Streaking Ottawa manhandles the Indy Eleven

Existence is futile and the Eleven make me sad. Let’s dig in…

The Lineups

• As anyone who follows the Eleven could have predicted, Tim Regan chose to go with a 4-1-3-2. Here’s an approximation of Indy’s setup.
• Ottawa went with their trademark 4-3-3, with only three players rotated from the last matchup between the Eleven and the Fury. A visualization of Ottawa’s lineup can be found here.

The Tactics

     As has become a pattern, the Indy Eleven were massively outplayed. Yet again, they struggled to create chances in possession and, disappointingly, they defended poorly as well. Looking at the starting lineups, I expected Indy to try to push men into the midfield in an attempt to take advantage of Ottawa’s 4-3-3. Similarly, I expected the Fury to push their forwards inside on the counterattack to draw Indy’s fullbacks in and create overlaps out wide. I honestly couldn’t tell what the hell Indy was trying to do out there, but Ottawa had a clear plan of attack. On most of Ottawa’s chances, their frontline interchanged freely, and their forwards would collect the ball out wide. From there, Indy’s defense tended to focus on the wide player, allowing effective late runs into the box. Of course, this led to numerous chances and four goals.

     Nine minutes into the match, center half Greg Janicki pushed forward into the midfield looking with the ball at his feet. When he attempted a pass, it was intercepted and Janikci was forced to rush back to defend. After playing a quick one-two, Ottawa forward Tom Heinemann sped by Janicki out wide before cutting the ball back to an unmarked Sinisa Ubiparipovic, who would fire the ball into Indy’s net. Defensive midfielder Daniel Keller failed to pick Ubiparipovic’s run out of the midfield, and central defender Erick Norales failed to meet him in the box. Ultimately, it was a poor play all around. A similar scenario unfolded just after the sixtieth minute. Right back Marco Franco had pushed up the wing to assist offensively, and, after a turnover, Heinemann moved into the vacated gap on the wing. Greg Janicki shifted out to press him, leaving a gap to be exploited by midfielder Mauro Eustaquio. Indy midfielder Duke LaCroix had been tracking Eustaqiuo, but foolishly stopped as the Ottawa player ran into the wide open space in the box. Since Erick Norales had tracked forward Andrew Weideman into the midfield, Eustaqiuo had a relatively calm finish past keeper Kristian Nicht.

     Ottawa’s fifty-fourth minute goal came from a similar scenario to the other two that have already been discussed. Fury forward Weideman dribbled into the center of the pitch, drawing Eleven fullback Kyle Hyland in and creating a gap out wide. Ottawa fullback Ryan Richter exploited the space, receiving a pass and firing the ball back to Weideman in the box. Again, Erick Norales and Daniel Keller failed to pick him up, leading to a goal. The fourth goal for the Fury came after Norales was bowled over on the ball by Andrew Weideman, who raced towards goal and scored with ease. Ottawa had two other big chances, one where Greg Janicki failed to mark Tom Heinemann in the box and another where Heinemann played a long diagonal to a free Ryan Richter after Weideman made an intelligent run to occupy Kyle Hyland. Ultimately, Indy performed very poorly on defense, but was ironically fortunate not to have given up more than four goals.

     The Eleven struggled to create in possession once again (surprise, surprise), but did find a tad bit of success offensively relative to their last few matches. Around the sixtieth minute, Duke LaCroix received a pass about thirty yards from goal. Positioned in between the back line and midfield, LaCroix wove his way into the box and fired a shot by Fury goalkeeper Romuald Peiser. Brian Brown made an excellent run to enable the goal, sliding by Ottawa’s left sided central defender to create a gap for LaCroix. Around the seventeenth minute, Indy worked the ball quickly through the midfield, culminating in a through ball to Dane Richards. The Jamaican did not finish, but did well to find a shot. Indy still lacked incision and vertical runs to get behind the defense when in possession, but their offensive performance was slightly improved.
Quick Hits

