Sacramento vs. New Mexico: Tactical Analysis
How new Head Coach Neill Collins lined up, and the good, the bad, and what stood out.
The Lineup:
Saturday was the first real chance for Quail fans to see how new Head Coach Neill Collins would line up in a competitive match, and it certainly came with a few surprises. I think very few people would have expected Justin Portillo to stay on the bench for the entire 90, much less Blake Willey being given the starting nod. Also a bit surprising to me was the lack of minutes for Chibuike “Chibi” Ukaegbu, the youngster that really helped carry the backline through the latter part of last season. However, it is difficult to use this match to get a grasp on Collins’ full tactical plans; a red card late in the first half to New Mexico really lent itself to Republic being on the attack for the entire second half.
Collins’ starting formation looks like a classic 4-4-2 on paper, but operated more as a 3-3-4 or a 3-4-2-1, especially as the match progressed into that second half. Look at what Republic does at kick off:
Michel Benítez (yellow), who on paper looks to be playing at LB, is pushed further into the center to play as a left center back in a back 3 formation. Meanwhile, Jack Gurr has completely abandoned the right back position and is streaking up field with three other players, all on the right side of the pitch (green). Both Gurr’s attack and the Republic’s right side press are themes throughout the match. While Gurr certainly does drop to help on defense occasionally, and led the club in duels won for the game, he operated more on the opposing side of the centerline, and actually played more like a right winger rather than a right wingback after the red card. Willey also surprised me with his positioning; while he’s billed as a midfielder, he played heavily towards that right wing position, often cutting inside while Gurr made an overlap, allowing the Republic to really overload the right side of the pitch.
You can see both the push towards the right side and the fluid three at the back again here:
It’s the fourth minute, and Republic has every attacking and midfield player in the box! That’s very aggressive this early into the game. You can also see the fluid back three at work here; both Gurr and Benítez sit outside the box, to be wary of a counter, while the two natural center backs of Desmond and Kleeman are out of frame back around the half line. But as soon Republic run out of options in the box, Gurr steps forward to be an outlet, while Benítez slides over and back to play more centrally and defensively, able to either cover the space Gurr vacated or step back into a back three, if needed. Not only that, but you will also notice that Spaulding is the only player on the left side of the pitch; every other player (and Benítez in the back) are central or pushed right.
The Good:
All of this attacking play gave the Republic plenty of opportunities. Republic had five corners to New Mexico’s two, 18 shots to New Mexico’s 11, and 1.79 expected goals to New Mexico’s 1.04. The attacking play directly led to the red card as well. Look at how many players in Old Glory Red are in the oppositions third while New Mexico has possession:
This is a full counter-press after losing the ball, which leads directly to Jamieson making the interception, getting fouled, and getting Ryden sent off. New Mexico just has nowhere to go with the ball from the back unless they play over the top, but the Quails have that covered too, winning 56% of aerial duels.
Then we have Sacramento’s goal from open play, which also came from counter-pressing after losing possession. Willey really starts this play off by winning the possession in the midfield and then laying off a great pass out wide and when Sacramento crash the goal, New Mexico just get beat on nearly every man:
This is the moment Ciceroni gets a head on the ball on the front post and loops it towards the back post. He comes in from behind to beat his man to the cross, while Jamieson in the center and Gurr on the back post have already separated themselves enough from each of their defenders to be able to respond to the ball... which Jamieson immediately does after the ball bounces off the post. New Mexico is caught watching the ball, so Jamieson easily beats his man to the rebound and Gurr is left completely unmarked and available to attack if Jamieson had not gotten to the loose ball first.
The Bad:
On the other side of things, all of this attacking mentality left the Quails very open on the counter, which is where most of New Mexico’s attack came from. Their counter here is quick, and Republic can only get the two center backs behind the ball, with Gurr, Benítez, Ross, and Felipe trailing behind the play:
New Mexico’s attacking front is fast and they came in with a game plan to utilize that. Republic were caught out on this goal far too easily and it exposed the issue with having that fluid back three: if you do it wrong, you end up trying to fight off a counter with only two at the back. You can see that both Gurr and Benítez (circled) are caught up field when the Republic lose possession, and cannot get back into formation.
Now, the Republic did recover from this fairly well. They get numbers back and cover the two runners:
Desmond is forced to go out wide to the ball, while Benítez sits up top to cover for the two central midfielders who crash back. Unfortunately Desmond, who otherwise had a great game, gets caught out coming across to play the ball, which you can already see happening here. Greg Hursts reads Desmond’s momentum, puts a great inside cut on him, and makes a tidy finish with his left foot that Vitiello gets a touch on but can’t force wide.
What Stood Out:
Overall, this was a very interesting first match for the Quails under Collins. In many ways, this version of Collins’ system is similar to what he has employed before. With Tampa Bay in 2022/2023, his system played a similar high counter-press when out of possession and he carried that same system over to Barnsley in 2023/2024. With both of those teams, he utilized more of a 3-5-2 than what we saw in this opener, so I would not be surprised if Republic ended up rotating to that formation when Rodrigo López returns to match fitness. Collins’ tends to like having a natural 10 to control play in the midfield in a 3-5-2, which fits Roro’s style perfectly. In my personal opinion, the actual quality of play on display was much more enjoyable to watch than in previous Sacramento seasons.
However, it is difficult to come away from this match with any long-term insights on how the club may play, and it leaves several more questions than we have answers. For example, the squad had three notable players who did not appear Saturday. While Roro is out injured, there are still questions of how Collins’ intends to use Portillo and Chibi, who were on the bench but not utilized. Perhaps, with the red card, the game simply did not call for their skills, but that neither started is something to keep an eye on going forward. I am further looking forward to seeing both where Roro fits in when he returns, and if the squad plans on continuing to attack the right side of the pitch. Another question is if the Republic can continue playing the high counter-pressing style when the weather heats up - high counter-pressing is exhausting, and playing that way in 55 degrees is far different from 90 degrees.
What did you think of how Republic played in the season opener? Let us know in the poll and comments below!