected goals output in the match came in the 70th minute, 0.96 xG, including a Locadia header, Brenner’s miss, and two attempts from Tom Pettersson. FCC doubled their touches in the opposition penalty area, from 9 to 18, and completed 7 more progressive passes, 18 this week versus 11 against Nashville. 

Yuya Kubo showed more willingness to move the ball forward out of midfield. Against Nashville, Kubo’s 26 carries resulted in just 7 progressive yards, whereas against NYCFC his 31 carries led to 114 progressive yards. His three successful passes into the final third tied for the team lead, too. If Kubo can continue to emerge as a deep-lying playmaker and provide FC Cincinnati with another option to link the defensive third with the attacking third, that might solve some more of the attacking issues this team faces. 

FC Cincinnati’s willingness to try to press NYCFC higher up the field has the potential to be promising as well. Allan Cruz joined Brenner leading the press from the front, though they did not have much success. Last match, FC Cincinnati pressured Nashville in their own third just 13 times. On Saturday, FCC pressured NYCFC in that area 39 times. With more game time, FC Cincinnati’s ability to defend from the front will hopefully improve as well. 

Haris Medunjanin and Jurgen Locadia made positive contributions from the bench, though they came on chasing the game. Despite only playing 27 minutes, Medunjanin completed 28 of 33 passes, including 11 of 14 passes longer than 30 yards. Medunjanin’s three completed progressive passes led the team. Jurgen Locadia made an impact in his 34 minutes as well. He received 3 progressive passes and 13 of 17 passes targeted to him. Locadia also had two progressive carries and took three shots, accounting for 0.2 xG. Medunjanin’s ability to play direct and Locadia’s ability to receive the ball might be an option for Jaap Stam to deal with high pressure. That is to say, just go over it. 

One last player bearing mention is Calvin Harris. He seemed to have more of an impact in his second MLS match, leading the team in receiving four progressive passes. He also helped to progress the ball himself, making two progressive passes and two progressive carries himself. His two shots only accounted for 0.1 xG but both forced sharp saves from NYCFC keeper Sean Johnson.

The post Breaking down the bad and a little good from FC Cincinnati’s loss at NYCFC appeared first on Cincinnati Soccer Talk.

Last week against Nashville SC was an example of the scoreline flattering FC Cincinnati’s performance. The NYCFC match, in some ways, was the opposite. Despite the 5-0 result, the match’s expected goals scoreline was much closer, 2.1 to 1.4 in favor of NYCFC. NYCFC’s four goals contributed 0.74 of NYCFC’s expected goals, but Jesus Medina’s opener accounted for nearly all, 0.6, of that total. FC Cincinnati’s miserable set-piece defending is and should be a major talking point this week, and that’s the case here too.

A Quick Breakdown Of The Set Piece Goals

Not that anyone (myself included) really wants to dwell on the set-piece goals, it’s, at the very least, worth considering what happened to better understand what went wrong, ways FCC can improve going forward and what to look for in coming matches. I’m not an expert in goalkeeping or the finer x’s and o’s of set-piece marking. I’ll be looking forward to hearing Coach Gough break these down this week. After watching these over and over again, here’s a review of what happened on each goal followed by some bigger picture thoughts.

1-0, Medina 7’: Free kick from the right of Cody Cropper’s goal, about 18 yards from the endline. In-swinging ball, FC Cincinnati is set up zonally or at least mostly zonally. Nick Hagglund just misses the header and an NYCFC player heads it down and off of Calvin Harris. The deflection off of Harris comes to Andres Jasson, who takes a shot toward the back post, which deflects off an NYCFC player who is on the ground and falls to Jesus Medina who is all alone at the back post. It looks like Brenner, who was on the near 6-yard box corner, never tracked him after the ball went over his head on the delivery.

2-0, Hagglund OG 53’: Inswinging corner from Cropper’s left by Medina. Hagglund either wins the ball outright or Chanot heads it onto head and it goes in. Cropper wasn’t in the goal because he came for the ball but never had a chance and didn’t get a hand to it. He just gets cleaned out by Hagglund jumping. Hagglund looks to be defending zonally, Yuya Kubo can’t keep Chanot from getting his spot and contesting for the ball.

3-0, Thórarinsson 57’: Freekick from 29 yards. Quick distribution from Cropper on a save to Caleb Stanko, who is dispossessed easily. Allan Cruz fouls and gets a yellow card. NYCFC’s left back Thórarinsson hits it around the wall, putting it into the goal on a hop. NYCFC commentators note that the wall probably should have been further over, and I’m inclined to agree.

4-0, Castellanos 67’: If you’re looking for a definitive example of why FC Cincinnati not having a plan against a high press is such an issue, look no further than this play. Cropper plays a goal kick short to Tom Pettersson on his left. With no options, the ball goes back to Cropper, who tries to play the ball to Hagglund but he’s on the edge of the box near the endline, the ball is under hit and Hagglund slips. Medina pounces and plays the ball towards the center of the box. Stanko comes from behind to clear for a corner before Morales can get a touch. A Morales inswinging corner from Cropper’s right finds an unmarked Alfredo Morales who made a run around an obstructed Tom Pettersson. He flicks the ball on to an uncovered Castellanos who drills a shot that looks to be way off target, but it hits Hagglund’s legs and ricochets into the net. Brenner, who again was on the near post corner of the 6-yard box, did not contest the ball, but it was a very nice delivery by Morales. Also, how is that not another own goal?

5-0, Medina 83’: Short corner from Medina to Morales. Medina picks the ball up immediately after and hits a, let’s say speculative, ball at Cropper. He pretty obviously isn’t expecting a shot from there and Medina did hit it very hard toward the top corner of the far post. We might see teams keep trying this until the FCC goalkeepers stop it.

