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MLS Tactics Talk: FC Dallas Use Surprise Of Atiba Harris To Shock The Los Angeles Galaxy
Nov 15, 2010 4:27:00 AM
By Zac Lee Rigg
FC Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman made two eyebrow-raising decisions ahead of his side's 3-0 thumping of the Los Angeles Galaxy.
The first was to start Jackson Goncalves, despite fitness concerns, over Zach Loyd, who is more rugged and superior in the air. That move paid off handsomely - after the overly physical opening minutes with Landon Donovan threatened to degenerate into full-on assault, Jackson silenced the Galaxy captain through the rest of the match.
The second was deploying Atiba Harris as a striker. Reports earlier in the week indicated Harris would return straight to the starting lineup from his one-match suspension, but the assumption was that winger Marvin Chavez would make way, not striker Jeff Cunningham.
Instead, Chavez, who Hyndman said irritated defenders like a mosquito, kept his spot at right midfield and Harris toiled up front alone.
The St. Kitts and Nevis international is no stranger to the striker position, having played it off and on throughout his MLS career. But he's tended towards midfield roles of late, due to a lack of finishing sharpness and a one-paced approach.
With Dallas set to employ a swift counterattacking scheme (Hyndman: "The other thing we focused on this week was the counter attack. We keep preaching to our players: think forward, look forward, pass forward and run forward"), using the pacier Cunningham seemed the glaringly obvious choice.
Hyndman shunned the obvious.
"I think where we caught them by surprise was going with Atiba Harris in the attack," Hyndman said in his post-game press conference. "I don't think they were ready for Atiba Harris."
The 25-year-old can't match Cunningham for pure goal-scoring ability. Cunningham has scored the most goals in MLS history, whereas Harris has never cracked five in a given season. What Harris offers that Cunningham lacks, however, a bit of needed grit.
Throughout the years, teammates have lauded Harris for winning the 50-50 balls, for selflessly entering the dogfights. Recently, former teammate Alecko Eskandarian said via Twitter that Harris has steel bones.
"We thought that Omar [Gonzalez] would have a little bit more problems with Atiba, because Atiba is big, strong and physical," Hyndman said.
"Atiba really surprised us with how well he held the ball up under pressure," Hyndman continued.
That holdup play created the third goal, when Harris won a low-percentage long ball out of the back, dribbled to the right of goal, and laid off for Chavez. After an interchange with David Ferreira, Chavez scored to put the game out of doubt.
Before Harris pulled the ball out of the air, he was isolated in a sea of white Galaxy shirts.
Perhaps most indicative of what Harris offered Dallas came in the buildup to the first goal. On another long ball, Harris checked Eddie Lewis, using his forearm to shove the former U.S. international to the ground and win the ball. Again Harris fed Chavez, who assisted Ferreira's opener.
Gritty, tough, and disconcerting for defenders - Hyndman's tactical surprise helped Dallas shock the Supporters' Shield holders.
Los Angeles coach Bruce Arena, who made no alterations to his starting lineup or tactics throughout the playoffs, held up his hands after the match.
"We were out-coached," Arena admitted.
Zac Lee Rigg writes things and stuff for Goal.com. You can follow him on Twitter @zacrigg, if you really want to I guess.
Keep updated with Major League Soccer throughout the playoffs by visiting Goal.com's MLS page and joining Goal.com USA's Facebook fan page
The first was to start Jackson Goncalves, despite fitness concerns, over Zach Loyd, who is more rugged and superior in the air. That move paid off handsomely - after the overly physical opening minutes with Landon Donovan threatened to degenerate into full-on assault, Jackson silenced the Galaxy captain through the rest of the match.
The second was deploying Atiba Harris as a striker. Reports earlier in the week indicated Harris would return straight to the starting lineup from his one-match suspension, but the assumption was that winger Marvin Chavez would make way, not striker Jeff Cunningham.
Instead, Chavez, who Hyndman said irritated defenders like a mosquito, kept his spot at right midfield and Harris toiled up front alone.
The St. Kitts and Nevis international is no stranger to the striker position, having played it off and on throughout his MLS career. But he's tended towards midfield roles of late, due to a lack of finishing sharpness and a one-paced approach.
With Dallas set to employ a swift counterattacking scheme (Hyndman: "The other thing we focused on this week was the counter attack. We keep preaching to our players: think forward, look forward, pass forward and run forward"), using the pacier Cunningham seemed the glaringly obvious choice.
Hyndman shunned the obvious.
"I think where we caught them by surprise was going with Atiba Harris in the attack," Hyndman said in his post-game press conference. "I don't think they were ready for Atiba Harris."
The 25-year-old can't match Cunningham for pure goal-scoring ability. Cunningham has scored the most goals in MLS history, whereas Harris has never cracked five in a given season. What Harris offers that Cunningham lacks, however, a bit of needed grit.
Throughout the years, teammates have lauded Harris for winning the 50-50 balls, for selflessly entering the dogfights. Recently, former teammate Alecko Eskandarian said via Twitter that Harris has steel bones.
"We thought that Omar [Gonzalez] would have a little bit more problems with Atiba, because Atiba is big, strong and physical," Hyndman said.
"Atiba really surprised us with how well he held the ball up under pressure," Hyndman continued.
That holdup play created the third goal, when Harris won a low-percentage long ball out of the back, dribbled to the right of goal, and laid off for Chavez. After an interchange with David Ferreira, Chavez scored to put the game out of doubt.
Before Harris pulled the ball out of the air, he was isolated in a sea of white Galaxy shirts.
Perhaps most indicative of what Harris offered Dallas came in the buildup to the first goal. On another long ball, Harris checked Eddie Lewis, using his forearm to shove the former U.S. international to the ground and win the ball. Again Harris fed Chavez, who assisted Ferreira's opener.
Gritty, tough, and disconcerting for defenders - Hyndman's tactical surprise helped Dallas shock the Supporters' Shield holders.
Los Angeles coach Bruce Arena, who made no alterations to his starting lineup or tactics throughout the playoffs, held up his hands after the match.
"We were out-coached," Arena admitted.
Zac Lee Rigg writes things and stuff for Goal.com. You can follow him on Twitter @zacrigg, if you really want to I guess.
Keep updated with Major League Soccer throughout the playoffs by visiting Goal.com's MLS page and joining Goal.com USA's Facebook fan page
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