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The Plata-Findley Connection: Midfield runs, deep-lying forward prove fruitful

Robbie Findley and Joao Plata might not seem like the most natural pairing, but with some craft from other positions on the pitch, the whole system ticks. (Note: Mouse over the images for some description of what they purport to illustrate.)

By Matt Montgomery
  • Here, you see Joao Plata has made a forward run, drawing two defenders with him; Robbie Findley has attracted one. The run of Javier Morales on the right flank should be the object of a pass, but Findley unwisely takes the ball forward himself. Chalk this one up as a failed move, but you can really see the start of a good thing.
  • Here, you see Robbie Findley making a run from deep, attracting two midfielders along the way; a central defender has moved to cover Javier Morales, leaving Joao Plata to pull the two defenders close to him.
  • Here, after the last slide showed a goal just before it was made, we have Joao Plata starting off a move from deep in midfield. This one didn't end in another goal, but we see Kyle Beckerman making the wide run past his defender here; Plata finds him, but Beckerman's cross doesn't threaten.
  • Once again, it's a striker dropping deep that does the damage. Robbie Findley drops, attracting two midfielders to him. Plata is central, attracting attention from Beitashour, and Javier Morales is making the run wide right onto the ball. Ned Grabavoy wisely spots the space vacated in the midfield by Findley's run and moves forward himself. Plata's dummy on Morales's cross was a thing of beauty, and Grabavoy wasted no time in finding a good finish.
  • Grabavoy is actually the highest player centrally at this point, with Plata dropping deep to again distribute the ball a bit. Findley is ready to make a darting run around the back. Movement between Plata and Wingert sees Plata push high up the pitch, and Findley makes a lateral run into space where...
  • ... he (Findley, as per the previous slide) picks up a loose ball after this Plata cross hits a defender. Findley's finish is superb.
  • RSL has scored all their goals already, but this moment sees the defense caught wildly out of position by Plata's run. Khari Stephenson makes the good run out wide and unleashes a fierce shot.
  • Plata makes a good run behind — one of the few good moments of the Plata-Findley pairing against Chicago.
  • Here, Luis Gil has made a good run to a wide area while Robbie Findley keeps occupied the central defenders. The staunch defensive quality of Chicago here pays off — by sticking in a central position, they've kept a dangerous chance from appearing.
  • We have seen this over and over: Javier Morales sees Plata making a good wide run; Ned Grabavoy is making the run toward his eventual position. Nothing emerges, but a good chance was created.

If one thing can be said about the Joao Plata-Robbie Findley pairing, it's that it worked very, very well against San Jose. But let's look at why it worked so well, shall we? We'll also compare some of the successes had against Chicago, though they were relatively few.

Throughout, you can see Plata or Findley dropping into a deep position while the other occupies the central defenders. This leaves the midfield to mark the deep striker and two of the defenders to mark the further forward attacker. Against both San Jose and Chicago, this vacated space for a midfield run, often taken by Ned Grabavoy or Javier Morales.

Those midfield runs created all three goals against San Jose, but there were several factors involved that allowed those to take place. First, the defense or midfield obtains the ball around the midfield line, catching the opponent off-guard. Then, in order of occurrence: 1) One striker drops, the other stays forward. 2) The defense pulls to one side as the top striker makes a diagonal run. 3) A midfielder makes a run from deep on the other side. 4) The player on the ball sees the run and makes the proper pass.

If Plata and Findley do pair again against LA Galaxy, the midfielders will need to make those crafty runs again. With Omar Gonzalez — the Galaxy's key defender — out on international duty, space should open up with frequency.

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