OL Reign vs Angel City Analysis
Three takeaways from the NWSL matchup
I came across this interaction on Twitter the other day about the Reign vs Angel City game:
As a big proponent of the importance of body shape, I watched the game to see if there was more situations like the one shown above.
It was a case of where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Angel City struggled with body shape on the left side for much of the game.
In this post, I will discuss major takeaways from the game, and there will be some bonus Jess Fishlock content.
Body Shape on Angel City’s Left Side
As just mentioned, body shape was something that Angel City struggled with.
This means that when Angel City had possession in their defensive third, or when they were in the buildup phase of play, the body shapes of left center back Madison Hammond and left back Ali Riley were not conducive to keeping possession or threatening to go forward.
They are both right footed players, so naturally they will feel less comfortable using their left foot. However, they don’t necessarily need to use their left foot to fix this issue.
The simple act of opening up their bodies to threaten to use their left foot would force the opposing players to change the angle and speed at which they press at.
The Reign’s Pressing Triggers
The Reign used Hammond’s back passes to Angel City goalkeeper DiDi Haračić as a trigger to press the goalkeeper.
Because Hammond would sometimes not open up her body and find options to her left, her back passes to Haračić, who then would switch the point of attack via long ball, could be predictable.
Sometimes Angel City was able to get out of a tricky situation if Haračić was able to find one of the double pivots. When that option wasn’t there, she was forced into a long ball with less certainty of keeping possession.
The Reign’s Effectiveness on the Left Side
Reign forward Megan Rapinoe and left back Lauren Barnes worked in tandem on the left side to progress the ball into dangerous areas.
It was interesting to see that Rapinoe was able to occupy three Angel City players on multiple occasions.
Jess Fishlock
Reign midfielder Jess Fishlock was player of the game for me. There were a couple of details she did throughout the game that give a glimpse into the quality she has.
The first detail were the little runs in the midfield that she made behind her marker’s back shoulder. She timed them brilliantly and kept the Reign’s ball progression moving forward.
The second detail were a few first time volley/half volley passes that she attempted. On two of them she placed them perfectly for her forward.
The third one might have been ambitious, but if she would have caught more of the center of the ball, she could have been 3/3.
Conclusion
The Reign deservedly took 3 points from this game. I came for the body shape, and I stayed for the Fishlock content.