It's not news to anyone that follows this team that we struggle mightily defending on set pieces. Be it free kicks or corners, we concede a good deal of goals on them. Particularly of note was the 7-0 thrashing in the first match against the Red Bulls, where four of their seven goals came from set pieces.
On Sunday, it was clear that Patrick Vieira remembered this and he made some adjustments to try and prevent it from happening again. Our defense on set pieces was more compact, we kept more players near the goal and marked much more tightly. Saunders was more aggressive coming out to play anything he could reach. But the biggest change was the line-up we trotted out.
In the 7-0 match we used a backline of Allen/Hernandez/Brillant/Matarrita. While I love Matarrita, he's obviously more of a wingback than a true defender. He's best defending the wing and keeping up with pacey players rather than marking in the box. On Sunday's 2-0 victory, we used a line-up of Hernandez/Brillant/Mena/Allen. This line-up is a bit taller and features three true centerbacks on the field at the same time. While Hernandez did nothing going forward on the right and Allen was limited going forward on his less comfortable left, the solidity that having four tall players who are solid man-markers in the box was absolutely noticeable. It continued to be effective when Matarrita was subbed in later on and we went to five in the back in a formation of Allen/Hernandez/Brillant/Mena/Matarrita. The wings were covered and we had three players in the box to mark crosses and set pieces.
Personally, I do believe the back line of Allen/Hernandez/Brillant (or Mena)/Matarrita is our strongest four in terms of a balanced attack and defense. But in situations where we need to consider our defense a bit more seriously and where the opposition has advantages in the box and on set pieces, I would not mind seeing the Hernandez/Brillant/Mena/Allen line-up more frequently.
What do you all think? What's our best back line? We really seem to be settling down back there, whether due to a change in tactics or personnel. How should we continue to produce results from the defense going forward?
On Sunday, it was clear that Patrick Vieira remembered this and he made some adjustments to try and prevent it from happening again. Our defense on set pieces was more compact, we kept more players near the goal and marked much more tightly. Saunders was more aggressive coming out to play anything he could reach. But the biggest change was the line-up we trotted out.
In the 7-0 match we used a backline of Allen/Hernandez/Brillant/Matarrita. While I love Matarrita, he's obviously more of a wingback than a true defender. He's best defending the wing and keeping up with pacey players rather than marking in the box. On Sunday's 2-0 victory, we used a line-up of Hernandez/Brillant/Mena/Allen. This line-up is a bit taller and features three true centerbacks on the field at the same time. While Hernandez did nothing going forward on the right and Allen was limited going forward on his less comfortable left, the solidity that having four tall players who are solid man-markers in the box was absolutely noticeable. It continued to be effective when Matarrita was subbed in later on and we went to five in the back in a formation of Allen/Hernandez/Brillant/Mena/Matarrita. The wings were covered and we had three players in the box to mark crosses and set pieces.
Personally, I do believe the back line of Allen/Hernandez/Brillant (or Mena)/Matarrita is our strongest four in terms of a balanced attack and defense. But in situations where we need to consider our defense a bit more seriously and where the opposition has advantages in the box and on set pieces, I would not mind seeing the Hernandez/Brillant/Mena/Allen line-up more frequently.
What do you all think? What's our best back line? We really seem to be settling down back there, whether due to a change in tactics or personnel. How should we continue to produce results from the defense going forward?
