In this week’s MLS review, we look at how Toronto FC clinched a trophy against the Red Bulls and a massive Western Conference tilt in Kansas City.
Toronto FC finally, officially, clinched the Supporters’ Shield trophy on Saturday in a 4-2 win against the Red Bulls. They did so at home and without Sebastian Giovinco for the fourth straight game, and on the back of a hat trick from left wing-back Justin Morrow. TFC are the first Canadian team to win a non-Canadian MLS trophy, 11 years after they became the first club north of the border.
As is consistent with most Jesse Marsch games, it was a back-and-forth tactical battle that provided all sorts of entertainment for the neutral viewer. Bradley Wright-Phillips and Sacha Kljestan (inexplicably, some would argue) sat on the bench for the purposes of squad rotation after the Red Bulls’ 3-3 draw on Wednesday against D.C. United, pushing Gonzalo Veron and Derrick Etienne Jr. into the lineup. NYRB provided some intriguing tactical nuances, putting out a lineup that looked something like this:
The general formation is about the same as usual for Marsch, but the way the attack is shaped is considerably different. Veron, a sneakily-good forward skilled at receiving the ball in the half-spaces, started as a pseudo False 9 in front of Etienne, a channel-running track star who thanks to Veron’s intricate movement was able to find space hitting TFC’s gaps with deep-originating runs.
They weren’t really a forward pairing, but Veron didn’t look like a lone striker. This concept of a central attacking midfielder whose main role is to make runs that begin behind another forward is certainly unique, and was actually pretty effective. Toronto often struggled to close gaps in their back-three, and both Veron and Etienne found themselves with multiple good chances in behind thanks to the other’s movement. Most notable was Veron’s first-half goal.
Still, TFC kept the ball a lot and suffocated an NYRB midfield relying solely on Felipe to cover ground in front of a back-three that lacked mobility. They bombed everybody forward at every opportunity, converging players on every available gap and keeping the ball in the final third for so long it looked a Pittsburgh Penguins power-play. It was Morrow who took advantage of this, scoring three times from his wing-back position, but he couldn’t have done it without Jozy Altidore’s physical presence, or Victor Vazquez’s Diego Valeri-esque combination play, or Marky Delgado and Michael Bradley’s calm and smart passing.
So now Toronto get to rest some players and try to stay fresh for the postseason. Meanwhile, NYRB should be counting their blessings considering the Montreal Impact will not stop shooting themselves in the foot and holding the playoff door for the Red Bulls, who have not won in nine games.
Walking the Wire
The Vancouver Whitecaps just barely clinched a playoff berth last night. More importantly, they look like they’re going to win the Western Conference after they became the first team to defeat Sporting KC on the road in the last 24 games at Children’s Mercy Park.
We haven’t seen the Expected Goal numbers, but you can bet they will be heavily in favor of SKC, who had 18 shots, seven on target, hit two posts, missed a penalty and forced seven saves from Caps’ keeper Stefan Marinovic. Five of those shots on goal came from Diego Rubio, who was the one who smashed the post on a first-half PK. Rubio, as told to MLSsoccer.com’s Steve Brisendine, took responsibility and seemed pretty broken up about his inability to finish.
“What happened tonight sometimes happens in soccer,” Rubio said. “You know, we had many chances, I especially had many chances to score, but I didn’t. I missed the penalty; I missed some other good opportunities. I hope that only happens once in a long time. It’s the first time here, and hopefully it doesn’t happen again.
“A striker is like a goalkeeper. I want to take the responsibility today because we lose. I hope that just happened tonight, and not more this year.”
SKC were the better team for the duration of the game, but Erik Hurtado notched a beautiful flick golazo in the 53rd-minute and Vancouver junked it up for the last 40 minutes, finishing with, remarkably, 26 percent possession. They had no interest in touching the ball for the entire 90 minutes, content to sit deep and let Sporting frustrate themselves into oblivion. Vancouver finished with a very large amount of clearances:
The Whitecaps now sit on 51 points, holding a game in hand on Portland and Seattle. SKC have chances to climb back, but they’ll have to play everything-on-the-line Houston twice two weeks from now, and finish on the road against another inter-conference playoff contender in Real Salt Lake. Against all odds, the Whitecaps seem ready to capture the crown.
Awards
The best team in the league
TFC can hit cruise control, and maybe get Jordan Hamilton and Jay Chapman some valuable minutes in their last two games. That Toronto-Atlanta game on Decision Day at Mercedes Benz Stadium is looking slightly less appetizing now.
The worst team in the league
The Colorado Rapids won this week! Alan Gordon scored a classic super-sub goal as the Rapids beat the Impact at home on Saturday, simultaneously punching every Montreal fan on the planet in the face.
On Wednesday, though, they got worked by FC Dallas, who hadn’t won in 10 games. This pretty much sums it up:
Yeah, they’re pretty bad.
Random result of the week
For the second consecutive week, the New England Revolution MLS 1.0’d an MLS 3.5 team right of Gillette Stadium. Football lines and all, the Revs stole a 0-0 draw from visiting Atlanta United, following up a 6-1 demolition at the hands of Orlando City with a dull draw against arguably the league’s most exciting team.
Predictable result of the week
Orlando’s boring 0-0 affair against FC Dallas takes this coveted award. FCD are generally very content to muck things up and give the Univision screamers as little to scream about as possible, so them walking away from Orlando City Stadium with a nil-nil draw seems pretty predictable. And it’s a given in MLS that a team that scores six goals one game has to go scoreless the next.
Attacker of the week
How can it not be Justin Morrow? Whether he is considered an attacker or not, he scored three goals as a left wing-back. That doesn’t seem easy.
Shout out to the late goal-scorers of the weekend, though. Alan Gordon and Kyle Beckerman were heroes, and Danny Hoesen picked up a winner against the Timbers in a crucial home win for the Earthquakes. And Alberth Elis can not be forgotten for his amazing goal celebration.
Next: The best under-20 player on every MLS team
GK howler of the week
This award goes to New England’s Cody Cropper for giving up six goals on Wednesday against Orlando. A few of them were unsavable, but watch the highlights and you’ll see him struggle:
Andrew Tarbell should have saved one against Columbus but he’s in this space every week so we’ll spare him this one.