Cropper’s organization and command of the penalty area is at least partially to blame for two of the goals, at least to my eyes. To be totally fair, he was a late addition to the starting 11 and was making his competitive debut with the team. If Przemyslaw Tyton remains out, one would expect Cropper’s level of comfort with this backline to improve. Brenner’s position at the near post and lack of involvement during the first and fourth goals also seems concerning. The zonal marking versus man-marking on set pieces debate will rage but teams have shown that can be successful doing either, or some combination of both. The system as it worked put Nick Hagglund, probably FC Cincinnati’s best player in the air, in the right position to win headers on two of the goals, which is probably how you’d draw it up on the chalkboard. Hopefully this is something that can be worked out on the training ground but it’s definitely something that will demand close attention in the coming weeks.

The post How They Happened: Breaking down NYCFC’s goals against FC Cincinnati appeared first on Cincinnati Soccer Talk.

29′ Patrick Mullins, assisted by Richie Laryea

Goal Fault: 30% Saad Abdul-Salaam, 25% Haris Medunjanin, 15% Frankie Amaya, 15% Maikel van der Werff, 5% Przemyslaw Tyton, 5% Mathieu Deplagne, 5% other

The goal that Toronto scored against FCC was not an amazing piece of buildup play or a transcendent bit of skill. In fact, it was a pretty straightforward run in behind the defense followed by a cutback pass. However, the Toronto players’ movements in the final third caused the Orange and Blue defense confusion.

The move started with creative midfielder Alejandro Pozuelo with the ball on the FCC left flank. Pozuelo is a central midfielder, so having him pulled wide gave the Reds an extra body in that area of the pitch. Mathieu Deplagne moved to pressure the ball, leaving Haris Medunjanin matched up on the much faster Toronto right back Richie Laryea. Deplagne failed to pressure Pozuelo to the inside (yellow), and Laryea easily sprinted past a lackadaisical Medunjanin to get in behind the FCC defense. Central midfielder Jonathan Osoria pressed toward the FCC center backs, creating another target for them to worry about.

With Laryea in behind, Nick Hagglund moved to stop the ball. This should have caused Maikel van der Werff to shift onto the newly positioned Osorio and Saad Abdul-Salaam to shift over and mark center forward Patrick Mullins. Alvaro Barreal was left to sprint back toward the wing to cover the back post. Frankie Amaya, having lost track of Osorio, tried to make up for his poor positioning with effort, by heading straight toward the ball (yellow circle).

With five FC Cincinnati players all watching the ball from six yards or closer, Laryea cut the ball back to Mullins, who had pulled away from the crowd. Abdul-Salaam should have gone with him, but the various and dynamic runs from Toronto confused the right back. Goalkeeper Przemyslaw Tyton slipped at the near post, and the unmarked Mullins powered his shot home easily.

The goal illustrates how difficult it is for defenses to maintain concentration, pass runners, and mark players effectively when they are moving dynamically in the attack. Central midfielders floating wide or pressing toward center backs, outside backs making runs from inside channels and center forwards peeling back into positions typically occupied by midfielders create chaos, and FCC didn’t deal with it effectively in this instance.

In Contrast, FCC’s Stagnation

Throughout the first half, FC Cincinnati was plagued by ponderous and uninspiring play in the middle and offensive thirds. The situation outlined below was not uncommon.

Here, Amaya burst through the midfield on the dribble and had space to pick his head up. The Toronto defense was packed tight, and the passing windows were small. However, one way to make passing windows larger is to move in and across them, pulling defenders out of position as you go. Barreal stood in one window, with Brandon Vazquez behind him occupying the same passing lane. Yuya Kubo walked in front of the defense, and Joseph-Claude Gyau was not an option out wide.

With no movement and nowhere to play the ball, Amaya cut it to his left and passed to the trailing Deplagne out wide. There were gaps in the Toronto lines (green), but no movement to help get the ball into them.

Deplagne played the ball forward to Gyau, with two Toronto players moving to close the dangerous winger down. Deplagne stayed where he was, offering modest support, and Kubo floated behind the Toronto double team, unable to get the ball from Gyau. Vazquez and Barreal stood idly by the Toronto center backs awaiting a potential cross.

At least three dynamic options were present, any one of which could have caused the Toronto defense problems. Deplagne could have made an overlapping run, allowing Amaya to move into a supporting position and forcing the defenders to make choices as to whom they were going to cover (yellow). Kubo could have made a simple corner run, pulling at least one Toronto defender out of the center and giving Gyau the option to pass forward or backward (orange). Or, Vazquez could have checked from his forward position, creating an overload and a potential combination play with Gyau or one of the other FCC players in the vicinity (red).

Instead, none of these runs happened, and Gyau was forced to cut back to Deplagne. Deplagne then found the floating Kubo, who was not in space and not facing forward. Kubo had to turn with the ball under pressure and try to find a pass.

As it stood, Kubo played an errant pass that was easily picked off by Toronto. In yet another case of failed movement, Amaya could have dropped into space (yellow) giving him the option of receiving the ball and finding a streaking Deplagne or Abdul-Salaam (green).

But that second half…

In both the first and second halves, Toronto out-passed FC Cincinnati by roughly the same amount (around 35%). However, in the first half, Toronto also had 35% more passes in the final third, seven more crosses than FCC, and outshot the Orange and Blue 5-4. In the second half, those fortunes changed. FCC limited their final third passing deficit to 16%, only trailed Toronto by three crosses, and actually had one more shot than the Reds. So this begs the question: What changed?

At the half, coach Jaap Stam introduced Siem de Jong and Kamohelo Mokotjo. Mokotjo swapped in the midfield for an underperforming Amaya, and de Jong settled in at the 10, pushing Kubo to the wing and Gyau to center forward. This change allowed a few things to happen that greatly increased the movement for FC Cincinnati in the offensive third.

