SKC vs FCD Review

After the poor performance against another bottom feeder team in Chicago I didn’t have my hopes set very high for the game against FC Dallas. FCD hadn’t allowed a goal in several games and has, in my opinion, one of the best keepers in MLS. And then I saw that Bunbury, Smith, Kamara, and Bravo were all sitting this game out I got really worried. I was getting myself ready for another collapse. But, then I saw that Vermes decided to not play a 4-3-3 formation. Then I got excited. How is this team going to perform in this formation? Will there be more attacking runs despite there only being 1 forward on the field?

Formation

Vermes decided to go with a more conventional 4-5-1 formation. The defense was pretty similar to what we have seen before with Besler and Collin playing centrally and Myers and Sinovic on the right and left respectively. The midfield looked a lot different than usual with Diop and Sassano playing the 2 holding roles, with Arnaud back to his attacking midfield spot. On the wings were Zusi and Stojcev. And Sapong got the start all by himself as the lone forward. This formation really caused problems for Dallas’s midfield. They couldn’t find space and it wasn’t until the end of the game when SKC was playing with only 10 men (yes, we had another ejection) that FCD found some room on the wings. I hope that this performance will get Vermes thinking about how he can change the formation to help this team create more chances while still defending.

Defense

Overall the defense was strong. Collin has solidified himself as the best defender on this team and hopefully a player we can build this defense around for the future. I also thought the play of Sinovic and Myers on the outside. Toward the end of the game, after playing 30 min with only 10 men, they started giving up too much space. But, some of this could be from fatigue b/c SKC was still attacking even with only 10 men. And lastly Besler played another solid game. He isn’t the powerhouse defender that Collin is and he isn’t the speedy outside defender, but he is smart and anticipates passing lanes pretty well. He might never be a starter for the national team but he should provide SKC with some solid defensive performances.

Midfield

This is where this team was amazing. Sassano and Diop played really well together as holding midfielders. They clogged the middle of the field and didn’t give the ball away cheaply when they had it. I am still not a fan of Diop as a defensive player but I think when he is teamed up with a more defensive player like Sassano his defensive mistakes were less noticeable. I thought Sassano played really well and I would like to see him teamed up with Auvray. I think those 2 could help provide a little more stability to a midfield that hasn’t been very good all year. Also, Arnaud was awesome and easily the 2nd best midfielder on the field. His runs when he didn’t have the ball created a lot of space and he provided a perfect outlet for Sapong when it was needed. Also, Arnaud did a great job of being where he needed to be to help all the other midfielders. When it looked like FCD was going to close a player down there was Arnaud to receive a pass and keep possession for SKC. And before we get to the best player in the midfield let’s talk about the worst. Stojcev did not have a good game. He has shown that he can’t defend at all and at times he looked completely lost on the field. Stojcev’s tackles were late and clumsy and in the 56th minute when he made a stupid, late tackle from behind to trip up an FCD player who wasn’t even dribbling toward our goal (if I remember right he was even in FCD’s defensive side of the field) I almost threw my beverage at the TV. That tackle that Stojcev didn’t need to make forced the referee to give him his 2nd yellow card and caused SKC to play with only 10 men again! At this point I got a little worried because we were only up by 2 goals with 30 minutes left to play and we haven’t really shown the ability to finish games even we have 11 players on the field. In my opinion this performance from Stojcev should land him on the bench for more than the 1 game suspension the league will give him. Now for Zusi, this guy was awesome this game. The guy played with energy all game long and he showed all the fans why the coaching staff thinks he can be a big part of this team now and in the future. He his first goal was a nice shot from the top of the box that he had to create his own space for. Then right after halftime the corner kick that he took and placed it right on the back post to Sapong was awesome. That corner led to SKC’s 2nd goal and the point in the game when SKC took control of the game. And if anyone hasn’t seen Zusi’s 2nd goal of the game will have to check the highlights below. It was a rocket shot from a solid 40 yards away that left Hartman wondering where it came from.

Forwards

C.J. Sapong played up there all by himself and he did a really good job with it. He didn’t score but he did provide the assist on the Collin’s goal off of the Zusi corner kick for SKC’s 2nd goal. Sapong did a really good job of running making runs sometimes out wide to allow Arnaud to sneak in behind him to create confusion for FCD’s defense. It wasn’t until the 69th minute that Kamara and then in the 89th minute that Bunbury came on was there more forwards on the field. But, even when those 2 came on they played more midfielder roles. I thought Sapong did a really good job and if Vermes decides to play more single forward formations I think Sapong has proven that he can play the spot really well and arguably the best on the team.

Overall

This game was a well-deserved and a very much needed win for this team. After the poor performance in the home opener it was good to see SKC go on the road, again, and this time leave with a win. I have been screaming for Vermes to change the formation after the first few games and now he has no excuse not to look at what other formation can bring to this team. I understand that we have lots of attacking talent on the roster but having all that attacking talent on the field at the same time doesn’t mean that goals will be scored. And this game was a perfect example of it. Without Bravo, Smith, Kamara, and Bunbury this team scored 4 goals and against a team that is near the top of the standings!

Misconduct Summary:

KC — Aurelien Collin (caution; Reckless Foul) 21
KC — Seth Sinovic (caution; Reckless Tackle) 33
KC — Milos Stojcev (caution; Reckless Tackle) 39
DAL — Zach Loyd (caution; Reckless Foul) 47+
DAL — Ugo Ihemelu (caution; Reckless Tackle) 56
KC — Milos Stojcev (caution; Reckless Tackle) 56
KC — Milos Stojcev (ejection; Second Caution) 56
DAL — Milton Rodriguez (caution; Reckless Tackle) 89

Scoring Summary:

KC — Graham Zusi 1 (Davy Arnaud 1) 28
DAL — Brek Shea 5 (unassisted) 32
KC — Aurelien Collin 1 (C.J. Sapong 2, Graham Zusi 1) 49
KC — Graham Zusi 2 (unassisted) 55
KC — Luke Sassano 1 (Birahim Diop 1) 78

Highlights

Category: Team News