• Indy’s set pieces were fairly lethargic against Ottawa. Oftentimes, there would be little movement by the Eleven in the box, leading to easy clearances for the Fury. It seemed like the Boys in Blue were content to simply let Erick Norales attack the ball on corners and free kicks.
• Duke LaCroix was explosive off the bench, and should start over Victor Pineda next match. Zach Steinberger was solid coming in for Dragan Stojkov, and I didn’t understand the substitution of Wojciech Wojcik in for a decently-performing Brian Brown.
• Dane Richards played like more of a wide-forward than a striker, forcing Dragan Stojkov into the middle of the pitch. It ended up clogging the pitch offensively and didn’t really stop Ottawa’s midfield defensively.
• Marvin Ceballos was electric on the dribble as Indy’s number ten. He clearly wasn’t familiar with his teammates yet, but he’ll come good sooner rather than later.
• Indy has the next weekend off, but plays Freddy Adu and Tampa Bay on the nineteenth of August.

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Eddies down the hapless Eleven

Another match, another disheartening performance by the Indy Eleven. Let’s dig in…

The Lineups

• The Indy Eleven stuck with a 4-1-3-2 of sorts, but opted to heavily rotate the squad. A visualization of the lineup can be found here.
• Colin Miller’s squad chose to go with a 4-2-3-1, a formation Edmonton has heavily favored this year. Here’s an approximation of the Eddies’ XI.

The Tactics

     After a rough performance against Atlanta, Tim Regan retained only three starters for the midweek match versus Edmonton in Cory Miller, Greg Janicki, and Zach Steinberger. The changes were implemented mostly to avoid tired legs in a congested stretch of the schedule and, perhaps, partly to motivate the squad, but they really didn’t produce a marked difference on the pitch. Put simply, Indy disappointed on offense and defense.

     Once again, the Eleven struggled to create chances, highlighted by the fact that Edmonton keeper Matt VanOekel was only forced to make one save. Indy’s best opportunities came in transition, when wingers Don Smart and Duke LaCroix interchanged freely with forwards Charlie Rugg and Wojciech Wojcik. Oftentimes, the midfielders would end up centrally while Rugg and Wojcik picked up the ball on the flanks. This lateral movement and interchange was surprising considering that the group of players on the pitch hadn’t seen much game action with another. While this lateral movement was crucial in finding and creating holes in the Eddies’ defense, Indy sorely lacked horizontal runs that would take a player behind the defense and into a scoring position. That, in part, led to the Eleven’s struggle in the final third, despite a number of decent solo performances.

     Individually speaking, Charlie Rugg, who has struggled in recent weeks, was relatively impressive. He was effective in finding holes in the defense and holding up the ball, and even stepped up to create his own shot on multiple occasions. Wojcik was similarly successful holding up the ball, but neither he nor Rugg set up their teammates particularly well. Wingers Smart and LaCroix found most of their success during quick counterattacks, where both of the pacey midfielders served as outlets for longer passes. On LaCroix’s left flank, Jaime Frias often bombed forward in support, in contrast to the more reserved Judson McKinney. Frias was solid defensively as well, and I wouldn’t mind seeing him in for Kyle Hyland more often. Skilled depth options like Jaime Frias are invaluable, especially in stretches like the one Indy is in with three matches in seven days. 

     Indy’s number ten spot, thin for most of the year, is suddenly three men deep. Zach Steinberger had another solid performance, holding onto the ball confidently and doing a good job of pressing Edmonton in their buildup. While he may seem to be an unexceptional creator thus far, the Butler graduate is skilled in what I would call the art of the hockey assist, meaning that he often puts his teammates in positions to serve other teammates around goal. That said, the Houston Dynamo loanee hasn’t had much chance to show off his own true creative capabilities with a frankly uninspired forward line in front of him. I still think that Steinberger would be better served as the more offensive-minded holding midfielder in the double pivot of a 4-2-3-1, but he did put in a fair performance Wednesday night. If Brad Ring isn’t good to go this weekend and Marvin Ceballos is ready to go, I’d be intrigued to see Steinberger operate as a deep-lying playmaker in place of Daniel Keller, who did a less than stellar job of shielding the Eleven defense.