First, Kubo moving to the wing allowed the team to get the best out of the Japanese international. He combined well with left back Andrew Gutman and often dropped in, allowing Gutman to surge forward down the flank. Second, Gyau as a center forward provided a much different presence than Vazquez. Gyau constantly went looking for space, popping up on the wing or in the midfield to get on the ball. This did not allow the Toronto center backs to easily mark him out of the match. This movement also provided the vacated space for de Jong to press into, giving those center backs something else to think about. Finally, Mokotjo simply plays faster than any of the other FCC midfielders. He is constantly looking to play one-touch passes, and when he does take a second touch, the amount of time between touches is lightning quick. He sets a different tempo for this team, raising the speed of play for the entire group.

Conclusion

It is always difficult for a team — and fans of that team — to experience a run of losses. On the back of a poor run of form, this Toronto match didn’t seem to provide any positivity. However, if you isolate this match, losing 1-0 to an extremely good Toronto FC side is not a terrible result. Moreso, if you look at the improvement from the first to the second half, you’ll see that Stam has ideas of how to improve this team and may just be getting the players fit that can help him to do it.

@fccincytactalk (Brad Gough) for @CincySoccerTalk

Brad Gough is the former head coach of the Cincinnati Lady Saints and Cincinnati Christian University and a former Director of Coaching for Northern Kentucky Soccer Academy.

Tune into the latest Talking Tactics with Coach Gough Podcast as Coach breaks down the Philadelphia Union and Minnesota United losses!

The post Talking Tactics: The difference Between FC Cincinnati and Toronto FC appeared first on Cincinnati Soccer Talk.

59′ Ilsinho, unassisted

Goal Fault: 50% Mathieu Deplagne, 25% Haris Medunjanin, 15% Yuya Kubo, 5% Maikel van der Werff, 5% other

FC Cincinnati held the Union scoreless through nearly an hour of play. At times the Orange and Blue even looked the more likely to score. However, a poor defensive header, coupled with a lack of effort to win the second ball, provided the breakthrough the Union needed.

The move started with Philadelphia’s Brazilian playmaker, Ilsinho, on the ball. FCC was set up with a very good pressure-cover triangle (blue) to limit the threat. However, Maikel van der Werff, not Zico Bailey, should have been providing cover to Haris Medunjanin’s left. This would have allowed Baliey to shift wider and be in a better position to mark the Union’s outside back surging forward.

Ilsinho found that wide player, and though Bailey moved out to pressure, he couldn’t get close enough to prevent the cross. The FCC defense was well-positioned with a solid pressure-cover triangle (blue), and all players accounted for in the box (yellow).

That’s where any semblance of good play ended. Due to the good positioning, Mathieu Deplagne easily won the defensive header with no pressure from the Union but could only put it straight into the air. A flicked header to the right side, or even out of bounds, would have been a much better decision. As the ball sailed skyward, Deplagne’s teammates were slow to react. Yuya Kubo and Medunjanin showed a particular lack of effort as the ball headed toward the corner of the box nearest them (red).

As Medunjanin and Kubo walked, the ball fell kindly to Ilsinho, who volleyed it goalward. Taking a wicked deflection off of van der Werff, it wound up in the back of the net. 1-0 Union.

73’ Alejandro Bedoya , assisted by Brenden Aaronson

Goal Fault: 55% Mathieu Deplagne, 25% Kendall Waston, 10% Haris Medunjanin, 5% Kamohelo Mokotjo, 5% other

Philadelphia’s second goal came from a bad turnover in the middle third of the field by Deplagne. Eventual goal scorer Brenden Aaronson easily picked Deplagne’s pocket when FCC had solid possession of the ball.

Aaronson played a negative ball to left-back Kai Wagner, then moved to make a run down the sideline. Wagner hit a line splitting pass to striker Kacper Przybylko, closely pressured by Kendall Waston. Przybylko bumped the ball underneath to midfielder Jamiro Monteiro, who had Aaronson streaking down the FCC right sideline completely unaccounted for. During this run of play, Deplagne went for a walkabout, turning to chase the ball and leaving Aaronson in the clear.

Despite this poor play, FC Cincinnati was fairly well-positioned to defend the counter-attack. Van der Werff moved to slow Aaronson on the ball, and Waston hustled back to be in a covering position. Medunjanin dropped hard to the center of the field (blue arrow), while Kamohalo Mokotjo chased the play. Mokotjo should have tracked toward the middle (yellow arrow) instead of toward the ball, leaving Medunjanin to track three Union midfielders.

Aaronson cut inside of both van der Werff and Waston far too easily, opening up a plethora of passing options. With this cut, Medunjanin needed to get his hips turned so he could track both Ilsinho and Alejandro Bedoya.

However, Medunjanin dropped in far too deep to marshall both Union players, and Aaronson easily found Bedoya at the top of the box. The Union captain’s poor first touch popped the ball up, but he was able to catch it with a sweet volley, burying the shot in the side netting. 2-0 Union.

80′ Jack Elliott, assisted by Jamiro Monteiro

Goal Fault: 95% FC Cincinnati Center Backs, 5% other

Philadelphia’s final goal came from a free kick just outside the FC Cincinnati box. Up 2-0, the Union didn’t appear to be aggressive in getting bodies into the box, and the Orange and Blue outnumbered them 6-4. Probably set up in a purely zonal system, the diagram below shows the Union players matched to their corresponding FCC defender.

When defending a free kick zonally, players can’t simply drop straight back toward the net. They need to move to take up space within their zones where attackers are present. Monteiro whipped in a very good ball, but due to a lack of communication FC Cincinnati’s two best defensive headers of the ball, Waston and van der Werff (red), ended up marking no one. 3-0 Union.

