Photo: Ron Soliman

Coming off of a scoreless draw in Charlotte over the weekend, the Union returned home Wednesday evening to face Toronto FC, earning their second consecutive nil-nil stalemate and third consecutive clean-sheet. Jim Curtin’s men were eager to regain their ever-fleeting winning ways at home, but the man at the helm of Toronto FC made it near impossible for the Boys in Blue to find any sort of breakthrough.

In the end, the Union began a new unbeaten record at home with a draw that to some may feel like a loss.

Toronto’s tactical dominance

You are probably familiar with John Herdman, who headed Canada’s national team at the 2022 World Cup. His side ultimately bowed out of the competition in the group stage, finishing last in Group F behind Morocco, Croatia, and Belgium. But on Wednesday night, Herdman exhibited why he had a national team job in the first place.

Toronto lined up in something of a 3-5-2. With this set up, his side dominated and commanded the midfield for virtually the entire match. Herdman specifically employed the use of a man marking system that completely neutralized Union playmakers Jack McGlynn and Daniel Gazdag.

“We knew that once you get across midfield, they do like to go man-to-man and make it hard on you,” Curtin stated after the match.

While it is clear that the Union have a fondness for attacking down the right-hand side, how the ball matriculates to that side is typically, one way or another, through the feet of McGlynn and Gazdag. Both are extremely adept players when it comes to finding space.

This is especially true for McGlynn, who enjoys and operates in the space he creates to turn, pick his head up, and pick out passes to switch the point of attack from left to right.

Lately, almost every single Union attack that starts in the Union defensive third filters through the feet of Jack McGlynn.

On Wednesday, Herdman appeared to task midfielder Matthew Longstaff with shadowing McGlynn’s every move while Philly were in possession. Every time McGlynn picked up the ball, he was harassed by Longstaff who gave the Union playmaker fits. The space McGlynn typically creates for himself was just non-existent.

The added pressure forced McGlynn into some uncharacteristic turnovers that effectively neutered the Union’s build-ups before they started.

“I think it was a tough night for Jack…. Maybe we put in his mind too much to remain close to Kai to help defensively, but I don’t think it was his sharpest night,” Curtin said after the match.

“It’s better for us if he’s getting the ball right in that pocket, where Kai is more advanced. He is getting on the ball and now the back line has to drop because he has such a great final pass to make. And tonight he was receiving balls with a guy up his back or where he is twisting and trying to turn out of a tight spot, or a flick. And that is not really his best quality, and we didn’t use that as best as we could tonight.”

Daniel Gazdag was also victim to being completely eliminated by Toronto’s man-marking. Gazdag was forced to drop deeper to evade his mark and assist the Union’s build-up, which ultimately stranded Mikael Uhre and Quinn Sullivan further up the field.

Toronto’s sheer number of bodies and man marking in the midfield made it extremely tough for the Union to play direct.

This is what playing with 3 in the back allows teams to do. It gives teams added flexibility to man mark and shadow players with improved rest defense by essentially always having 3 defenders back to defend against quick transitions. Not to mention, 3 at the back defenses are a phenomenon the Union have struggled to break down in recent seasons.

The Leon Flach conundrum

The idea of Leon Flach shoring up the defense is more than just an idea at this point. He has now greatly contributed to three consecutive clean sheets, allowing the team to regain some defensive swagger. His commitment to his defensive responsibilities and the team’s overall defensive shape has been invaluable to that effect.

(Flach heat map vs. Toronto from Whoscored.com)

(Jose Martinez heat map 4/27 vs. RSL  from Whoscored.com)

Though in circumstances where McGlynn and Gazdag are effectively eliminated from the game, Flach has not proven that he can seamlessly step in and provide consistent ability and chance creation going forward. While he has looked to somewhat improve his play in possession in these last few outings, he just simply isn’t prime Jose Martinez

When it comes to building up from the back, his movement isn’t sufficient, and that can be evidenced by the heat map above. If Flach had a passing range like that of Medunjanin or McGlynn, it may just work.

But he doesn’t.

His awareness of the space he creates and defenders he drags toward his own teammates is just not up to the level of Martinez. In moments on Wednesday evening, the team were essentially playing with 9 field players when building from the back.

“In the first half it was basically our two centerbacks and Leon in the center in one level by himself and then almost seven guys up against their back line,” Curtin noted. “In the second half we actually just dropped Leon between them, and let the center backs go on the dribble and we created a little bit more.”

The biggest gripe with this is if the team are going to constantly drop its 6 in between its two CBs to assist midfield spacing, why not just go three at the back?

This calls into question the formational flexibility that Curtin has preached.

If the single goal is to shore up the defense, Flach is an option. If the only goal is to provide a shield in front of the center backs, Flach is an option. He could especially excel as a second half substitute coming in to reinforce a lead.

But Flach is not a viable 90 minute option as a 6 night in and night out for this team if the goal is to generate a positive chance creation differential.

It could be seen as soon as Martinez entered for McGlynn in the 78th minute and immediately, things began to open up offensively, but of course, they began to open up defensively as well. There was no longer a motionless man in possession nor a 6 tucked in between its center backs to shield against counters. Toronto even had two of its best chances on the night shortly after the substitute.

Clearly, both Martinez and Flach are not providing what is needed out of the 6 in the diamond right now.

Maybe Martinez is more of an 8? Maybe the 4-4-2 diamond isn’t what it once was? Maybe more change on the field is necessary for the club to rediscover their form again?

At the end of the day, the solution to this leaky defense isn’t a “player for a player” swap in the diamond. Whether it be going to 3 at the back or a flat 4-4-2 or something else – it is going to take going back to the drawing board to maximize the strengths of the roster at Curtin’s disposal.

Green grass

As it was a nil-nil draw, there aren’t any goals to break down and discuss.

While it may be unrelated to the tactics, there is a certain relevance – the grass at Subaru park last night looked the best it has so far in 2024. The pitch looked almost as good as it did when the Tahoma grass was initially installed in the summer of 2022.

(Field 5/29 vs. Toronto)

Ironically, the first match played on the new grass was the 7-0 trouncing of DC United in July of 2022 that propelled the previously stagnant team to an MLS Cup appearance.

At points throughout last season and earlier this season, the pitch developed an ugly brownish hue. What once was one of the more nicely-kept fields in MLS became a stale fragment of what it once was in the 2022 season.

(Field 3/30 vs. Minnesota)

The discoloration appeared to take a head for a time shortly after their rain-out match on March 9th, where the field became totally waterlogged in the monsoon.

(Field 3/8 postponement vs. SEA)

Along with the field’s discoloration, it was the following Tuesday that the team flew down to Mexico only to be run off the pitch by Pachuca in a 6-0 defeat – putting their Champions Cup aspirations up in flames.

Weathered from the travels and tight scheduling, the blemishes on their home field appeared all the way through to the players in league play. While the team did rip off 5 straight undefeated matches in response, the 2024 Union only have one of their four wins in front of their own fans this season to show for it.

What once was an unquestionable home-field advantage has become home-field anxiety. “Guys certainly are a little nervous at home to make mistakes and that is not a way for us to play,” Curtin stated.

With that being said, Wednesday’s match marked the third consecutive clean-sheet the team have earned, while also marking the best the grass at the Park has looked in quite some time.

Not unlike the new grass that was installed in June of 2022, these three consecutive clean sheets could serve as a foundation for this ailing team. While the fate of this squad may not feel as green as it did shortly after the grass was installed, is the complexion of this team truly that far off from this point in the 2022 season?

As the new unbeaten streak at home has commenced, can the team follow suit and restore the green form that once was as the summer months approach?