FRISCO – Before we shift our focus ahead to Saturday’s big match-up against Portland, we had some great questions come in to the Mailbag this week. Let’s dive right in to just a few:
“We're definitely creating good chances to score, but what is being done to help the players put the ball in the back of the net?” - Giovanni Salazar
First off, let me say the game on Saturday could’ve easily been 2-0 or 3-0 were it not for Tim Melia. He’s one of the best keepers in the league so far in 2017 and a big reason why SKC had only allowed two goals on the year coming in. He made five saves in the opening half alone.
Scoring more isn’t so much about a wholesale change, but subtle tactic changes for each opponent. Against SKC, for instance, Oscar Pareja wanted to generate more volume from Roland Lamah to get him working, but also put him down the right side of the pitch against a perceived weak point in the back line in Seth Sinovic, but also to create more space for Hernan Grana working up from right back. Then, you’re looking to find Maxi Urruti or the always-dangerous Tesho Akindele with crosses into the box. After 70 minutes of this tactic, you bring on a speedy Michael Barrios against a worn out back line and he walks around Sinovic, and finds Maynor Figueroa – another big target on the left – for the goal.
It’s the little nuances like these when scheming for a game that pay huge dividends. Pareja is definitely still fine tuning his lineup and attack with different looks, but the more he experiments now, the more options he knows he has come late in the season when it matters most.
“Great score from Figueroa. Do defenders typically come that far up?” - Ray Bonis
In an Oscar Pareja-coached system? Absolutely. Like I mentioned above, the game plan was to throw numbers at the back post from the left side, and that includes Figueroa. Generally speaking, though, we’ve seen how the outside backs pushing up into the attack are a must in the run of play. They’re not always going to be scoring the goals or even racking up the assist numbers, but their presence in the attack is crucial in the counter attacking style this team plays with. It’s all about putting pressure on the opposing defense to make a mistake.
It’s not just on the flanks that the defenders press up either. We see on set pieces that Walker Zimmerman and Matt Hedges are the main targets inside the box with their size. Zimmerman scored three times last year and Matt Hedges scored the memorable equalizer in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Semifinal in LA.
“Why do grounds crew water field at halftime?” - Matthew Bray
Matthew, I called in some help with this one, going straight to the source himself. Allen Reed, the Director of Stadium Grounds at Toyota Stadium gave me a little insight into the water vs. don’t water decision at half and it’s all about speed.
In windy, hot or dry conditions, the grass dries out quicker than it does in calm and cool conditions. As the grass dries it gets a little bit sticky and creates more drag on the ball as it runs across the field, especially the Rye grass that’s currently down until the summer months. The watering at half helps keep the playing surface quick and fast, just like how Dallas looks to play – a little home field advantage tactic.
That’ll do it for this week! Thanks for all the questions and if I didn’t get to yours this week, be sure to hit me up again for next Monday’s mailbag. See you all Saturday!