Conclusion

I’ve been saying for some time that Deplagne is a defensive liability on this team. The first two goals of this match illustrated this. However, until other players on the pitch stop making simple mistakes, it is tough to single him out entirely. To be competitive defensively, this team needs a new right back, a new left back, and at minimum one new center back. Since the likelihood of those signings coming this year is practically nil, this team better figure out how to start scoring soon.

@fccincytactalk (Brad Gough) for @CincySoccerTalk

Brad Gough is the former head coach of the Cincinnati Lady Saints and Cincinnati Christian University and a former Director of Coaching for Northern Kentucky Soccer Academy.

Tune into the latest Talking Tactics with Coach Gough Podcast as Coach breaks down the Philadelphia Union and Minnesota United losses!

The post How They Happened: A look at the Union’s goals against FC Cincinnati appeared first on Cincinnati Soccer Talk.

Vazquez’s Starting Position

Unlike Yuya Kubo, Siem de Jong or Adrien Regattin before him, Vazquez is an out-and-out center forward. Because of this he often takes up a position high on the field and presses the opponent’s center backs toward their own net while his team is in possession. The image below shows Vazquez’s movement causing the Red Bulls right center back to sag backward, creating a huge gap between the midfield and the backline.

Often during the match, Vazquez pressed high, allowing Locadia to check back into the space that was created. Here, Locadia easily finds the separation from the Red Bulls left center back to receive the pass from Nick Hagglund.

Another way that Vazquez created space for Locadia was in his tendency to make runs in behind the Red Bulls defense. Here, as Andrew Gutman carries the ball up the left touchline, Vazquez surges down the line, again drawing attention from the opponent’s back line and creating a large gap between the lines. Locadia was drifting toward the back post as the play was developing.

Seeing the gap created by Vazquez’s run, Locadia changed his course and once again got on the ball between the Red Bulls lines.

This was a frequent occurrence throughout the match, and one we haven’t seen with other strikers up top. Locadia got on the ball 46 times during the match, equaling his season-high. In the preceding matches Locadia’s touches clocked in at 36 (New York City FC), 28 (Columbus), 46 (Chicago), 30 (Columbus), and 33 (D.C. United). His touches not only increased but he picked the ball up much more frequently in the center of the pitch. His heat and touch maps below illustrate how his involvement increased between the NYCFC and NYRB matches.

Vazquez Wants to Get Into the Box

When the other cast of characters that have partnered with Locadia play, they tend to break off from the forward line and operate in what coaches call “the hole.” This is the space just behind the central striker that is typically occupied by a creative midfielder. Vazquez, in contrast, wants to get into the box to get on the end of crosses. At Vazquez’s size (6-foot-3, 174 pounds), he provides a big target for long balls or crosses. This alone is enough of a difference to change the way FCC plays, but his desire to get on the end of these types of passes also allows the rest of the team to operate in the space he creates.

Here you can see a play where goalkeeper Premyslaw Tyton played a long ball toward Vazquez. The striker moved under the flight of the ball and chested it back to the oncoming Kubo. The rest of the FC  Cincinnati team, in turn, transitioned to offense.

Kubo shifted the ball wide to Gutman and continued his run forward. Locadia pressed the Red Bulls backline, creating space for Gutman to surge into. Vazquez trailed the play.

This is where things got interesting for the big American. Instead of trailing the play and looking to be a direct option in possession, he started to drift his run to the back post. This pulled two Red Bulls defenders toward him, giving FCC a 3v3 in the immediate area of the ball and drawing a fourth Red Bulls defender over to help. Gutman shifted the ball back to Haris Medunjanin, who played a ball into the corner for Locadia to chase.

Locadia created space with his run and found a cross that Vazquez headed into the back of the net. Unfortunately, his lack of experience showed, as he had drifted into an offside position. The idea was right, however. By making his run to the back post he not only created space for his teammates to work the ball forward but presented a target in the box for the final product.

If He Can Put it Together…

The combination of his movement, target play and starting position certainly allowed his teammates to get more involved in the areas of the field that suited them. However, Vazquez still left a lot of opportunities on the field that could have led to breaks for the Orange and Blue. Too often his touch let him down or he wasn’t able to pick out the right pass. He completed a miserable 54% of his passes and only 40% in the attacking third of the field. In all, he was credited with 16 ball losses.

Though it does no good to take up a good starting position and provide a good target if you can’t hold onto the ball, the sequence below shows the kind of potential Vazquez can add if he puts it all together. After drifting to the ball side and checking into space to receive a pass from Tom Pettersson with four players open on the weak side of the field, the team looked well-positioned to create a great opportunity to break.

However, under pressure from the Red Bulls defenders, Vazquez couldn’t get the ball out of his feet. He took three touches before being dispossessed. Had he been able to find a teammate in the center of the pitch, or even simply play the ball back to Pettersson for him to switch the play, FCC had a 4v2 opportunity on the right side. As it stood, the opportunity was left wanting and the Red Bulls went back on the attack.

The introduction of a big, target forward to pair with Locadia opened up the match for Stam and FC Cincinnati. Vazquez’s particular sense of urgency and energy was certainly a welcome addition as well. However, his turnovers, poor touches and inability to finish on either of his two fairly good chances left his doubters with ammunition.

In my opinion, Stam needs to get Locadia some help on the offensive side of the pitch. Whether that is starting a target forward like Vazquez alongside him, instructing a more mobile forward like Kubo to take up higher starting positions and get in the box more frequently or moving to a 4-3-3 to spread defenses out along the width, this team looks better when center backs can’t solely focus on Locadia.

