With a short week to write a blog this week with the midweek action for Vancouver vs Columbus, I'm shaking things up a bit with this review/preview. Any questions or comments, feel free to let me know. With that said, lets get stuck in...
TISSUE GATE: What do you get when you combine two young managers filled with passion and a penchant for pissing other managers off? Tissue-gate. After a hotly contested matchup that saw Portland Timbers get past FC Dallas 3-1, Portland manager Caleb Porter approached Dallas manager Oscar Pareja for the customary handshake. At this point, the tale of what happened diverges into a he said/he said. Porter claims Papi Pareja blew his nose on a tissue and tried to hand it to Porter, which Porter grabbed and threw back at him as he walked away. For his side, Pareja claimed he used to tissue to dab a mock tear, telling Porter to take the tissue and stop his constant crying to the ref.
The way I saw events unfold, and from the responses to the case of handbags, it is pretty clear to me that Pareja was being a little whiny himself, but was still in the right. Porter and his staff do constantly complain and whine over every call, as many managers do, and the tissue gag from Pereja was rather funny.
If you are a betting man, wager heavy on both of these managers getting involved in another mock fight this season, possibly against each other, as they are scheduled to face off one more time this season before a potential future matchup in the playoffs.
VANCOUVER RISING: At this stage of the season, the best team in the league changes from week to week, but at this early stage of the season, our new kings of the mountain are the Vancouver Whitecaps. In a week 5 match this past weekend, Vancouver outplayed LA Galaxy, having answers to questions LA hadn't even thought of asking yet. Vancouver controlled possession, against their usual style, and were completely comfortable in the first half, with Ousted not being forced into a single save. In the second, LA began pressing the game and taking chances, which left them more open and vulnerable as a counter attack led to a 1-0 lead as Rosales put Manneh through. Not long after the hour mark, Vancouver doubled the lead with the final score of the match as Octavio Rivero did all of the work himself before laying the ball off to Mezquida, and banging home the rebound.
With a record of 4-1-0, Vancouver currently sit atop the Western Conference, as well as in pole position for the Supporter's Shield. A team loaded with talent, consistency will tell the tale of how they fare this season, but early doors, things are looking up.
TACTICAL CORNER: The 4-3-3/4-5-1 formation has been king as of late in MLS, perhaps due to the quality and depth of attacking midfielders in the league. Rosales, Higuain, Kaka, Diaz, and the like, are the cogs that keep their teams clocks ticking. So far this early season there seems to be two thoughts of how to deal with such important pace setters from the clubs they face. One school of thought is to put your best defensive midfielder on him, be it Beckerman, Alonso, Trapp, etc. While the other school of thought is to drop the man marker, and instead play a sort of zone, sharing the duties between several players.
For me, even when you have a top drawer defensive mid, the best way to deal with an attacking mid who can control a game, is to play a loose triangle around him. With the loose triangle, you can choke out any passing lane open to the player, making his impact on the game almost nil. Without the ball, these players become dead weight to their teams.
Playing the triangle too tight can lead to too much space for the other attacking talents in the opposition, while playing the triangle too loose fails to close off those all important passing lanes. Some might call the loose triangle a rotational man marking system, but the loose triangle term puts an image in your head the rotational man marking system moniker does not.
Over the coming weeks, I will continue to monitor what tactic clubs use against some of the bigger name attacking mids to compare and contrast what works, what doesn't, and why.
WEEK 6 PREDICTIONS:
VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC 2-1 COLUMBUS CREW SC: Potentially the match of the week, and a clash of two of my favorite squads of 2015, Vancouver has won the last three meetings between these two clubs, and bring a league leading points total (12) into the match. Columbus on the other hand hasn't won in Vancouver since 2011, Vancouver's expansion season, and is playing in just their 4th match of the season here, while Vancouver will be playing their 6th.
