New York Red Bulls v. Philadelphia Union Tactical Analysis

   

A breakdown of Sunday night's match at Red Bull Arena and what went right and wrong for either team.

Defense first has been Jim Curtin's mantra this season but particularly over the past two games as his philosophy has finally been put into practice.

It's all well and good to say the defense played well, but tactically what did the Union do right that won them this game?

Defensively:

Defending as a unit:

Yes the defense has been shoddy at best in previous matches and yes there have been games where individuals stood out (both negatively and postively) but tonight was the first time the Union truly defended together this season. Whether or not this is down to a renewed confidence and communication with on loan keeper Brian Sylvestre or not remains to be seen. However, what IS clear to see is on the night, the Union defended like lions. This means not stepping out of the group to make last ditch tackles only to find yourself in no man's land (Ethan White), knowing when to go forward (Fabinho), and covering for your fellow defender in situations where a double team or a clearance is needed (just about every time BWP was in the Union box.) 

Not playing out from the back:

Too many times we've seen the Union get caught out by teams because they attempted to play it short from the goalkeeper to the defenders and so on. The Union did just the opposite on the night and it worked quite well. Unlike previous matches they took a different approach to defending, the back four not only combined for a combined 19 clearances but also often chose to simplify play by sending it long/direct for the head of Conor Casey which can be seen in the number of passes by the team on the night (285). Compare this to the 418 passes of the loss against Vancouver two weeks ago and you'll notice a stark difference.     

Narrow when not in possession:

At times during the game both Andrew Wenger and Sebastian Le Toux tucked in as extra "defensive midfielders" and clogged the center. To combat this, New York played long diagonal balls to their wingers (and striker as Grella went wide at times). While this caused the Union some problems when players like Grella and Sam dribbled at the wide defenders, the Union did a much better job of double teaming wingers than in past games. More often than not though, New York seemed to prefer to cross to ill effect. A very poor 27% cross completion rate, a lack of quality on the overlap (particularly after Lawrence was taken off due to injury), and a combined 12 aerial duels won by the Union centerbacks saw New York create very few chances from crosses.    

Offensively: 

Casey and Christian Maidana switching positions:

Although Connor Casey played the lone striker role on the night, it was often Maidana who found himself furthest forward as Casey's flicked headers were aimed for an advancing Maidana to take New York's defenders on the dribble. While an interesting strategy, a lone Maidana often found himself up against several New York defenders with no one to pass to ahead of him. Maidana isn't the quickest and while an excellent dribbler, he's no miracle worker. The Union were far more effective when CJ Sapong entered the game. While offering a similar physicality and aerial ability to Conor Casey, Sapong's pace gave the Union attack the dimension they were missing on the counter attack that proved vital to the win. Furthermore, the Union seemed to create more concrete chances later in the game when Maidana dropped deeper to play passes for the runs of Sapong and Nogueira.

New York:  

While dominating possession 66-34%, New York's attacking midfield three lost possession/were dispossessed a wopping 12 times. The creative engine of the team, Sacha Klejstan, had 85 touches but managed just 1 key pass. There is a stark contrast when it is compared with their victory over NYCFC two weeks ago where he had 3 key passes from 56 touches. Furthermore, goal-scoring machine Bradley Wright-Phillips managed a solid 6 shots on goal, but was kept to just a solitary shot on target thanks to the double and triple teaming effort of the Union defense.    

Manager Jesse Marsch's substiutes also seemed to have little effect on the game, as the three players combined for just a solitary shot on goal.