Soccer is an unpredictable game of adjustments. On paper, St. Louis City SC should have easily defeated a depleted Toronto FC team. City listed three players as questionable or unavailable for the match due to injuries. But Toronto listed 11 players as questionable or unavailable for a variety of reasons.
Toronto sits 14th in the Eastern Conference after picking up three wins in 23 matches. Toronto was also winless in its last seven matches before facing City. But City eked out a narrow 1-0 victory on a goal from Aziel Jackson in Toronto.
Toronto challenged City in the first half, but head coach Bradley Carnell was hardly dismayed with the 0-0 scoreline at halftime. City proceeded to dominate the second half and earn all three points on the road.
“Good teams need to grind out results, and I thought the first half was a way to grind out the 0-0 at halftime,” Carnell said in a post-match press conference. “We just had to correct one or two minor things and the second half was complete domination against a tricky opponent.”
A Tough First Half
Toronto used a rigid 4-4-2 to create 1v1 situations on the wings in hopes of crossing the ball into its two strikers. This tactic allowed Toronto to shoot the ball 10 times in the first half. City only managed six shots.
Toronto’s attacking sequences began with midfielders Mark-Anthony Kaye and Brandon Servania maintaining possession of the ball and inviting City to press.
Once City pressed in the center of the pitch, Toronto attempted to pass the ball out wide to a winger. From there, the winger would dribble at City’s Akil Watts or Kyle Hiebert and cross the ball. Toronto clearly favored attacking Watts by using Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty’s dribbling ability. Marshall-Rutty completed two crosses after dribbling past Watts twice in the first half. Marshall-Rutty also got off four shots.
“[Toronto] has some good wide 1v1 players. They made our lives difficult from time to time,” Carnell said.
Toronto challenged Watts' defensive abilities and Marshall-Rutty certainly got the best of Watts in the first half.
“I was giving [Marshall-Rutty] too much space in the first half,” Watts said. “I was backing off, giving him space to beat me one-on-one. And coming into halftime, Bradley told me to get tighter, don't let [Marshall-Rutty] touch the ball and force him back. I changed that in the second half.”
Second Half Adjustments
Toronto’s attacking strategy proved to be effective in the first half because Watts granted Marshall-Rutty the two most valuable tools in soccer: time and space. But Watts shares the blame with the team’s overall inability to deploy overloads.
Defensively, an overload is a situation when the defending team places more defenders in an area of the pitch to outnumber the attackers. This numerical advantage increases the probability of the defending team intercepting the ball and initiating a counter-attack.
Toronto broke through City’s overloads with ease. But fortunately for City, Toronto failed to capitalize on the opportunities it generated in the first half.
Carnell addressed the issue at half-time and City thrived in the second half.
“We try to defend with overloads. We try to defend with numbers on the ballside. I felt we weren’t true to that [in the first half]. We were getting numbers across, but allowing [Toronto] out of tight little spaces,” Carnell said. “So we had to correct that and you could see we were a little more energetic. We were more proactive in the second half.”
City’s defensive adjustments resulted in Toronto producing just three shots in the second half. Limiting Toronto’s offensive threat allowed City to dominate the match and produce 11 shots.
City’s defensive adjustments led to its goal in the 50th minute. Striker Nicholas Gioacchini chipped the ball into Toronto’s box. Defender Aimé Mabika headed the ball away. The ball bounced toward Marshall-Rutty and he attempted to calmly turn with it.
But Watts recognized Marshall-Rutty’s passiveness and stepped in to intercept the ball. Aziel Jackson stood open in the box and Watts passed him the ball. Jackson controlled the ball and scored to put City up 1-0.
“I just wanted to forward defend,” Watts said. “I saw that [Jackson] had space so I threaded the needle. I’m glad he put it in the back of the net.”
The goal marked Watts’ first MLS assist and Jackson’s first MLS goal. Jackson struggled to get on the pitch earlier in the season but he’s performed well since his first MLS start on June 25. “It's very hard to be a player and want to get more minutes,” Jackson said. “But staying focused and just waiting for an opportunity to come in and taking advantage of it is important for any player from any level. God put me here for a reason, and I'm really thankful.”
Top of The Table Clash
City’s victory ensured the team maintained its status as the top team in the Western Conference. But City will have a quick turnaround against 2nd place Los Angeles FC on Wednesday at BMO Stadium. LAFC are the reigning MLS cup champions and Concacaf Champions League Finalists. But Carnell embraces the challenge. “LAFC is probably, on paper, the best team in the country. That energizes us even more,” Carnell said.
LAFC’s playstyle is similar to the Seattle Sounders, a team which defeated City 3-0 earlier in the season. But that match took place on April 8 – three months ago. LAFC will be facing a much more seasoned squad looking to cement its status as one of the best teams in MLS.
“The opponent on Wednesday is just another team,” Carnell said. “When we step over that line, we’re all equal.”
This reporting is supported by the River City Journalism Fund.
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