@fccincytactalk (Brad Gough) for @CincySoccerTalk

Brad Gough is the former head coach of the Cincinnati Lady Saints and Cincinnati Christian University, and a former Director of Coaching for Northern Kentucky Soccer Academy.

Tune into the latest Talking Tactics with Coach Gough Podcast as Coach breaks down FCC’s loss to New York City FC!

Check out our Talking Tactics YouTube page for instructional videos and more content.

The post Talking Tactics: What Vazquez does for FC Cincinnati appeared first on Cincinnati Soccer Talk.

52′ Pedro Santos, assisted by Luis Díaz

Goal Fault: 65% Joseph-Claude Gyau, 30% Greg Garza, 5% other

At the start of the second half, Columbus Caleb Porter introduced Luis Díaz into the lineup on the right wing. It became immediately evident that he and the Columbus right back, Harrison Afful, were going to try to overload Greg Garza and the left side of the FC Cincinnati defense. FC Cincinnati coach Jaap Stam failed to make the necessary changes to counteract this tactic, and the home side capitalized with an early goal.

The move began with a bad giveaway that saw the ball ricochet from the center of the field to Adrien Regattin, who was unable to get it under control and instead deflected it to Afful on the right flank. Noticeable here was the lack of immediate defensive transition. Once it became evident that Columbus was going to win the loose ball, each FCC player should have shown urgency in retreating into their defensive shape. Joseph-Claude Gyau (blue circle) was the last to react, and Pedro Santos (red circle), the player that he was to pick up, was to be the eventual goal scorer.

Afful moved the ball to Díaz, who immediately looked to take on Garza off the dribble. The American right-back was easily beaten with a turn of pace and could only swing an arm at Díaz in a failed attempt to slow him down. Though he shouldn’t have been so easily beaten, Garza received little help from his covering defenders due to the slow transition of the midfield. Had Yuya Kubo or Frankie Amaya taken up a position in front of the back four more quickly, Maikel van der Werff would have been able to slide over to more effectively help Garza (red).

Díaz found a dangerous cross through the FCC penalty area. Kendall Waston and Kubo were left flailing in an attempt to stop a potential Darlington Nagbe strike, which they were just able to do. However, Gyau completely turned off as the cross came through, leaving Santos wide open to easily slot his shot home. 1-0 to the Crew.

64’ Gyasi Zardes , assisted by Santos

Goal Fault: 55% Mathieu Deplagne, 40% Maikel van der Werff, 5% other

Gyasi Zardes, the FCC Killer, came into the match for the Crew soon after the opening goal, and it didn’t take long for him to get on the scoresheet. FC Cincinnati had just introduced Haris Medunjanin and Andrew Gutman and shifted to a 4-3-3 when a ball into the corner should have easily been dealt with by Deplagne. Instead, he tried to play the ball off a Columbus attacker for a goal kick and turned the ball over needlessly.

The ball was passed out to Santos, who was pressured by Amaya with Deplagne in cover (red). As Santos moved the ball centrally to Nagbe, Medunjanin correctly moved out to pressure (blue).

Amaya correctly moved to help out in midfield, leaving Santos, the Columbus left-winger, to be marked by FCC’s right back. However, instead of remaining in a position to cover Santos, Deplagne sagged back toward the middle as if he were still playing right center back. Gyau had not tracked back to cover due to the formation switch.

Nagbe shifted the ball back out to Santos, and though Amaya attempted to move back over to press, he was not in time to prevent the cross. Van der Werff was touch-tight to Zardes and should have been able to beat him to the cross, but the American forward got the better of the Dutchman to deflect the well-served ball in at the near post. 2-0 to the Crew.

71′ Zardes, unassisted

Goal Fault: 95% Mathieu Deplagne, 5% other

The final goal, Zardes’ second, came from a move that began at the midway line. Columbus moved the ball to Valenzuela on the left wing, and Deplagne was there to press (blue). Valenzuela looked to flick the ball into Santos as he checked back from a forward position. 

Valenzuela easily ran past Deplagne, who momentarily hesitated, thinking his job was finished and began the break for Columbus.

With the Orange and Blue defense scrambling, Valenzuela found Díaz, who cut inside and had his shot deflected high into the air. As it fell to Afful, Deplagne was the deepest FCC defender, keeping Zardes onside.

Afful’s header was met by Zardes with Deplagne once again slow to react. Przemyslaw Tyton made an excellent save to deny the American and parried the ball into the air. Tyton’s deflection fell kindly to Deplagne, who attempted to bring it down on his chest facing his own goal. Had he headed it away, or even turned his body to shield Zardes, the goal may have been prevented. Instead, he popped the ball nicely off his chest and Zardes met it for a first-time finish. 3-0 to the Crew.

Conclusion

Every goal scored in a soccer match is a confluence of events, most of which could be prevented by any number of players on the pitch. However, there is typically a moment in the build-up where a poor turnover, a mental lapse or a failure to track back escalates the danger precipitously. Unfortunately for Stam and FC Cincinnati, one such mental error typically leads to more, causing a 1-0 deficit to turn to 2-0, and even 3-0 soon after. 

Stam will not be happy giving up three goals to any team, much less a rival. But he may be even more troubled by his team’s lack of goal scoring. He’ll have a full week of training to try to right the ship as he leads his team to take on New York City FC on Saturday.

@fccincytactalk (Brad Gough) for @CincySoccerTalk

Brad Gough is the former head coach of the Cincinnati Lady Saints and Cincinnati Christian University and a former Director of Coaching for Northern Kentucky Soccer Academy.

Tune into the latest Talking Tactics with Coach Gough Podcast as Coach talks with Michael Lahoud, and answers your questions in the mailbag. Look for our newest podcast on your favorite podcast network each week!

