Photo: Paul Rudderow

Who: Philadelphia Union vs. New England Revolution
What: 2015 regular season game
Where: PPL Park
When: Sunday, April 19 at 5 pm
Watch: ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, Watch ESPN, ESPN3
Whistle: Mark Geiger; Linesmen: Adam Wienckowski, Jonathan Johnson; Fourth Official: Robert Sibiga

Once again, Philadelphia Union played like a reflection of their coach: Gritty, tough, and determined. Even after Jason Kreis once again changed the game at the halftime break, Philly found a way to come from behind in a match where space was at a premium and the midfield was a mishmash of who was healthy enough to step up.

However, New England will pose a much greater threat than the stumbling NYCFC team the Union took four points from this week. The Revolution, much like the Sporting KC side Philadelphia should have beaten, are bursting with offensive talent but far from a finished product. Let’s take a quick look at how Jay Heaps is trying to make his defending Eastern Conference champs even more dangerous in 2015.

Caldwell has become a very tidy passer for New England.

The man in the middle… no, the other one

New England has an elite core of technical players in the middle of the pitch. Lee Nguyen and Kelyn Rowe get plenty of attention, but Scott Caldwell’s growth should not be overlooked. Caldwell still does the dirty work, but now he can start the breakout as well. Against an organized Columbus midfield, he was stellar. Federico Higuain never got free on a late run into the box because Caldwell held his deep role so well (first alongside Jermaine Jones then with an assist from Andy Dorman).

But the more interesting part of Caldwell’s game was offensively, where he can act almost as a reverse hub for the Revs attack. The “reverse” comes from the nature of how New England goes forward. Jay Heaps’ team seems like they should want to hold possession, but they actually don’t keep the ball well and, often, they don’t even try. Instead, New England gets the ball up the pitch as quickly as possible and moves it around the final third at speed, letting Rowe and Nguyen pick the right gaps for darting runs into the box. Caldwell is at the base of these moves, recycling possession when one side gets overloaded. It is an overlooked but vitally important role because this Revs system only works when it is done at a very high speed. There is no sitting around on the ball and forming an umbrella around the box. Players check in, check out, move with the ball, and constantly look to pull a defense out of shape.

It will be interesting to see how long Jay Heaps sticks with this brand of soccer if it doesn’t translate consistently into wins. Currently, there is a lot of pressure on Caldwell, Andrew Farrell, and Jose Goncalves in the middle simply because the Revs cede a surprising amount of possession for a team of their technical ability. This is a calculated gamble, but perhaps an unnecessary one. Heaps’ tactics are somewhat novel, but that does not necessarily make them good.

Matt Doyle pointed out that New England’s system thrives when its active front five can hunt defenders who are weak on the ball. San Jose’s Dom Kinnear countered the press by introducing a target forward to challenge Farrell and Goncalves in the air and give the Quakes midfield a chance to win second balls. This simple change made the Revs a lot less efficient and wore down the skill players.

Fernando Aristeguieta should take up a target role for Philadelphia and keep Farrell and Goncalves from getting close to Caldwell and closing down all the space in the midfield. The Union, then, will have to press the advantage and attack quickly off recoveries and turnovers in the midfield. Farrell, in particular, is a work in progress and he is prone to the poor decision (and especially to poor positioning) when forced to play on the back foot.

Michael Lahoud’s 2nd half was tougher than the first, but he made good first passes after recovering the ball in the middle.

Lahoud steps up

Scott Caldwell’s game has improved steadily over the two years; Michael Lahoud’s has taken a huge leap in just a few games. Lahoud was, to steal Ray Hudson’s term, imperious in the first half against New York City. Though overwhelmed in the second half when Jason Kreis again pulled the right levers and added another body to the midfield to help NYC stymie counterattacks and move the Union around with short connecting passes, Lahoud offered a strong base that allowed Cristian Maidana and Zach Pfeffer to push forward in the late stages of the match. It is almost inconceivable that Lahoud would have been trusted to hold the midfield alone last season, but now Jim Curtin trusts him enough to put two attackers in and let them push forward.

Lahoud will be tested once more as New England is unlikely to be as timid as Sporting KC nor as disorganized as New York City. The Revs become extremely dangerous when both Nguyen and Rowe occupy central areas against a single midfielder. Rowe’s long range shooting has become a notable weapon while Nguyen’s current downturn in form is hardly an excuse to allow him space around the top of the box.

When Farrell and Goncalves were forced wide, New England was forced to go long.

Defending the defenders

Regardless of midfield setup, the Union will have to make an interesting strategic choice about how to defend New England’s central defenders. Columbus focused on cutting out passing lanes through the middle, which forced Farrell and Goncalves to play long ball more than they would have preferred.

Notably, the Crew did not simply sit back in passing lanes; they still defended high up the pitch, but they sought less to close the ball down than simply to force the central defenders to carry it wide and boot it long. By pushing Farrell and Goncalves wide, Columbus ensured that they could limit the places those long punts could go. From the center of the pitch, Juan Agudelo’s movement can pose problems, with long balls into space tracked down. Once Agudelo is in possession in the final third, New England’s midfield bombs forward in support. However, a defender near the touchline has less space to play the ball into without walloping an extremely low percentage Hollywood ball across the entire pitch.

Lineup decisions

With Vincent Nogueira’s status uncertain, Curtin may have to choose between Brian Carroll as a second holder behind Cristian Maidana, playing Maidana and Zach Pfeffer together, or simply lining up in a 4-4-2 and trusting Lahoud and Maidana against the Revolution attack.

Pairing Maidana and Pfeffer worked well on Thursday, as the Union were able to move the ball quickly and Pfeffer’s energy allowed Maidana to stay high and create. However, it’s unclear whether that formula can succeed over a 75-80 minute stretch.

Carroll and Lahoud worked well together against Kansas City, but Carroll seems like a less-than-ideal solution against the quick movement of New England. Rowe and Nguyen will not sit back the way Feilhaber did for KC.

Further up the pitch, Eric Ayuk is likely to be rested. Or at least he should be. The teenager barely makes it 65 minutes on a week’s rest, so a two day turnaround seems like a lot to ask. Curtin could simply replace Ayuk with CJ Sapong or Jimmy McLaughlin. Or he could drop Ayuk and Andrew Wenger — one of whom needs to refresh physically and the other mentally — and move Sebastien Le Toux to the left.

Lineup with Nogueira injured.

Conclusion: Union 1-2 Revolution

Philadelphia’s improved defense may be able to hold New England at bay, but the bigger threat will come from midfield. If Nogueira is unavailable, Philly will ask Michael Lahoud to work miracles on short rest. Not that he can’t in current form, but… it’s still a big ask.

The Union can come out on top if Cristian Maidana is able to put in at least 75 minutes of full strength soccer. Maidana has been extremely dangerous whenever he has been available this season, and he operates in spaces that require Caldwell to leave his homebase in the middle of the pitch.

Also, here is the obligatory “It would be really, really, really helpful if Andrew Wenger started playing like a guy who deserves to be in the starting eleven” comment. Wenger has put in good defensive work the past few matches, but a player in his role needs to be taking shots and threatening goal. If he can’t provide that threat, Jim Curtin needs to be prepared to look elsewhere for attacking prowess. CJ Sapong’s bright appearance as a central striker against NYC means Sebastien Le Toux could be shuffled back out wide going forward. Curtin has options, and he will need to start using them if Wenger continues to struggle.