     Despite giving up two goals, the Eleven were fairly decent defensively, other than a few key lapses. The back line lacked chemistry, and it showed in some of the chances created by the Eddies. Twice in the second half an Edmonton player found their way into the heart of the box inbetween two defenders, only to have their header go astray.  On both chances, Indy’s center halves clearly failed to communicate in regards to who should pick up the marauding attacker. Earlier, around the thirty-fifth minute, Shola Ameobi exploited a large swath of space between defenders Judson McKinney and Greg Janicki to create an invaluable chance. Edmonton midfielder Daryl Fordyce had intelligently positioned himself outside the box such that Daniel Keller had to commit to marking him, forcing Cory Miller to step up and press the oncoming Edmonton attacker. Accordingly, Greg Janicki stepped over to fill in at Miller’s spot, leaving a gap between himself and right back Judson McKinney that Shola Ameobi ran into to receive a pass. Luckily for goalkeeper Keith Cardona, Ameobi’s shot went wide. 

     On a positive note, the Eleven did well in containing Jamaican winger Lance Laing. While he wasn’t invisible, the Copa America and Gold Cup veteran was dealt with for the most part. McKinney, in concert with Don Smart and his impressive work rate, kept Laing off the scoresheet, although he did draw the clinching penalty for Edmonton. The bigger issue, in my opinion, came on the first goal rather than the penalty.

     It could be considered a positive that Indy didn’t give up a goal in open play, instead conceding both goals off of set pieces. However, set piece defense has become a massive dilemma for the Boys in Blue in recent weeks. Kristian Nicht has been, to put it bluntly, abysmal against set pieces this season. I hoped that Keith Cardona would do better, but he conceded a goal off of a corner kick, although the blame should fall more on Greg Janicki than Cardona. Janicki kept tabs on his man competently enough, but he was completely outdone in the air, leading to a fairly easy Edmonton goal. Indy’s goalies have been pretty good in the run of play this season, and both Nicht and Cardona seem to be good communicators, but neither keeper deals well with set pieces. I’m not necessarily calling for a change in personnel, but something needs to be done.

Quick Hits

• The referee for this match was, well, horrible. He was incredibly inconsistent in calling penalties, notably giving a handball call to Lance Laing after he chipped a ball into Janicki’s arm but denying a penalty in Indy’s favor for a similar offense.
• My heart warms every time Tim Regan contests a call after months of Juergen Sommer. This, of course, refers to three members of the staff standing up to jockey for a penalty when Rugg chipped a ball into an Eddie’s arm in the box.
• Coach Regan’s substitutions were sensible as usual, but none had a massive effect on the proceedings. Brian Brown did create a few chances for himself off the bench, but was otherwise fairly quiet, and Dane Richards and Victor Pineda were pretty invisible.
• The tussle at the end of the match was a good thing, in a twisted sort of way. Obviously you don’t want a fight to break out, but it showed that the guys were frustrated with their play and knew that there was an issue.
• Indy lines up against Ottawa this Saturday, hoping to avenge a 4-2 loss earlier this Fall. Erick Norales will make his return, and Marvin Ceballos will likely debut.

Indy Eleven fall to Pedro Mendes and the Silverbacks

Before I dive in, I’d like to note that my match reviews will be a bit unorthodox. Instead of focusing on all the key events of the match, I’ll be describing the broader tactical developments. So, without further ado…

The Lineups

• Indy opted for the well-worn 4-1-3-2 formation, using new loanee Zach Steinberger in Dylan Mares’ usual number ten role. A visualization of the lineup can be found here.
• The Silverbacks, ever versatile, chose to play in a 5-3-2. Coach Gary Smith was well aware that this setup would enable his side to counter quickly and sit back confidently on defense. A visualization of Atlanta’s squad can be found here.

The Tactics

     Knowing that Indy habitually plays with two forwards and that the creative spark of Dylan Mares was absent, Atlanta opted for a five man back line. The extra center-half deployed by the Silverbacks enabled the tight marking of forwards Brian Brown and Dane Richards when Indy was in possession, all while leaving an extra defender to sweep up other activity. To combat this, left winger Victor Pineda played more centrally than usual, hoping to either draw a center back forward and leave a gap to exploit or to bring wingback Kosuke Kimura inside to enable an overlapping run by Kyle Hyland. Noticeably, right winger Dragan Stojkov tended to stay wider than Pineda, although he did tuck inside on occasion. 

