OL Reign’s attacking efficiency vs Orlando Pride’s defending and chance-creation issues – tactical analysis

OL Reign beat Orlando Pride 3-0 in the 20^th fixture of NWSL to consolidate their second spot in the standings just behind Portland Thorns given the goal difference advantage for the latter. On the other hand, Orlando Pride are now holding the fifth spot with 28 points, between Chicago Red Stars and Houston Dash. Although this position can qualify the team to the playoffs, their performance against OL Reign wasn’t really convincing neither in defence nor in terms of chance creation.

That’s why we will look at the weaknesses that appeared in this match from Orlando’s side in this tactical analysis article, while OL Reign’s excellent attacking performance that was led by Eugénie Le Sommer will also be analysed extensively to explore how the locals got the advantage in terms of tactics.

Line-ups

The locals OL Reign opted for the 4-3-3 formation relying on Sarah Bouhaddi as a goalkeeper, Sofia Huerta, Alana Cook, Lauren Barnes and Kristen McNabb in defence, former Manchester City’s Rose Lavelle, Quinn and Jess Fishlock as central midfielders while the front-three were Bethany Balcer, Eugénie Le Sommer and Dzsenifer Marozsán.

Orlando Pride started the game with the 4-4-1-1 formation with Ashlyn Harris as a goalkeeper, Ali Riley, Ali Krieger, former Manchester United’s Amy Turner and Courtney Petersen in defence, Gunnhildur Jónsdóttir and Meggie Dougherty as central midfielders with the ex OL Reign and former Lyon and Arsenal player Jodie Taylor and Sydney Leroux as wingers and Taylor Kornieck as a second striker behind Alex Morgan, the team’s striker who also had a short experience in FAWSL last season with Tottenham.

OL Reign’s impressive attacking performance

OL Reign were able to perform one of their best ever performances when considering the quality of the opponent, the importance of the match and the number of scored goals. OL Reign players exploited Orlando Pride’s poor defending especially in the first-half to score goals and finish the game early. They were able to score their first goal in the second minute after intercepting the ball from Orlando’s players who were unable to clear out the ball from their final third.

In fact, it was also Dougherty’s clear marking mistake that made Balcer’s mission easier. Dougherty left Balcer behind her and therefore didn’t know in what direction the latter was running. And in the end, we saw Dougherty running one way and Balcer running completely towards a different spot as the arrows show below. Also, credit should be given to Huerta for her excellent cross that found Balcer’s header.