San Francisco came back from two goals down in the final ten minutes to earn a draw with Indy Eleven. Here are three things we learned from the game:
1) The Deltas have the ability to pull out positive results
It probably should not have surprised Delta fans that they could get the point after falling behind late. San Francisco has developed the knack to pull out results late in matches. Let’s look at their track record:
– On April 8th at home against North Carolina FC, they scored two goals in the last 10 minutes to earn the first victory in team history.
– On May 6th after conceding a late goal away to North Carolina, San Francisco scored on a Jackson header to claim the full three points.
– On May 14th the Deltas scored on a Christian Portilla free kick in the 89th minute to defeat FC Edmonton.
– On May 31st, the Deltas scored in the 81st minute to take the lead against Phoenix Rising FC in a US Open Cup game. After conceding a penalty kick, San Francisco struck again in the 95th minute when Tommy Heinemann slotted home a cross.
– On June 3rd, the Deltas come back from 2 goals down to tie Indy Eleven at home.
All season long in post game comments Deltas head coach Marc Dos Santos has repeatedly praised his team’s fight and willingness to play hard the full match. San Francisco’s never-say-die attitude can only portend more positive results for this season.
2) The 4-3-3 formation finally looks like the right fit for San Francisco
Coach Dos Santos has tried a wide variety of formations for the San Francisco Deltas this season. He started out with the 4-3-3 which emphasizes that all players, even defenders, can join the attack. After several games of not scoring goals, Dos Santos started tinkering with the formation.
He put out a 4-2-3-1 against Indy Eleven away in April. He then reverted to the 4-3-3 for the home loss aginst New York. Dos Santos then switched to the traditional 4-4-2 formation for three matches. After giving up three goals to Jacksonville, he discarded the 4-4-2 and played a 4-5-1 against the New York Cosmos away (practically begging for just a point).
Dos Santos switched back to the 4-3-3 for the US Open Cup against Phoenix, and the team took the attack to Rising FC all game and won on a late goal.
Last Saturday the Deltas once again came out with the 4-3-3 and pressured Indy all night. They recorded 26 shots and had 70 percent of the possession for the match, while once again scoring two goals.
Kenny Teijsse has been excellent all year pushing up from the left back to help out the Deltas attack. Michael Stephens started as the right defensive back for the Deltas, but he freely interchanged with Jackson all night long on the right. Both players enjoy attacking more the defensive-minded Karl Ouimette.
With the injured Pablo Dyego returning from injury soon, and the addition of Maxim Tissot, San Francisco has a crowded midfield. Coach Dos Santos has been excellent rotating all of the players and giving time to Kyle Bekker, Danny Cruz, Taylor Gibson and Andrew Lubahn and Greg Jordan.
The versatility enables Dos Santos the opportunity to continue to mix and match his squad for the rest of the campaign.
3) Deltas need to be more careful on set pieces
Although San Francisco dominated possession and attempts on goal Saturday, two lapses in concentration on set pieces almost sent them into the loss column.
Lovel Palmer caught the Deltas defense napping just after a throw-in in the 55th minute. He was able to sneak behind the defense; his run timed correctly to get onto Sinisa Ubiparipovic’s through ball.
In the 79th minute, the team also was not ready for another quickly taken Indy free kick by Nemanja Vukovic. Reiner Ferreira blocked the shot, but it rebounded to the Eleven’s Brad Ring. His unmarked laser shot found the left corner.
The Deltas were able to battle back, but their two momentary lapses almost cost them any points in an otherwise well-played game.
OTHER NEWS:
– Unconfirmed reports on Social Media say that the San Francisco Deltas have signed Brazilian forward Dagoberto Pelentier. He played for the Brazilian Under-20 and 23 teams.
He scored 93 goals in 336 appearances in the Brazillian leagues playing for Atlético Paranaense, São Paulo, and Cruzeiro.
– San Francisco will only practice Tuesday and Wednesday this week before flying out to Puerto Rico for a league game on Saturday. The team will have to stay focused because there is a lot of excitement for the matchup between the local derby match between the Deltas and the MLS’s San Jose Earthquakes on June 14th.