     When Atlanta wingbacks Kimura and Kyle Porter followed their opponents centrally, fullbacks Hyland and Marco Franco were more than willing to bomb forward. However, the pacey pair of Richards and Brown up top found little space in the box to meet their teammates’ service. Early on, the Jamaican forwards found some success moving wide in transition, using their considerable speed to latch onto long passes and through balls from the midfield. However, these chances came few and far between once Atlanta hunkered down. It is important to note that, despite the amount of attention devoted here to the Indy attack, quality chances were rare, to say the least. With the absence of Dylan Mares, no one stepped up to provide the killer passes and sudden creative bursts needed to break down a stifling defense, leading to stagnance for Indy.

     On the other side, the Silverbacks looked to disposses the Eleven and counter attack at a breakneck pace, but only after their opponents had committed numbers to the attack. In their counters, Atlanta utilized precise passes and the guile of forward Jaime Chavez to attack Kristian Nicht’s goal. After an early finish by Indy Eleven reject Pedro Mendes, Atlanta rarely ventured forward, opting to drop back, keep a strict defensive shape, and do their darnedest to prevent the Eleven from challenging Haitian international Steward Ceus’ net. Despite this defensive style, the single goal of the game was undoubtedly a pretty one. Midfielder Brad Ring had vacated the zone just in front of the box, enabling the electric Chavez to receive a driven pass roughly twenty yards from goal. Captain Greg Janicki stepped forward to press, allowing Pedro Mendes to pop into the box and receive a terrific flick on from the composed Chavez. From there, it was a relatively easy finish past Nicht into the corner of the goal.

     One of the key features of Atlanta’s game was an aggressive press on center backs Cory Miller and Greg Janicki. The tight marking on the pair forced Kristian Nicht to fire his goal kicks long, preventing buildup from the back. This allowed Atlanta to set up their defensive shape with relative ease rather than focusing too much energy on pressing high up the pitch. In fact, the Silverbacks’ midfield was positioned in abnormally close proximity to the back line, further clogging the final third of the field. Overall, it may have been an incredibly ugly and negative style of play, but it ended in three points for a suddenly thriving Atlanta team.

Quick Hits

• While Zach Steinberger showcased some exquisite technical skill, I can’t help but feel like he’d be better served playing next to Brad Ring as a more offensive-minded holding midfielder in the pivot. He kept the ball well under pressure, but rarely looked to play a killer pass to the Jamaican duo up top. Of course, he may well be the only decent option to serve in Mares’ place.
• Dane Richards provided the best chance of the match for Indy just minutes into the second half when he weaved his way into the box after dropping deep to collect the ball off of an Atlanta turnover. Once there, Richards attempted to feed his teammate for a finish, but Ceus nabbed the pass. I would’ve loved to have seen a more selfish decision from the veteran at the end of that play.
• The substitutes deployed by Tim Regan were logical, but none really panned out. In theory, Wojciech Wojcik coming on would better allow Indy to take advantage of the long ball, but no tangible effect was felt. Similarly, Don Smart was supposedly going to provide a burst of pace against Atlanta’s tired legs, but he had little to no influence. Charlie Rugg again had little bearing on the match, and his entrance forced the bright Dane Richards deeper into the midfield, where he was nigh invisible.
• Kyle Hyland had another excellent match, defending well and showing loads of initiative in the final third. When others were afraid to be incisive, the left back showed no fear in dribbling into the heart of Atlanta’s defense. However, his marauding runs were unfortunately fruitless.
• The set pieces taken by the Eleven were abnormally poor, probably due to the lack of Dylan Mares and defender-cum-target man Erick Norales.
• Wednesday, Regan’s men will find themselves in Edmonton for a match against Lance Laing and the Eddies in what should be a crucial contest.

Welcome to Circle City Soccer

     Welcome one, welcome all to Circle City Soccer. On this blog I’ll be discussing the tactical side of the North American Soccer League, with a specific focus on the Indy Eleven. As an Indianapolis resident and native, I am particularly impassioned about the Boys in Blue, and I hope to share some of that excitement with you all. On occasion, posts about Major League Soccer, the USMNT, and Tottenham Hotspur may pop up. Feel free to comment and leave your own thoughts on anything I post, and make sure to check in regularly. Thanks!