Aron Winter sprung a couple of surprises in his line-up for the return leg against the LA Galaxy. As expected, Julian de Guzman came in for Terry Dunfield and Nick Soolsma also returned from suspension but unexpectedly it was Luis Silva who made way. Milos Kocic was also drafted into the squad taking over for Stefan Frei in goal. Bruce Arena only made one change from the first leg starting rookie Tommy Meyer ahead of Andrew Boyens at centre back.
Lack of pressing the story
One cannot talk about this match without mentioning the low level of pressing from Toronto FC. Their defensive line played very high up the pitch which, as previously discussed, is a hallmark of total football. However, Toronto did not employ the other mainstay of the total football system, the one that mitigates the dangerous space behind a high line: intense pressing. There was little space between TFC’s lines which was good, they remained compact as a unit, but there were acres of space behind the defense and with little to no pressure being put on the ball in deep positions the Galaxy had all day to line up runs in behind and through balls over the top.
For the first half hour the hosts were well and truly on top and it was only a combination of poor LA movement, sketchy offside calls, and fine goalkeeping that kept them off the scoresheet. Incredibly it was Toronto that got on the board first. In the first game I mentioned how Silva was too far away from the defense and it made it hard for him to get on the ball and connect the midfield with the attack. In this match Winter played an odd formation with Ryan Johnson in behind Danny Koevermans basically leaving de Guzman all alone in the midfield. It meant that Toronto had difficulty getting possession in LA’s third but when they did they had multiple attacking options. This time it was Soolsma who wasn’t pressured and his fine cross was met by an equally fine header from Johnson for the opening goal.
LA respond and Toronto forced to come forward
At half time Terry Dunfield came in for Joao Plata in an effort to give de Guzman more support in the midfield. Still, Toronto were playing with fire by inviting David Beckham to line up through balls and eventually the dam broke as Landon Donovan got in behind and his cross was turned into his Kocic’s net by Ty Harden.
It would have been interesting to see if Toronto would have upped the tempo late on to take advantage of the Galaxy’s fatigue but as it were, with LA now ahead on away goals, Toronto were forced to attack anyway. Torsten Frings pushed into midfield and Toronto began to press Los Angeles in search of the winner. Instantly Toronto looked better and de Guzman was sacrificed for Silva as Toronto went 4-2-3-1 for a brief moment before Soolsma fired home Johnson’s cross to put them back on top. After the goal Frings dropped back into defense as Toronto looked to maintain their lead.
Frings a spare man at the back and in the middle
At this point the onus was once again on the Galaxy to attack and so TFC’s captain slotted back in between Harden and Miguel Aceval for defensive cover. Despite inviting pressure once again, Toronto did a bit of a better job of keeping the ball mainly due to the movement of Frings. We’ve talked at length about how the German provides a spare man at the back against two strikers in defense but inevitably that means his presence is removed from midfield. In the last 20 or so minutes Frings consistently stepped up from the back when Toronto had the ball to offer another option when they tried to maintain possession. His intelligence and positional sense is irreplaceable and he’s the type of player who can read a game and make personal adjustments in the middle of the match; in this game he almost played two positions giving Toronto a spare man in defense and a spare man in midfield.
Conclusion:
Winter’s tactics questionable but personnel selections perfect
Aron Winter had a mixed match as manager. He conceded possession but defended high, an odd combination that invited dangerous balls over the top which directly led to the goal TFC conceded. He also left de Guzman all alone in midfield which made it almost impossible for his side to keep the ball in LA’s half. However, he made multiple surprising team selection choices that all turned out. Soolsma came in for Silva, who many people were expecting to play from the beginning, and the Dutch winger provided a goal and an assist. He played Johnson centrally which is where he got his goal from. He switched his keepers from the first to the second leg and Kocic was arguably man of the match. Within the game he made the bold decision to bring on rookie Aaron Maund in place of designated player Koevermans, and despite one sloppy early clearance Maund looked solid. That move also pushed Ashtone Morgan forward whose pace and fitness pinned the Galaxy back late.
It was a great triumph for the young manager but there is still work to be done. If Toronto go into Mexico and give Santos Laguna all the time in the world to exploit the space in behind them then it might not matter how well Frings or Kocic play. But maybe with a few games under their belt and with the squad regaining their fitness they will be able to press the Mexicans for longer periods of time.
|