‘Committed to each other’ – Detailing how NJ/NY Gotham overcame OL Reign to secure their maiden NWSL Championship title – tactical analysis

The news that outgoing Chelsea Women manager Emma Hayes will take charge of the USWNT from next summer (as has now been confirmed) may have dominated the headlines during the last week, but there was another major story breaking in the USA at the weekend as the 2023 NWSL Championship match took place, with a new name guaranteed to be on the trophy at the close of play as both OL Reign and NJ/NY Gotham locked horns in their quest for glory.

The game itself proved to be a fascinating contest for the neutral and a tense watch for fans of both teams, with each having moments when they were in control and moments when they were on the back foot, and both Reign head coach Laura Harvey and her Gotham counterpart Juan Carlos Amorós were forced to show tactical astuteness as the match went on in order to keep their sides in the ascendency.

In the end, though, it was Gotham who took the win and earned their moment in the spotlight, with Amorós game plan proving to be superior to Harveys. This tactical analysis will look at how his side managed to gain an edge over their opponents at Snapdragon Stadium (home of San Diego Wave) and how they went from the foot of the table to lifting the trophy in the space of a single campaign.

Lineups

OL Reign opted not to make any changes to their starting XI from last weekends tight semi-final win against San Diego at the same ground, with Harvey deciding that continuity was the best policy as she tried to give her team the strongest possible chance of getting their hands on the Championship trophy.

That meant that retiring winger Megan Rapinoe retained her place in the side as she looked to bow out with a first-ever NWSL Championship medal in her grasp, whilst fellow forward Veronica Latsko, who had scored the winning goal against the Wave, also kept her place. Lauren Barnes, normally a left-back, continued her partnership with Alana Cook in central defence, with OL still short of options in that area of the team.

NJ/NY Gotham a