Co-written by Last Word On Sports’ John Richan. Twitter: @John_Richan
Toronto FC rode the benefit of playing a below-average Orlando City team that was also down a man after Rafael Ramos was sent off in the 36th minute. There were contrasting tactical approaches deployed by coaches Greg Vanney and Adrian Heath.
Orlando City-Toronto FC: Blue Print for Success for TFC vs Impact?
This season, head coach Greg Vanney has generally utilized a 4-3-3 diamond formation. Vanney shifted their formation from the usual diamond formation they’ve deployed for a more midfield heavy team. Vanney played two holding midfielders, two wingers, attacking midfielder and a lone striker. The 4-2-3-1 featured MVP candidate Sebastian Giovinco as the lone striker, with designated player Jozy Altidore being dropped to the bench.
After the New York Red Bulls game, where Toronto were smacked 3-0 in the diamond formation, Vanney’s greatest annoyance was that Toronto always won the ball too deep in their own end. He felt Toronto were outnumbered in midfield, and their attackers were pushed too deep, resulting in a non-existent attack. The idea behind switching to a five-man midfield was to have Jonathan Osorio and Marky Delgado as wingers. Having wingers would allow the team to pressure the opposing team’s fullbacks, resulting in pressure higher up the field, thus increasing a chance of a sustained attack. Vanney felt that the wingers played a key role in eliminating Kaka out of the game. Kaka was forced to play deeper as the ball was kept deeper in Orlando’s zone. After the red card, Kaka was pushed even deeper and away from Toronto’s net. Anytime you’ve got one of the world’s premier playmakers away from the opposing nets, you’ve got a recipe for success.
All five goals were scored in the second half, suggesting Toronto had an uninspiring 1st half. Toronto FC players and staff didn’t think so. Asking youngster Marky Delgado on how he felt they played in the first half, he said, “We were playing well, we were fighting. Teams in this league-its always a battle in the first half. In the second half that’s when the gaps start opening and plays are able to be made.”
In his post-match press conference, Vanney felt that the first half was vital in setting up the success his team had in the second half. He felt the pressure Toronto put Orlando under during the first half set his team up for the scoring frenzy in the second half.
Were there any adjustments made at half-time that pushed Toronto to score five goals?
Vanney simply reiterated the importance of moving the ball quickly and not getting comfortable with the man advantage. He liked what he saw in the first half and wanted his team to continue it. The rest of the dressing room echoed their coach’s words. Delgado explained, ”No, we stuck to our plan. The first half they were obviously not worn out… We were attacking them a lot- over the course of 90 minutes they’ll eventually break down.” Captain Michael Bradley’s added in, “We just talked about continuing to play- trying to get the ball moving a little bit quicker- we felt like there were some good things in the first half and we needed to keep going with it.” The message from coaching staff down was consistent and the players followed it up to capitalize on a shorthanded Orlando City team.
Adrian Heath’s Orlando came in with a game plan to soak up all the pressure that Toronto would throw at them and join in the counter. This was evident from the first whistle, as Orlando attackers did not even cross the final third to press the Toronto defenders. Orlando’s plan worked in the first half as they made the game as boring as possible, but the red card threw a wrench in their plans.
Toronto FC will play a Montreal Impact side tomorrow that will resemble Orlando City, without the 5-0 drubbing one would imagine. Last Word on Sports’ Montreal Impact writer, John Richan, added his tactical view on the game:
The Impact will likely play a conservative game on Saturday at BMO Field. Head coach Frank Klopas has stuck with his counter-attacking style since his arrival in Montreal, and that does not appear to be changing anytime soon. With Ignacio Piatti out of the Montreal lineup this weekend and for the next 4-6 weeks, a large part of the Bleu-Blanc-Noir attacking thrust will be missing. Klopas has stuck with his 4-2-3-1 formation through thick-and-thin this season, electing to sit back and hold possession, although this does not necessarily equate to goals. Ignacio Piatti is the Impact’s leader in goals (8) and assists (4).
Since the departure of Jack McInerney, the Impact have had to rely on Dominic Oduro up front, an experiment that has not gone well. Newcomer Didier Drogba is also set to miss the game this weekend due to a toe injury. If the Impact are to get anything out of the trip down the 401 this weekend, their defending will have to be perfect and hope to take advantage of questionable TFC defending on the counter-attack. Reason for optimism for the Impact lies in the fact that they have performed well defensively, allowing seven goals in five games in all competitions. Justin Mapp is also back from injury, and has had success in the past against Toronto. He’s scored a total of three goals and four assists in 11 games played against Toronto.
Montreal’s prime attacking threats are all missing, and Johan Venegas will need to step up for the Impact for them to have success going forward. He has had two assists in three games played thus far. Dominic Oduro may start at striker, however, there are some suggesting Anthony Jackson-Hamel could start. Jackson-Hamel is an unproven striker who scored in the first leg of the Canadian Championship.
Can a team employ the tactics Orlando City did and cage the Toronto attack? Orlando could have been successful had Ramos not been sent off. Does Jozy Altidore deserve to start this game? He may have scored two goals last game but one was a penalty, and the other was a tap in, all against a broken Orlando City team. It will be interesting to see if Greg Vanney starts Giovinco alone up top again. For Toronto, this seems like a match they will be favorites for. The Impact will be motivated to get a result and increase their lead over their competition.
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