Allie Long runs forward were again critical for the Thorns, she scored the first and only goal with a header assisted by Sinead Farrell
In their first away game of the 2015 season, the Thorns travel to Chicago to play against the Red Stars – or should we say “against the Benedictine University football field?”
We could say that, alas it would not be fair on the Red Stars who – apart from set piece defending perhaps – appear to be in excellent form, earning a 3-2 win over the Seattle Reign in their 2015 season opener. The Thorns, on the other hand, faced what proved to be their first test, as the Western New York Flash turned out to be a more difficult opponent then some expected.
It has been pointed out last season: the Red Stars have made a virtue of necessity – especially at home. Their field is incredibly bouncy which seems to impair accurate passing and make controlling the ball somewhat difficult, especially for the guests who are not used to the field. Chicago uses this to their advantage by pressing aggressively. When an opponent receives a pass, she is often immediately double teamed and stripped of the ball again. This makes for an extremely choppy game, especially in midfield, with constant turnovers on both sides.
So how is it a virtue for Chicago? As opposed to Seattle for example (or the Thorns so far this season), they do not play for possession. It almost seems like they get the ball from the opponent in order to disrupt their attacking rhythm and not to start their own. As if keeping the ball and starting an attack themselves was merely an added bonus. Of course, this is slightly exaggerating and oversimplifying things. But it helps to illustrate the psychological advantage for the Red Stars: If your focus is on getting the ball – not on keeping it – it matters less if you lose it again.
So what does this mean for the Thorns? In their first two games, Portland have shown an emphasis on possession and quick, short passing. They keep an incredibly compact field, pushing up the defense and dropping the offense to get numbers around the ball. The merits from this are twofold: more players mean more passing options when the Thorns are in possession and more players to quickly pressure the opponent when they lose the ball. The disadvantage to this is that it leaves a lot of open space for the opponent to exploit, especially behind the backline.
For Seattle, the high line was the downfall, as Christen Press mercilessly exploited it with her pace. Chicago’s attacks were similar, but very successful: win the ball high up the field, play it forward pretty quickly, usually with a long diagonal pass. Then Hoy and Press either split the defenders or simply outran them. Especially on the first goal, the two profited from good team work, as Hoy drew her defender running for the ball and – seeing Press get the ball – stopped running, effectively stopping her defender from crossing Press’ path.
The most important key to success for the Thorns then is to somehow, someway keep Press and Hoy in check. The new system with three central defenders might actually help with that. When playing with four in the back, the Thorns have the tendency to involve the outside backs into the attack, meaning they are often positioned on the sidelines and slightly more up the field. As a result, the space between the two centerbacks is pretty wide. With the new system, the wingbacks Heath and Johnson take the positions on the touchline, meaning the nominal backline is less stretched. But whether the Thorns play with three or four in the back also depends on whether Rachel van Hollebeke and Kat Williamson are able to play.
The other key area for the Thorns is in the attack. The Red Stars have a very organized and experienced defense which was hardly troubled by Seattle. In fact, apart from the set pieces that resulted in the two goals, the Reign rarely looked dangerous. Portland, on the other hand, visibly struggled against Western New York last week, which was due in part to Jodie Taylor. As opposed to Alex Morgan she is still new to the team and chemistry and timing takes a while to develop – as a result, passes were sometimes just a little bit off. Another difference was that – unlike Morgan – Taylor did not drop into the midfield as often. Against Boston, Morgan was able to draw defenders this way, freeing up her attacking colleagues – mainly Long and Shim.
Tobin Heath described the field conditions and keeping Press in check as the two biggest challenges of the game. That will take a high amount of alertness and tactical discipline as well as dedicated team defending (Gegenpressing for the tactics nerds among you) – especially because the nature of Benedictine University turf means that most likely the Thorns will lose the ball and most likely in potentially dangerous positions.
Getting behind the Red Stars defense could easily be added to the list of challenges. With both Jodie Taylor and Alex Morgan out of the lineup this week, the challenge is that much greater.
