Alpha United seeks first win in return match against Olimpia

With a win needed to mathematically keep their hopes alive of qualifying, Alpha United will desperately attempt to fashion their first win of the tournament when they visit Honduran side Olimpia in the CONCACAF Champions League today.

Sitting at the bottom of their group with zero points from two home games the local side will require a vastly improved showing to overcome their earlier 1-0 home loss to Hondurans.

A big win in enemy territory while not impossible, would setup an interesting final away matchup with MLS unit Portland Timbers on September 23rd and keep the local side’s chances of qualifying intact once results in the other matchups go their way.

 

Attack

It is often said that attack is the best form of defence by some pundits. Staring down a -4 goal difference and with a win clearly required,

Kithson Bain
Kithson Bain
Gregory Richardson
Gregory Richardson
Dwight Peters
Dwight Peters

a switch to a more aggressive formation might be needed instead of the dependable 4-2-3-1 employed in their previous fixtures.

Deployed as the focal point of attack, Grenadian International Kithson Bain has struggled terribly to factor in the matches, with his failure to linkup with his fellow attackers clearly a hindrance to his side going forward.

A shuffle of the deck might be on the cards. Also under the microscope are the local duo of Gregory `Jackie Chan’ Richardson and Dwight Peters. Richardson has struggled to be a creative force going forward and has been relegated to moments of brilliance but periods of predictability. A deployment in another position might be what is required to get the best out of the Alpha talisman. Known for his searing pace and pin point crosses, Peters has been found wanting against the more organized opposition who have stifled his play in the final third.

His lack of creative force and confident approach is clearly an issue for `The Hammer’ who have been without his functional attacking services thus far.

On a positive note, box-to-box midfielder foreign import Aldair Paredes has easily been his side’s most dangerous threat going forward. Confident on the ball and with an eye for goal, Paredes must be supported when in attack and allowed to dictate and orchestrate the offense.

With his all-round abilities and great shooing ability, a possible positional change higher up the field might be required. This modification in tactics might prove to be the park that ignites `The Hammer’ offensively.

 

Defence

While attack often is the difference between winning and losing, defence is often cited as the catalyst for championship winning teams.

This was evident during their 4-1 loss to Portland Timbers. The lack of communication between the foreign back-line was clearly evident with the concepts of covering and marking as foreign as the players themselves.

In an area of the field built on communication, chemistry is essential. It is not entirely the fault of the players for the result of the fixtures but also the management who did provide adequate preparation time.

It is acknowledged that chemistry and understanding is not only built in games but also in practice, however one must not take lightly the importance of it. With a win more than needed, a display of the previous nature maybe be on the cards if the dialects and languages defensively do not coincide.

With their best defensive display being the opening 1-0 loss to the Hondurans, a possible switch to the earlier rearguard might be needed for this rematch. This option might not be the glamorous choice but simply the wise one due to their known chemistry and understanding.