Seattle Sounders FC 3–0 http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Toronto-FC-c40744: Sigi Schmid’s diamond formation pays off at Qwest Stadium
Major League Soccer outfit, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Steve-Zakuani-c34184 and O’Brian White. Much to
everyone’s surprise, the Rave Green ended the match at a 3-0 score line. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Brad-Evans-c7952 were the driving force in the Sounders’ clean sheet.
Head coach Sigi Schmid introduced the 4-1-2-1-2 diamond formation for the first time with Evans and Wahl in more advanced positions. Wahl manned Zakuani’s regular position on the left wing while Evans occupied his usual spot on the opposite flank. Left-back
by nature, Wahl was excited prior to the match, however, the extra bit of responsibility on his shoulders made for a cautious outing on the left flank.
Schmid’s new formation paid off and the team scored three goals, two of them coming from Evans’ feet. The player’s deployment in an advanced position was a tactical decision to keep possession on the right side of the field. “Without Steve, you have to get
more offense from the outside backs,” Wahl said. “Flaco Fernández likes to tuck in a little bit more, come inside. That leaves that flank a little more open. I was instructed to go forward and I did.”
The system worked well and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Álvaro-Fernández-c5287 scored in the 9th minute of the game, leaving the Reds chasing the game. Where Evans claimed the assist for the first goal, he went one step better in the 52nd minute by scoring himself after
good work from http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Jhon-Kennedy-Hurtado-c18499. The goal did not stop him from growing even better as he converted a 75th minute penalty kick to complete his brace.
“It was a good plan from head coach Sigi Schmid to play him outside,” Montero said of Evans. “That opened more space and with that he scored the goals and managed to get an assist as well.”
Even though Fernandez did not receive as many goal scoring chances as he would have liked, the player still managed to open the scoring for his team. His goal aside, Fernandez played really well to retain possession with help from Wahl and Evans.
“I think our energy right from the get-go put them on their heels,” said http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Roger-Levesque-c31525. “Putting pressure on and baiting them in, and then when we went, everybody went. It wasn’t just one player, it was the whole team, starting in the back and going through
the midfield and the forwards were working hard."
Both Zakuani and O’Brian are expected to stay on the sidelines for some time, and Schmid will have to stick to the same formation in the league. The Sounders now play http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/DC-United-c38901 at RFK Stadium in what will be the real test of Schmid’s new formation.
Tags: