As frustrating as it is to play, and lose, to the Vienna Metro’s it’s always good to use them as a metric for how we are improving. We played extremely well in the first half. We held them to two goals in the first 45 minutes, which arguably were soft given the new defense we were trying out. And up top we had a few opportunities to finish, including an early opportunity for first blood.
Our relationship with the Metro’s on the field continues to improve significantly. These used to be hard/physical games with the Metro’s using a lot of body gain to an advantage with the ref quick to blow the whistle and a lot of on field arguing. They still use their bodies well, but in almost every case last night they were legit shoulder charges to push us off the ball, with an occasional obstruction. We were using the same shoulder charges and obstruction tactics when the opportunity availed itself. Perfectly legal. There were no yellow cards last night and the whistle rarely blew. Maybe once or twice for an incidental trip or a hand ball, but nothing intentional. I did not see a controversial play where the outcome was subject to multiple interpretations.
Of course the memories of 0-10 drubbing we took by them in the Fall is still raw in our minds there is no question our passing skills have improved significantly since Mooch went on a rampage about passing.
Also the game we played with them in March was a bright spot for the sportsmanship that continues to improve
Nevertheless there are still some lessons we need to learn before we face Vienna again.
Lessons learned:
1) Fitness - We all could stand to run more during the week and to lose a few pounds. Jan runs three miles a day. He’s the most fit on the team. Not only is he running non-stop during the game, during half-time he’s taking he taking his dog for a run. Andres lost 20 lbs since we last saw him. He had success cutting out all carbohydrates...
2) Play as a unit moving forward - With 5 on defense that only gives us five to work with on offense. All five need to move as a unit. We don’t need the wingers to spread the field. We need to wingers, or outside half-backs, to close the unit and bring it in tight. When we do this, and use our passing skills, we always move into their third, and we keep the keep possession for a long time, create opportunities, and give our defense a break.
3) Stop trying to make every attack a break away counter attack -- Quick counter-attacks should be a surprise, they should not be the norm. We seem to try to make every change of possession a quick counter-attack with our wingers immediately looking for a long ball. They turn their backs, losing sight of what’s happening on the field, and start to run away from the play. To play as a unit they need to step towards the play and make themselves available in space. We don’t win many fast breaks and even when we do we get a ball over the top or through to a striker charging forward don’t have the skill set yet to beat a last defender or the keeper 1 v 1. Again I will invoke a tactic from ice hockey...even basketball. In ice hockey it’s called a grinder. The five forward players continue to cycle with each other. They run through space and into open areas in a continuous cycle. Watch Barcelona...they are one of the few teams that can keep possession long enough to set up a grinder, but that’s what they do when they get into the final third. It means continuously moving into space. No resting.
4) We should never experiment with news systems of play when playing the Metros. Not with the Metros. Maybe be we should pick a team we have traditionally been more evenly matched to work a new system or tryout new players, for instance. Also, I will make sure each season I figure out in advance which week we will play the Metro's and publish that early so we can plan a strong side for that weekend.
5) Defender’s can’t dive in against the Metro’s. Individually they are too good with the ball at their feet. Contain them and wait...and hope like hell some help is coming.
6) And finally, our passing is much improved...only one thing to work on. Including Mooch. The decision to pass must be immediate. No real thinking about it. Without any options pass the ball into space. Stop standing on the ball waiting for inspiration. Mean time, your team mate should be moving into the available space. Run in front of the defenders...that’s where the space is, not behind the defenders...that’s not open space. That’s defended space.
OK...one last thing on fitness. For the next few months I am planning to have a pick-up soccer practice at Van Dyke Park in the City of Fairfax, behind St Leo’s Church. This will be for one hour from 6:30 to 7:30. I’ve invited three other teams to show up as well. I’m not expected many to show, but if we can get a handful, we can get an hour of fitness training in with a number of touches on the ball. Mostly skills training, running, with short sided games.
For last nights game I am going to pick Gene as the player of the match. He had a spectacular first half, keeping the goal deficit down to 2...then had some wonderful touches on defense playing fullback. Of course he was immediately ready to go back into goal after Chris was injured. And speaking of Chris, many thanks to the guests who showed for last nights match including Chris, Danni, Anne, and Louise.
No comments:
Post a Comment