4-2-3-1 or 4-4-2?
How about 5-3-2?
It was the third option that was surprisingly selected by Head Coach Brian Schmetzer for the final half hour in Seattle’s 1-0 win over the Portland Timbers at Providence Park on Sunday evening.
The massive result extended the club's record seven-match winning streak, leapfrogged Seattle to fifth in the Western Conference standings, put the Sounders in pole position for the 2018 Cascadia Cup and prevented Portland from sweeping the season series.
“[We were] trying to get the best out of this group, each game is a little different,” Schmetzer told media regarding the tactical shift. “[It comes down to] the ebb and flow of the game.”
As usual, the Sounders started the match in Schmetzer’s standard 4-2-3-1 formation. The defensive-focused system allows for more possession out of the back with Raúl Ruidíaz working as the standalone striker. When Will Bruin came on for Kelvin Leerdam, who suffered a knock, in the 59th minute, it was expected that the formation would switch to a 4-4-2, just like it has over the past month.
This time, however, that wasn’t the case.
Schmetzer slid back Gustav Svensson to center back, leaving a three-man midfield of Nicolás Lodeiro, Harry Shipp and Cristian Roldan with the two-forward pairing up top. It wasn’t the first time this season the Sounders have played a five-man back line, but those instances seemed more out of desperation to get a result due to player availability. This seemed much more tactical, allowing the midfielders to work in space and provide passes for the forwards, while also allowing unsuspecting defenders to leave the robust line and make runs.
In the 76th minute, that’s exactly what happened.
Center back Kim Kee-hee made a surging movement on the right flank, where Lodeiro found him in open space. The 29-year-old South Korea international drove straight to goal and sent a dangerous cross to the mob of feet in front of the net. Portland’s Julio Cascante knocked it in from close range for the own goal.
“That’s the advantage of having five in the back,” Schmetzer said after the match. “You can take a couple of risks because you know you’ve got some cover. Again, that’s just Kim Kee-hee making a play. Our guys have made plays as of late going back to the start of the streak.”
Moments later Román Torres entered for Shipp, and the ever-versatile Svensson went back into midfield. Nouhou later came on for Brad Smith at left back, and the defensive line was set. Portland came hard in search of the equalizer, but the shift was effective. Seattle held the 1-0 score for the remainder of the match.
With the win, the Sounders have recorded four shutouts during their seven-match winning streak, allowing a single goal on three occasions, but no result was as sweet as this one.
“The guys are pretty happy, I’ll say that,” Schmetzer said. “It was [Portland’s] home and it was a derby match, but at the end of the day we walked out of here with three points and a little bit of satisfaction for what they did to us a few weeks ago.”
