Six minutes into the second half of Orlando City SC’s eventual 1-1 draw with San Jose last Sunday, Brek Shea went in a little over-aggressively on a 50-50 ball with the Quakes’ Sana Nyassi. Referee Allen Chapman pulled out the red card, sending Shea off the Levi’s Stadium pitch for the rest of the day and ensuring his lack of availability Saturday when Columbus Crew SC travel to Central Florida for the first time.
Can Columbus Crew SC Capitalize on Brek Shea’s Absence?
Shea’s absence certainly creates a hole on the left side of Orlando City’s lineup. After all, the midfielder/defender has been a mainstay with the United States men’s national team for most of this decade and should feature prominently when the US takes the field for the Gold Cup this summer. His two goals in 2015 are tied with Jozy Altidore for the team lead this year despite the fact he’s had a somewhat withdrawn defensive role at times.
His first year with the Lions has been a renaissance of sorts in his club career after a disappointing stint in England with Stoke City. To date, he’s started 11 of 12 regular season games and has assumed a pair of key roles in differing circumstances with the club.
Orlando City SC head coach Adrian Heath initially had Shea in a defensive capacity at left back, a role he’s grown accustomed to at times with the US this year. His skill set is well-suited to being an attack-minded, overlapping wing back that has become such an integral part of many teams’ style of play nowadays. He’s good with the ball at his feet, connects well on short and intermediate length passes, and is also an effective crosser of the ball. You definitely want all those qualities from your wing players.
Extenuating circumstances would force Heath’s hand in moving Shea up the field a bit positionally speaking. During a May 2nd friendly where Orlando City took on Brazilian side Ponte Preta, right midfielder Kevin Molino suffered a torn ACL, ending his season. Since that setback, Shea has spent the majority of his minutes as an attacking midfielder on the left flank while Luke Boden took his place on the back line. Eric Avila, who had assumed that role for most of the season, moved over to the right.
Whether it’s the players relishing their new roles or just the various parts of the expansion club suddenly beginning to click, things have been going well since then. Orlando City have only lost once in their last four, made a huge second half comeback against New England to force a 2-2 draw, and ran the defending MLS Cup champion Los Angeles Galaxy out of the Citrus Bowl in a 4-0 drubbing two weeks ago. Even in their lone loss against D.C. United, they let a 1-0 halftime lead slip away by conceding two late goals.
One of the more important aspects of Shea’s move into a more advanced role upfield has been developing improved on-field rapport and chemistry with playmaker Kaká. In the four games they’ve shared the midfield, the majority of their touches have taken place within the same region of the field as the following heatmaps show.
(Graphics courtesy of WhoScored.com)
As you can see, that quadrant of the field on the left side of the opponent’s half appears to be an important source of the linkage between the two. With Shea unavailable on Saturday, who fills in for OCSC and can Crew SC take advantage of their opponent’s apparent lack of experienced manpower?
Ethan Finlay’s Toe, Kristinn Steindorsson’s Opportunity and Shea’s Replacement
Columbus themselves might not be completely full strength on that flank of the field. Midfielder Ethan Finlay suffered a broken toe in their 2-2 draw with the Chicago Fire last Friday. Though he’s expected to play he may not be at 100 percent and so might be missing that extra gear Crew SC fans are used to seeing out of him.
This may be the game where Kristinn Steindorsson really needs to step up for the Black and Gold as a potential super sub in relief of Finlay. The Icelandic midfielder has been unable to finish any of his chances this year and at times has looked a bit out of sorts when on the field, particularly in terms of anticipating his teammates passes to him. He does appear to enjoy Florida though, having an impressive preseason with the team during the IMG Suncoast Pro Classic in Bradenton. He also scored a goal in his first-ever appearance for his native Iceland in a 1-0 win over Canada that took place in none other than Orlando.
The Purple and Gold will likely give Carlos Rivas his third start of the season in Shea’s place. The young Colombian designated player initially saw time as the lone target forward up top, but has been supplanted in this role by Cyle Larin whose four goals lead all rookies. Rivas’ minutes off the bench have come both in relief of Larin and the attacking midfielders so he could benefit in a more withdrawn role. Pedro Ribiero, another young attacking player for OCSC, could also get the nod.
It May Not Be Brazil But It Sure Feels Like It
The other X-factor to consider has to be the weather. With the forecasted temperature at kickoff expected to be in the mid-80s with 60 percent humidity, it will likely be the hottest environment Crew SC will have faced this year. The club will also have to deal with a hostile road crowd that will be the largest of the season they’ve played in front of. Thought the conditions won’t rival Manaus from last year’s World Cup in terms of tropical heat, it could become a crucial issue late in the game.
With the visitors making their first-ever trip to the city that boasts a world-famous theme park, the hope is that their performance has all the grandeur and majesty of Cinderella’s castle and does not become a rollercoaster ride in the dark a la Space Mountain. If the former takes place, they may finally be able to erase the road woes that have haunted them to this point and notch their first win away from MAPFRE Stadium this season.
Columbus Crew SC News and Notes:
– Forward Kei Kamara was named MLS Player of the Week on Tuesday after a two-goal performance against Chicago that saw him take the league lead in goals this season with nine.
– Crew SC contested a friendly Wednesday night at MAPFRE Stadium with Valencia CF who recently finished fourth in Spain’s La Liga, good enough to clinch a spot in the UEFA Champions League next season. Alvaro Negredo’s 33rd minute tally was the difference as the home side fell 1-0.
– A handful of Columbus players made their first appearances of the season for the Black and Gold against Valencia, including goalkeeper Matt Stuver, defenders Sergio Campbell and Kalen Ryden, midfielders Romain Gall and Ben Swanson and forward Adam Bedell.
– This is a match-up between two of the most technically sound teams in the league. The clubs rank one-two in passing accuracy, with OCSC completing 82.33 percent of their passes and Crew SC doing so at an 81.64 percent clip.
– The Black and Gold are doing a much better job at finding the goal with their shots. The club has improved from second-worst in the league in shot accuracy (24.6 percent) before their previous meeting with Orlando to fifth-best (36.22 percent) heading into Saturday’s game in Central Florida.
– With an appearance against Orlando City SC, Crew SC midfielder Justin Meram will have played in his 100th match with the club. The Iraqi international can become the 21st player in franchise history to reach the century mark in total games played for the Black and Gold.
In closing, Crew SC fans are certainly hoping the club fares better than FIFA’s press release about the order of their congressional agenda in ESPN anchor Bob Ley’s hands.
Main photo by Alex Menendez/Getty Images)
