Each week, Sam Polak breaks down the top coaching moves in MLS from the previous week. Here are his top five from Week 14.
5. Union decisiveness
Playing at Yankee Stadium, teams have to be more decisive in transition phases as the ball can be closed down much quicker given the width of the field.
Jim Curtin and his staff did a great job readying the Philadelphia Union to do just that despite losing 2-1 to New York City FC.
Especially as the Union had less possession, their time on the ball was that much more important. And in order to make sure they were in a good position with the ball once they regained control, their transition from defense to offense was invaluable.
Whether they looked to play the ball backwards or forwards, Philadelphia made decisions without hesitation in these moments.
pic.twitter.com/rBWiiWl229 — MLSclips (@MLSgamefilm) June 5, 2017
The Whitecaps also made it incredibly challenging for Atlanta to attack by their other preferred means: defenders initiating the offense with their passing.
Atlanta had generated a lot of chances in their past two matches that began with one of their backs picking out a teammate in a good position— whether it was a pass slipped in between the lines or a ball over the top to try and exploit space behind opponents.
Vancouver allowed neither of these. Robinson had his team force Atlanta defenders to have to make quick decisions with the ball and immediately applied pressure once these passes were made.
pic.twitter.com/QPwZfkwtla — MLSclips (@MLSgamefilm) June 5, 2017
And similarly, after the Whitecaps were ahead and allowed Atlanta to go long, Vancouver was first to the ball and had at least two if not three players near the intended recipient as demonstrated below.
pic.twitter.com/dMHuVZEY1T — MLSclips (@MLSgamefilm) June 5, 2017
The Caps' collective defensive focus was the difference in this matchup and the win helped them get back above the red line and into fifth place in the Western Conference.