The post How They Happened: A look at Columbus Crew’s goals against FC Cincinnati appeared first on Cincinnati Soccer Talk.

1: Don’t be afraid to get out in transition more quickly

I believe Stam’s preferred system involves passing the ball around the back in order to draw the opponent out before trying to break its lines quickly. However, with FCC playing in a 5-3-2, getting out in transition quickly and punishing teams on the break can be a real asset.

Time after time FCC’s midfield would win the ball off the Crew and ignore an opportunity to go forward in favor of playing a negative pass. I’m not against playing negative, and I’m not against possession, but I do think teams should transition quickly when given the opportunity.  Below is one such time. Adrien Regattin made a good play on the ball to pick Pedro Santos’s pocket. Immediately Siem de Jong, Frankie Amaya and Yuya Kubo are all in great space to start a counter-attack.

Even after taking the extra touches to cut inside, Regattin still had Amaya and Kubo in space. And, with Joseph-Claude Gyau making his run up the right sideline, the break looked promising.

Whether he didn’t see his teammates, lacked the confidence to play forward under pressure or played negatively because of Stam’s game plan, Regattin ignored the chance to go forward.

2: Get creative with your runs forward

Too often players run in straight lines, allowing defenders to track their movements easily. Any time you force a defender to make a decision in transition — whether to follow a forward or pass him off, to step to the ball or track a run — that defender might make a mistake. Running in straight lines requires no such decisions.

Here you can see that Amaya picks up the ball and makes a decisive forward pass into the feet of Kubo. Kubo plays well on the half-turn and explodes forward on the break with Regattin, Andrew Gutman and Jürgen Locadia all ahead of him.

All three of these players make straight runs toward the back line (blue). The green arrows below show just one other possibility, but there are many. Here, I imagine Regattin checking his run and asking for the ball at his feet. This would allow Locadia to make a slashing run across the defense opening up the possibility for a three-player combination. Alternately, if the defender chooses to step to Regattin, Kubo could cut inside instead, creating a 2v2 opportunity with Locadia.

Another similar opportunity shows Locadia on the right flank with a 3v3 break toward the Crew goal, and lots of space in which to operate. This time it is Regattin and Kubo that make straight runs.

Locadia is eventually closed down and tries to slip a pass to Kubo. Due to the poor angle caused by his straight run, the ball sails harmlessly out of bounds. The green arrows once again show one alternate possibility. I imagine if Kubo moves to overlap Locadia, he would be open with a better angle to receive the ball. If the Crew defender chose to follow Kubo, this would open up space for Locadia to create his own shot or to find Regattin making a run across the top of the box.

FC Cincinnati created enough good opportunities going forward against the Crew that, with a bit more creativity in its movement, I think it may have been able to challenge Columbus goalkeeper Eloy Room a bit more.

3: Play quicker and take fewer touches offensively

Taking too many touches can be the symptom of many different problems. Perhaps a player isn’t confident in his ability to pick his head up and make a quick pass. Maybe he’s not sure where his teammates will be or what runs they are making. Or, maybe the communication isn’t good enough between teammates to accelerate the speed of play. Whatever the issue is, FC Cincinnati players seem to always take extra touches.

Here, after turning up-field and making a nice move to get into space, Locadia intelligently finds Kubo with a short cutback pass. If Kubo opens his hips and finds Gyau in the center of the park, the electric winger has loads of space to take on the Columbus left back.

Instead, Kubo takes multiple touches to bring the ball inside. Gyau is forced to check up his run to receive the pass, and Valenzuela is able to put him under immediate pressure, diminishing the chance.

Another break shows Gyau as the culprit. He made an excellent move to cut inside of the Columbus left midfielder, and de Jong was bursting forward in great space. If Gyau found de Jong early, the Dutchman had Regattin and Kubo ahead of him and Gutman wide open on the left wing.

Gyau instead chose to keep the ball for an extra touch or two. By the time he passed the ball to de Jong there was so little space that possession was turned over easily.

Failing to get forward quickly in transition could be a result of the players over-functioning in Stam’s possession-oriented game plan. The lack of dynamic runs on breaks could be chalked up to a lack of anticipation instead of waiting to see what the player with the ball will do before making a decision. Taking too many touches may just be the symptom of early-season rust, causing mental processing to slow down.

Whatever the reasons, if Stam and Co. can fix these three problems, I predict it will be a long time before FC Cincinnati sees another run of this length without getting on the score sheet.

@fccincytactalk (Brad Gough) for @CincySoccerTalk

Brad Gough is the former head coach of the Cincinnati Lady Saints and Cincinnati Christian University, and a former Director of Coaching for Northern Kentucky Soccer Academy.

Tune into the latest Talking Tactics with Coach Gough Podcast as Coach talks with MLS veteran Michael Lahoud. Look for the Talking Tactics with Coach Gough Podcast on your favorite podcast network each week!

The post Talking Tactics: Three things FC Cincinnati can do to score more goals appeared first on Cincinnati Soccer Talk.

2′ Fabian Herbers, assisted by Gastón Giménez

Fabian Herbers opened the scoring very early for the Fire on a nice finish off a long ball in behind the FC Cincinnati defense. It began with Allan Cruz pressuring the ball on the wing. Frankie Amaya and Andrew Gutman were perfectly positioned to cover him (blue). Caleb Stanko (red) was the free man in midfield with no opponent to mark.

As the ball moved inside to Gastón Giménez, no FCC midfielder reacted to the pass. As the free player in midfield, Stanko should have been aware of Giménez and already closing him down. Boris Sekulic continued his run (dark blue), causing Amaya and Cruz to stay in place to prevent the return pass.

