For the first time this season, Toronto’s 4-3-3 system came up against a squad willing to sit back, content to clog the midfield.
Today’s It’s Called Tactics takes a look at why San Jose’s 4-5-1 and 4-4-2 grouping made it difficult for Toronto to dictate the pace the way it had done against Portland and Chivas and ultimately why most of the attack up the wings was useless.
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What didn’t work?
With San Jose playing five midfielders for much of the match, Toronto struggled to find any real progress into the attacking end. One clear weakness of a 4-3-3 is that when you come up against a team willing to play a disciplined 4-5-1 they can easily bully a midfield into making panic passes. By closing passing lanes and assigning dual coverage to individual players, San Jose stifled much of the attack before it even began to progress.
The pressure resulted in Toronto players being dispossessed far too often in their own half and handed San Jose a number of quality chances from distance.
Javier Martina was one player who couldn’t find a way to deal with this kind of pressure early and Toronto shifted its attack over to the left where Alen Stevanovich and Danleigh Borman had better success exploiting a weak Jason Hernandez and, at times, Ike Opara.
The shift in play didn’t help to bring Maicon Santos into the game, who spent much of it running into space that never developed. His substitution 20 minutes into second half was likely as much about saving his legs for the LA Galaxy on Wednesday, as it was to continue to give Joao Plata some playing time. Plata, for my money, is now on the 14th of his 15 minutes of fame. While it is good for a smile to see the diminutive striker get a run out, he has done little to prove his critics – those that said he was too small for the physical MLS – wrong. Since early on, I have pled the case for the small Latin player who, by reputation, is a guy who is willing to do anything to win. But aside from drawing the occasional foul, he has done little to earn a regular spot.
What did work?
It was far from perfect, but Toronto’s attack did finally find itself in positions to make proper crosses against San Jose. Borman’s service into the box was top notch and his arrival marks the first player, aside from perhaps Jacob Peterson, who has shown an ability to execute a decent delivery on the run. Alan Gordon’s presence in the air has added another threat to Toronto’s attack but it means little if they can’t find more than one guy to get it there.
Julian DeGuzman’s substitution for Nana Attakora at the half left some scratching their heads and it’s certain that JDG’s contributions will continue to go unappreciated by those who only see the dollar signs attached to his name. But make no mistake; his arrival was a major factor in limiting the number of chances Toronto gave up around the 18-yard-box. When he’s fully fit, his calmness on and off the ball will serve to improve the Toronto back line ten fold.
The final question
Dan Gargan, Mikel Yourassowski, Ty Harden, Donleigh Borman, Nana Attakora, Adrian Cann, Ashtone Morgan and Dicoy Williams have all played minutes on the back line this year. And given the amount of ball watching and missed assignments Toronto displayed last night, I have to wonder if the constant rotation of the Toronto back four has been the cause of the confusion.
Head Coach Aron Winter has committed to trying a number of different combination's as he looks for the right fit but the tinkering has clearly come at the cost of one of last year’s defensive strengths – communication.