FC DALLAS 3-1 COLORADO RAPIDS: The UNIMAS Friday night matchup, Dallas comes in off a loss to Portland, but is riding a 3 match winning streak against Colorado, who enter the match winless as well as goalless. Colorado has now gone 18 matches between the past two seasons without a win, tying the all time MLS record. While I feel they may finally break their goal drought this week, I foresee a record breaking result in the offing for them. Whether or not they score that goal in the first 23 minutes will decide if they set another record, longest streak to start the season without a goal. So far they have gone 600 minutes without a goal, and may set the new all-time mark currently held by TFC should they go another 23 minutes without a goal.
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION 1-0 COLUMBUS CREW SC: Are you sensing a theme yet? NE enter the match with a 3 game winning streak against Columbus. The Crew however won two of the three regular season meetings last year, before being demolished in the playoffs by the Revs. While Rowe has been has been hot as of late, the Revs are still missing a key figure in Jermaine Jones, and the Crew could capitalize on this miss as they did last year. Should be a solid Eastern Conference clash.
PHILADELPHIA UNION 0-0 NEW YORK CITY FC: In the match I'm least excited about this week, the Union enter with a 3 match losing streak after their 2 initial draws. NY enters with a mixed bag of results at 1-1-2. Two of the Unions 5 goals this season have been own goals, with new boy Fernando Aristeguieta bagging the other three. NY has scored three goals this season, but hasn't scored in 186 minutes.
DC UNITED 1-1 NEW YORK RED BULLS: NY has won three of their last 5 meetings with DC. DC enter the match with back-to-back added time victories, as well as with the knowledge that the home team walked away with a 2-0 victory in all of the three previous regular season match-ups, and the home team winning in both legs of their playoff clash last season. NY however enters the match having already defeated DC once this season, having scored two more goals than DC, despite having played a match less.
HOUSTON DYNAMO 2-0 MONTREAL IMPACT: The Dynamo haven't scored in 259 minutes. The Impact had a tough midweek clash in Costa Rica. The Dynamo however have won their last 4 against the Impact in Houston, with Montreal's only win of the series coming on home soil. I look for Houston to break their duck this week, and continue the streak.
SPORTING KC 2-2 REAL SALT LAKE: Over the last 4 meetings between these two powers, Sporting won twice, followed by back-to-back draws. KC enter the match coming off two stoppage time goals in a thriller last week against the Union, while RSL snuck by the Earthquakes. RSL hasn't won in KC since 2009, and has never won at Sporting Park. In what should be a good matchup, wise money is on a KC win, but my trick elbow is backing the draw.
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES 2-2 VANCOUVER WHITECAPS: The Caps won their last 3 against San Jose at home, while drawing the last two in San Jose, having only lost to San Jose once in history. This will be the Caps first trip to Avaya stadium, where San Jose suffered their first home loss last week. Vancouver does have a midweek match to deal with, but are young enough to cope unless there are injuries. This should be a true battle between Wondo and Rivero. Could be interesting. I predict Vancouver will go defensive, concede possession, and in the end, get a point.
PORTLAND TIMBERS FC 2-1 ORLANDO CITY SC: ESPN2's Sunday Night Match of the Week, it will be the first meeting between the two squads. Portland enters on a winning note after stunning high flying Dallas, while Orlando enters after losing a match on yet another late goal. So far, 4 of their 5 points have been earned on the road. The atmosphere and Kaka make it one to watch.
LA GALAXY 3-2 SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC: Fox Sports 1's Sunday Night Match of the Week, the home team has won the last three meetings between these two Western Conference and Supporter's Shield giants. LA has had a bit of a wobble as of late, losing their last two matches, while Seattle greeted the return of Dempsey with a win in Houston. Every Seattle goal this season has been scored by DP partnership Martins and Dempsey. While form may suggest Seattle can sneak all three points, I have a feeling Robbie Keane nets a brace, with a mid stepping up and netting a third.
Thank you for reading my Week 5 review (ish) and week 6 preview. IF you have any questions or comments about the format dabbling, feel free to post a comment below. Until next time, remember as always, MLS Matters.
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