Instead, Giménez was free to take his time in looking up and finding the well-timed run of Herbers. Tom Pettersson was the only one of the FCC center backs correctly positioned. Kendall Waston and Mathieu Deplagne both allowed Fire attackers to sit between the gaps in the backline. When correctly positioned here, Waston would be positioned near the central attacker, and Deplagne would be tracking the run of Hebers.

A view from the touchline shows how slow Deplagne was to react to the long ball. Due to the flat trajectory of the ball, goalkeeper Przemyslaw Tyton would have had a very tough time coming to claim the ball. Instead, he stayed put several yards off of his line and Herbers neatly flicked the ball beyond him. 1-0 to the Fire.

10’ Álvaro Medrán, assisted by Ignacio Aliseda

Chicago’s second goal came just eight minutes later. Once again a lack of midfield pressure began the play. When a player is applying pressure in the midfield and the ball is moved, he is taught to drop into cover while one of his midfield partners moves forward to pressure. This avoids ball chasing and allows the midfield to keep a good pressure-cover structure. 

Here, Yuya Kubo applied pressure on the Fire’s left touchline. As the ball is moved separately, he should have dropped while Stanko moved to pressure. Neither happened, and Álvaro Medrán was free to take several touches before spotting the run of winger Przemyslaw Frankowski.

As Medrán’s pass sailed over the FCC backline, Pettersson misjudged it slightly. He was forced to turn his back to the flight of the ball in an attempt to catch up to Frankowski.

Frankowski knocked the ball down into the path of teammate Ignacio Aliseda, whose shot was blocked. As the ball ricocheted into the midfield, Stanko and Waston watched, showing no urgency to close down the onrushing Medrán. Only Amaya attempted to make a play on the ball.

Amaya’s effort proved too little as he turned his back just as the shot was struck. Medrán hit it unbelievably well, and it curled its way through the sea of bodies screening Tyton. The only other player that could have stopped the goalazo was Deplagne (red circle), who was incorrectly positioned to the outside of his mark. With Deplagne incorrectly positioned, Tyton was left helpless as he couldn’t see the shot until it was too late to react to it. 2-0 to the Fire.

67′ Ignacio Aliseda, assisted by Boris Sekulic and Elliot Collier

Aliseda piled on the Orange and Blue, adding a goal to his stat line that already included an assist. The move began with Elliot Collier taking on Andrew Gutman. Gutman incorrectly approached Collier, failing to force him to the outside. 

As Collier cut inside, Siem de Jong was well-positioned to provide cover (red). However, he failed to step to the ball, allowing Collier to slip a pass into Sekulic. The three FCC center backs initially reacted correctly, with Pettersson closing on Sekulic, Waston in a good spot to mark Aliseda, and Deplagne rotating toward the back post.

However, Waston got caught ball watching as Sekulic squared the ball to Aliseda, who opened his hips and easily slid his shot into the far post. 3-0 to the Fire.

Conclusion

The blame for each goal by the Chicago Fire can be placed at the feet of multiple FC Cincinnati players. Truth be told, none of them should be proud of their performances. The good news here is that, unlike last year, the mistakes of this match have not plagued the team in the preceding contests. Hopefully this performance was a one-off, and the team will adjust and be prepared to take on the Columbus Crew on Saturday.

@fccincytactalk (Brad Gough) for @CincySoccerTalk

Brad Gough is the former head coach of the Cincinnati Lady Saints and Cincinnati Christian University, and a former Director of Coaching for Northern Kentucky Soccer Academy.

Tune into the latest Talking Tactics with Coach Gough Podcast as Coach breaks down the last match and answers your questions in the mailbag. Look for our newest podcast on your favorite podcast network each week!

The post How They Happened: A look at the Fire’s goals vs. FC Cincinnati appeared first on Cincinnati Soccer Talk.

Right Back

Joseph-Claude Gyau performed admirably as a right wing back in coach Jaap Stam’s 5-3-2 during the MLS is Back Tournament, but anyone watching him skin the opposition going forward knows that winger or wide midfielder is his more natural position. Outside of his performance in the tournament, he has only played outside back for 64 minutes in his entire career. 

Mathieu Deplagne and Saad Abdul-Salaam are the other players that we’ve seen play the position. However, in terms of outside backs, they are average defensively, and far below average going forward. Both of them hover around completing 20% of their crosses and winning below 50% of their offensive duels.

In his single start during the MLS is Back Tournament, Abdul-Salaam completed 82% of his 23 passes. At first blush, these stats aren’t too bad from a side that had so little of the ball. However, he completed only 5 of 9 forward passes. All of the rest of his passes were square or backward. 

This play from FC Cincinnati’s first match against Atlanta shows Deplagne’s lack of attacking nous. With a ton of time and space, two great windows and four potential targets, he attempts to force a ball into Haris Medunjanin, who is just making a run trying to free up the pass to Yuya Kubo in the center. Medunjanin manages to stab the ball back to Deplagne, who still has Kubo waiting wide open centrally. However, he instead attempts to force the ball into Gyau on the sideline and turns over possession.

Both Deplagne and Abdul-Salaam are serviceable at the position. However, if Stam wants to play in the 4-3-3, he’ll need a right back that is very good both defending and going forward.

Center Back

It’s looking more and more like Maikel van der Werff will have an extended stay on the sidelines due to a groin injury. And let’s be clear, even with van der Werff in the lineup the FCC center backs could use some help. Tom Pettersson and van der Werff are unproven in MLS and look to me to be average players at the position. Kendall Waston has best XI caliber upside, but only in a system that allows him to defend in tight areas and use his strength and aerial prowess.

