San Francisco finished off a busy week by pulling out a 1-0 victory over the visiting FC Edmonton at Kezar Stadium on Saturday night, its first home win since April 8th. Here are three things we learned from the game:
1) The Deltas need to avoid slow starts
San Francisco has been able to finish out many games this season by scoring late, but they have also had the problem of starting out slowly as well. The team has not scored a goal at home before the 30th minute all season and they often let other teams get off to a good start at Kezar.
On Saturday Edmonton was unfortunate to not be up early after a trio of quality chances from Sainey Nyassi and Tomi Ameobi. The Eddies best chance was when Nyassi intercepted a soft pass back from Christian Portilla that defender Patrick Hopkins did not run onto. Nyassi ended up 1-on-1 and was denied by a quality kick save from Deltas keeper Romuald Peiser.
The slow start might have been caused by the heavy workload the Deltas players have been carrying during their US Open Cup run and an emotional loss to the San Jose Earthquakes last Wednesday. In their previous two games after a US Open Cup match, the Deltas were steamrolled by the Jacksonville Armada 3-0 and fell behind by two goals to Indy Eleven before rallying to score twice in the last 10 minutes.
“The game wasn’t easy,” said Deltas coach Marc Dos Santos after the match. “I thought we were passive in the first half and not dynamic enough. But we answered better in the second half.”
Although falling out of the US Open Cup was disappointing, in the long run, it will help the Deltas thin roster recharge and focus solely on achieving a top four place and make the NASL playoffs.
2) Jackson brings a new dimension to the team at right back
Coach Marc Dos Santos has given the freedom for all of his players to join the attack even if they are on the defensive line.
For the first several games of the season, the Deltas kept the same back four of Nana Attakora and Renier Ferriera in the center and Karl Ouimette and Kenny Teijsse out wide. The back line was stout in defense and Teijsse and Ferriera often pressed up into the attack during the match.
Right back Karl Ouimette played shut down defense in his position but would not often venture upfield. The Deltas struggled to score in the eight games Ouimette started, only scoring 7 goals.
Looking to bring some more attacking presence to the team, and perhaps to allow more of the Delta’s crowded midfield talent to play, Coach Dos Santos slotted the winger Jackson into right back position starting the May 27th away game to the Cosmos. Jackson’s skill on the ball has allowed him to play a strong defense and join the attack whenever possible.
The Deltas have scored six goals in the four games Jackson started in the defense. He has been able to readily interchange with the right winger and press up at will. Jackson’s speed also allows him to cover back and snuff out potential attacks as well.
With San Francisco’s positive form it looks as if the right back position is the perfect fit for Jackson and the team going forward.
3) Will the tiff between FC Edmonton coach Colin Miller and Deltas coach Marc Dos Santos carry into next week?
At the end of the match during the traditional handshake between coaches, FC Edmonton’s Colin Miller started to have words with Deltas coach Marc Dos Santos. Although it is unclear what led to Miller’s verbal assault on Dos Santos, neither coach backed down from the exchange and was eventually pulled apart.
It will be interesting to see if the argument will carry some bad blood for the teams that will meet again this upcoming Saturday in Canada.
