About Last Night

The second half of RBNY’s 2-1 win against the Revolution was unlike any other performance the team has put forth this season. The team defended cohesively, held possession well, and counterattacked dangerously. That the team accomplished this turn around was remarkable in and of itself, but was even more miraculous when considering that the team was not only playing down a man, but in an entirely different system.

Although many observers identified the Red Bulls’ formation as a back three with Dax McCarty shielding it, the team’s shape could more aptly be described as an ad hoc, assymetrical back four — in which Oyongo pushed up and overlapped far more often on the left than Duvall did on the right — with a diamond midfield ahead of it. The ironic part about this change was that the Red Bulls played with two more men in central midfield than in the first half, despite playing with one less player. By starting Oyongo and Sam, Petke opted for width from the start and risked losing the central midfield battle (see here https://medium.com/@dukeofgreenwich/a-look-at-the-left-7feae29a9218 for more about why that gamble left RBNY vulnerable). Dax McCarty and Tim Cahill, who again looked out of step with one another, were outmatched by Scott Caldwell, Lee Nguyen, and Kelyn Rowe. The highlight below is a perfect example of how having the extra man in midfield allows Rowe to get in behind Dax, between the midfield and defensive bands, and connect with Charlie Davies (Paul Mariner’s commentary at 0:20 is especially on point):

http://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2014-08-02-new-york-red-bulls-vs-new-england-revolution/details/video/21944

At the tail end of the first half, Matt Miazga — impersonating both the violence and the habit of stepping into midfield of former Red Bull Rafa Marquez — tried to compensate for the team’s deficiency in the center of the pitch by stepping hard to pressure the spare man Lee Nguyen, who had gotten in behind Dax and Cahill, only to earn himself a red card. And although Mike Petke identified teamwork and a change of spirit as the reasons for the second half turn around — as he should — his, or perhaps more aptly Robin Fraser’s, tactical switch for the second half put the team in a position to succeed.

An adjustment to the diamond midfield meant that the Red Bulls now had the men in the center of the park in order to compete with Caldwell, Nguyen, and Rowe. The top graphic shows the passing and defensive events of Lloyd Sam (10) and Ambroise Oyongo (3) in the first half. Each one remains mostly wide, leaving Dax and Cahill exposed in the middle. The bottom graphic shows the two sides of the diamond in the second half, in which Lloyd Sam (10) and Eric Alexander (12) function as shuttlers/carilleros. Sam is tucked in, especially in the defensive half — more on that later — while Alexander is likewise positioned narrow. With Dax continuously occupying his central position and Henry (or Luyindula late in the game), dropping even deeper than usual to play what could accurately be termed a CAM position, the diamond was complete. With Caldwell often pulled out of shape to address Henry’s threat, Dax, Alexander, and Sam now had the advantage over Nguyen and Rowe in the middle.

The seemingly easy answer for Petke heading into Chicago next week would be to play a diamond midfield, and then simply put Cahill next to Wright-Phillips as the second striker, the position left vacant in the diamond formation with the Red Bulls down a man last night. As far as the options go, this is probably the best. Cahill is an effective target man and an attacking triangle of him, Henry, and Wright-Phillips is the stuff of which MLS Cup contenders are made of. However, the success of the diamond against New England does not necessarily forecast future success.

First off the diamond, while it has loads of potential given the Red Bulls’ personnel, also carries its fair share of risks (for more on an in depth look into the specifics of how a diamond would look for RBNY, see here https://medium.com/@dukeofgreenwich/another-transfer-window-has-come-and-is-almost-gone-and-red-bulls-fans-are-left-pining-for-that-edd24feb4a1b). The most notable of these is a lack of width. Offensively, Chris Duvall and especially Ambroise Oyongo overlapped effectively to provide width, while Lloyd Sam flared wide in the attacking half while playing narrow in the defensive half (look to the graphic above for his narrow positioning in the defensive half versus his wide play in the attack). Defensively, however, Duvall and Oyongo were left isolated on the wings, with Alexander and Sam, occupied in the center, only able to offer help sparingly. Last night, this deficiency did not hurt the Red Bulls because the fullbacks were able to shut down Steve Neumann and Teal Bunbury respectively. However, the Red Bulls can count themselves lucky that Kevin Alston and Andrew Farrell, the Revolution fullbacks, did not overlap whatsoever in the second half, as exhibited by their passing events below:

Alston (30) and Farrell (2) offered support behind the Neumann and Bunbury respectively, but did not overlap whatsoever, as demonstrated by their failure get anywhere near the corner flag or get in a single cross. Had they done so, the Red Bulls fullbacks would have been overmatched 2 to 1 on the wing, allowing for crosses or penetrating passes from the Revolution. In the graphic above, the highlighted portion represents an unsuccessful incisive pass from Farrell in the 66th minute. In this rare foray in which Farrell did get into the attack, no one from the Red Bulls stepped up to pressure him, and, had he placed his pass better, the Revolution could have easily tied the game up. Against teams like Columbus, Los Angeles, Colorado, and Kansas City, whose fullbacks overlap and contribute to the attack with regularity, the Red Bulls will be left vulnerable and exposed on the wings if they continue with the diamond.

The second half performance against the Revolution offered above all fight, unity, and hope, to which any tactics are always secondary. The diamond midfield, even without two strikers ahead of it, worked, dominating the center of the park and, with it, the entire game. Petke’s next move — whether he opts for the diamond or reverts to a flat 4-4-2 against Chicago — will be a crucial one as the team prepares for its busiest stretch of the year.