The series below shows Waston’s glaring lack of speed and agility, which makes him a liability defending in space. Greg Garza is caught upfield, and Waston needs to delay Gonzalo “Pity” Martinez, who is bearing down on him from the wing. Besides Garza, Waston has two other defenders to his inside that are recovering to provide help. As Martinez closes on the big Costa Rican, Waston is unable to get his hips in a position to push the attacker to the inside. In one dribble, Martinez blows by Waston and creates more than a yard of space.

Let me be clear, Waston performed admirably in the MLS is Back Tournament. But that was in a three center back system. I think he, Nick Hagglund and Pettersson are all best suited to playing with two other center backs there to cover them.

Backup Center Forward

Jurgen Locadia has looked the part of a capable No. 9 so far. His holdup play and movement have been excellent, and even though it looks like he hasn’t quite found his scoring boots, he still has two goals in 133 minutes played for the club. However, what’s left behind the Dutchman? Adrien Regattin was favored over Brandon Vazquez in the MLS is Back Tournament. This is telling of how little Stam trusts the young American. 

For all of Regattin’s quality, the holdup play that is needed to play in a possession heavy 4-3-3, or in a low block 5-3-2 is not one of them. In the tournament, Regattin only won 40% of his aerial duels and gave the ball away a whopping 61% of the time that he touched it in FCC’s defensive half. For comparison, Tesho Akindele of Orlando City, who many view as average at the position, won 58% of his aerial duels and gave up possession only 16% of the time he received the ball in his own half.

For his part, Vazquez shows much better hold up play than Regattin but still has far too many turnovers, poor touches and erratic runs to be a consistent performer. I do think that Vazquez has shown some quality and will improve, but Stam’s selection of Regattin in each tournament match is telling. Behind Locadia, there is not a real center forward that is ready to get solid MLS minutes. 

@fccincytactalk (Brad Gough) for @CincySoccerTalk

Brad Gough is the former head coach of the Cincinnati Lady Saints and Cincinnati Christian University, and a former Director of Coaching for Northern Kentucky Soccer Academy.

Tune into the latest Talking Tactics with Coach Gough Podcast as Brad breaks down the final match of the MLS is Back Tournament with guest Joe Lowery! Look for our new podcast on your favorite podcast network each week!

The post Questions for Coach: Positions of need for FC Cincinnati – Part 2 appeared first on Cincinnati Soccer Talk.

Defensive Central Midfield

FC Cincinnati needs a defensive central midfielder that is well above the league average. Much has been made of the squad’s crowded midfield and how coach Jaap Stam can put the pieces together to get the most out of his crew. In Haris Medunjanin, he has a world-class passer that doesn’t defend much. Frankie Amaya is a young, up and coming prospect who is rapidly improving and very solid overall but hasn’t shown an outstanding ability on the offensive or defensive side of the ball. Allan Cruz is an international talent in the center of the pitch but has been deployed mostly as a wing or an attacker. 

Then there’s Caleb Stanko. A seemingly forgotten man under Ron Jans, Stanko’s introduction into the starting lineup coincided with FCC’s switch to the 5-3-2 and its run of giving up only one goal over three matches. He’s known as a hard-nosed defender who doesn’t add much in possession. In fact, I’ve touted on my Talking Tactics podcast this very fact. However, I think Stanko is closer to Amaya in that regard than to an above-average defensive central midfielder.

In the Portland match, Stanko completed 90% of his passes. After seeing the stat, I assumed most of them were backward or sideways, so I went back and watched the match specifically focusing on the American midfielder. I was shocked to see so many plays like the sequence pictured below. Here, Stanko gets his head upfield and sees the Portland defender closing in on him before receiving the ball. He turns, and seeing the window that Yuya Kubo is checking into is too tight, he pivots, pushes the ball into space and hits a beautiful curling ball with his left foot to Andrew Gutman on the opposite touchline.

Indeed, the more I watched Stanko, the more I was impressed with the way his head was always on a swivel in possession, and he seemed to always get the ball out of his feet quickly and pick out the correct pass. His ability to find pockets of space from which to support play was excellent as well. Below, as Tom Pettersson finds a checking Adrien Regattin, Stanko sits perfectly between the Portland midfielders and continues to scan the field for the next pass. As Regattin lays the ball off to him and the Portland players quickly close, he is already prepared to find the next pass. He plays a one-touch pass to Kubo in a dangerous space on the field.

So is Stanko the guy, or does Stam need to invest in a midfielder this transfer window? I’d say the problem with Stanko is that he is not nearly as good defensively as his reputation would claim. During the MLS tournament, he only won 36.8% of his defensive duels. Defensive stalwarts like Diego Chara of Portland or Artur of Columbus were well over 50% in this category. He also has far fewer recoveries than those players and makes fewer tackles. 

The image below shows a series where Stanko’s defending is badly exposed. He is matched up 1v1 on the flank with good cover down the line and to the inside. However, as the Atlanta United attacker accelerates past him he turns his hips to chase, allowing the dribbler to cut back inside, away from his cover and into open space.

This team needs a defensive midfielder who can actually defend if Stam ever hopes to get back to playing an expansive 4-3-3. I’m not sure who would be available this window, but I would make the position a priority.

Stay tuned for Questions for Coach: Positions of need for FCC – Parts 2 through 4.

@fccincytactalk (Brad Gough) for @CincySoccerTalk

Brad Gough is the former head coach of the Cincinnati Lady Saints and Cincinnati Christian University, and a former Director of Coaching for Northern Kentucky Soccer Academy.

Tune into the latest Talking Tactics with Coach Gough Podcast as Brad breaks down FC Cincinnati’s loss to Portland with special guest Joe Lowery from the MLS Assist podcast! Look for our new podcast on your favorite podcast network each week!

The post Questions for Coach: Positions of need for FC Cincinnati – Part 1 appeared first on Cincinnati Soccer Talk.