In a game that saw the Dash get their first win in franchise history, it also saw the Boston Breakers remain at the bottom of the table, looking for their first win. While Boston was dominated last week in their defeat to Seattle, this time while a draw was probably a more fair result, the Dash left Boston with three valuable points.

Don’t let the score deceive you. While there may have been five goals between the two teams, tactically the two coaches could walk away knowing they did all they could. The team’s conflicting systems for the most part canceled each other out. Which made for tactically a uneventful game. Houston let Boston have the flanks, and Boston let Houston have the center of the pitch. The goals instead came from individual errors. Three of the goals could have been prevented from surer hands from Houston and Boston’s goalies, while a fourth from a bad foul from a Boston defender.

Formation:

Both sides came out in a 4-3-3, what this game showcased was the versatility of how the 4-3-3 can be deployed. Houston for example was a more compact. Their central three stayed close together, with two central midfielders and third midfielder sitting behind the two. Essentially they packed the midfield space and forcing Boston to utilize the flanks. With the dominance of the midfield space, Houston looked to play more through the middle of the field.

For Boston, the 4-3-3 was fueled by the flanks and runs from midfield. When Boston traded away Sydney Leroux in the off-season they traded away 11 goals. Boston this year is deploying Lisa De Vanna as their sole striker. While De Vanna scored 5 goals for Sky Blue last year, she is a different kind of striker, not as powerful as Leroux, she drifts out wide more. The problem was even though De Vanna was often able to receive the ball in space, she also left a large amount of space behind. Boston relies then on people making runs into the space that she leaves behind. While for Houston the third midfielder sat behind the other two, for Boston the third midfielder was in front of the central two, looking to make runs in.

Space Key:

De Vanna is seemingly the catalyst of Boston’s attack. Yes, Boston relies on Heather O’Reilly’s play on the flanks to create chances, but much like for the US National team, you know what you’re gonna from O’Reilly. Speed down the flanks, good service, and occasionally more central runs. With De Vanna, it is more up in the air. When the Breakers are on the same page as De Vanna it leads to dangerous opportunities. When someone comes in late to the space it leads to goal scoring chances.

For example the first goal was a result of an in-cutting occupying the space that De Vanna vacated. As you can see De Vanna, in blue, has dropped into space for the ball. As she turns, number 9 O’Reilly is curling into space and makes a run that leads to the goal. More often though this space was left vacant, instead Boston often was relegated to the flanks.

This space on the flanks for Boston was seemingly by design. Boston took advantage of the space that Houston left open for them on the flanks. However they could only really capitalize on it once. The problem was that when De Vanna drifted into space, the only person there was a midfielder or winger making a run in which was often picked up. The one time Boston scored was when Boston’s Lohman was left unmarked from her midfield run as the Breaker’s Heather O’Reilly served in the ball from the flank.

Here on the set up of Boston’s 2nd goal, you can see how deep and wide De Vanna has to drop to get the ball at her feet. For Houston, in orange, this is exactly what they want, the play is in front of them and there is no one really attacking them or the space behind them. The problem is they go to sleep as Joanna Lohman makes her run through the defense, while McCloud doesn’t do a good job of coming out and claiming the ball.

Packing it in:

When Boston had the ball on the flank though, did their best to make sure that it stayed there. For example while Sky Blue last week used their flanks to play a diagonal ball onto the straight run from Maya Hayes at striker, Houston didn’t let that happen. Boston’s only play from the flanks was either a long change of field or to serve the ball into box. Houston did a good job of not only keeping their three compact but also moving as a unit.

In this shot, early in the game, Boston has the ball in the middle of the field. In this one shot though, you can see nine Dash players in the shot. Effectively jamming the midfield and making sure that there are not only no easy passing lanes but no space for the Boston ball carrier to operate in as the Dash players close in on the ball.

However, in this shot you see the downside of the packed middle. If teams are able to find a seem quickly, there is tons of space on the other side. Here you see De Vanna is able to play a quick outlet through the defense, exposing the tons of space behind Houston. This play quickly develops into a track meet as the ball is played to an on running fullback.

Once Boston is able to play it through the midfield, Houston is forced to recover. In this shot you can see the players scramble to get back in position. As a new team this is going to be a problem, their unfamiliarity with each other means that they are going to find themselves in trouble from time to time. For the most part it seemed to work, however this is the danger that Houston is going to have to deal with if they keep playing this way.

Conclusion:

The game was even for the most part. It will be interesting to see how both teams continue to develop. Boston has seemingly gone from a mid-table team, right out side of the play-off spot; to a team with zero points after two games and two tough losses. Houston though has shown they are going to be tough to play while stuffing the midfield. Holding the Portland Thorns high powered attack to 1 goal and were unlucky to come away with a point in that game, while stealing three points from Boston. Tactically as the team gels, I would not be surprised if by the end of the year we see Houston hanging around 5th with a chance to make the play offs.