NWSL Playoffs 2023: Three tactical keys to victory that helped NY/NJ Gotham overcome NC Courage – tactical analysis

Last weekend saw the beginning of the 2023 NWSL Playoffs. This saw the No.3 seed NC Courage come into this game in mixed form, having only won one of their last five league games. However, in that time, they had also won the NWSL Challenge Cup against Racing Louisville.

On the other hand, Gotham, the No.7 seed, also came into the game in relatively patchy form, having won one out of their last five, including the final game of the season, where they threw away a two-goal lead to the 11th-placed Kansas City only just scraping into the playoffs on goal difference.

In this tactical analysis, we will look at how Gotham overcame the NC Courage to win 2-0 and book their place in a semi-final against the Portland Thorns on November 5th. We will examine some of the significant tactical ideas and matchups involved in this victory.

Lineups/Team News

In terms of the lineups, NC Courage kept things relatively unchanged using the 1-4-2-3-1 shape they have used for the majority of the season. However, the significant loss was Kerolin, who was injured in their 1-0 win against Washington on the last day of the regular season. Kerolin has been their top scorer this season and would have been a potent threat for NC Courage. However, being unavailable, she was replaced by Brittany Ratcliffe and Tyler Lussi was put onto the right wing from her more familiar left-wing position.

The Gotham lineup was more challenging to predict, with the team being rotated more than the NC Courage side in recent weeks, particularly in the midfield area. However, they went with a 1-4-3-3 shape with 14 in this game, with Neely Martin playing as a deeper pivot in three-player midfield.

Relentless Gotham Press

One of the most critical battles in this game was the Gotham press against the NC Courage build-up. Throughout the regular season, Courage deployed a patient possession-based system where they looked to wait for gaps to open up in the opposition’s shape. This can be demonstrated by the fact that they have the longest average sequence time in the NWSL at 9.77 seconds. They had a remarkable 273 passing sequences over 10 — 142 more than the next-best Portland Thorns.

The first noteworthy thing to point out was the general shape of the Gotham press. They generally opted to shift one of the midfielder’s forwards to press the centre-backs alongside Esther González. Typically, this was Yazmeen Ryan. They then coupled this with aggressive centre-backs who pushed on into the midfield to help support the lone midfielder, Martin.

Above, you can see how Gotham looked to press as Courage built from deep. With Ryan putting pressure on the ball, whose only real option is to go to the left-back where right-winger Williams is ready to pounce and put pressure on her. As the ball is played across, you can see right-back Bruninha pushes up and follows Courage’s left-winger Ratcliffe.

Ryan works across and closes off any inside option, and Sheehan tracks the midfielder Narumi Miura, eliminating her as an option. This press eventually results in the ball being won in the last 20m of the field and allows for a high Gotham attack.

The next most noteworthy development in the Gotham press was how they condensed the wide areas as Courage looked to play around the press. There was little to no room for Courage to play in this area, and they often lost the ball in these areas.

This is just one of many examples of how Gotham condensed the wide channels when Courage looked to play around the press. As you can see, there are six Gotham players in this wide right third alone against only four Courage players, five if you count the deep central defender, which would be a reset option.

This defensive overload really limits the time and space available to the Courage players. It forces them to be nigh on perfect in their passing, which, on the whole, they struggled with, and Gotham was able to either nick the ball away or force them to play a long ball to nothing, which the central defenders could mop up.

However, on the occasion they were able to switch out of these compressed areas, they found there was a significant amount of space elsewhere and had some success with this.

In this example, Miura can move the ball centrally to O’Sullivan, who is then able to play another ball to Lussi, and in two passes, they make it to the edge of the box as Lussi has the space to drive forward on the ball. You can see how much space must be available just by the sheer amount of Gotham players on the right side of the field.

Gotham dominating the middle of the field

Another major area of the game was Gotham’s ability to control the middle of the field, particularly when Courage did have the ball. A significant element of this had to do with Martin’s positioning and role within the side. By controlling the middle of the field, they look to control Courage’s creative players like Matsukubo almost entirely out of the game. This forced them instead to play the ball out wide where Gotham could match them for numbers and create a 2v2.

Above is an excellent example of how the whole Gotham side’s body shape is designed to prevent the ball from being moved centrally. The only gap between the Gotham players is where Martin positions herself. As a result, she can intercept the ball and prevent another Courage from developing before they’ve even reached Gotham’s half.

This is another example of how Gotham condensed the middle of the field and forced Courage to play wide or lose the ball. They did this by pushing the CBs forward into the midfield alongside Martins. The midfield remains compact, with the widest player still playing inside the left six-yard box.

The other way that Gotham could control the middle of the field was in possession. They can receive the ball between the Courage’s defensive-midfield lines and then turn and link to teammates from their switching the ball under little to no pressure.

This play led to the game’s opening goal, as Gotham was able to switch the ball across the field with far too much room in the midfield available to them. With Ryan picking up the ball from a cutback by left-winger Purce. Ryan can then play the ball across to Bruninha, who has loads of space to work with in the middle of the field. Then, she is able to play the ball to Sheehan in space out wide, who finishes it off for the opening goal.

Here is a further example of how Gotham was able to find so much central space within the Courage shape. In this example, you have Williams cutting inside back across the field. This essentially takes out three Courage players, who are all drawn into her. This creates this massive gap for Nighswonger drives into and launches a dangerous attack, which results in a shot.

Targeting Courage’s high defensive line

A further way in which Gotham were able to punish Courage was by using their positivity in possession against them, targeting them with balls played over the top of the defence, be it over the central defenders or full-backs.

In the above example, you have Williams running into the space behind the left-back following a long ball by Amanda McGlynn. You can see how they are looking to challenge that backline and try and force them back with her speed.

Here is another example of how they’ve clearly identified a matchup they like with Williams against left-back Emily Fox. This time, the ball is clipped over the top by Bruninha as Williams runs down the CB-LB gap. This attack again resulted in a dangerous opportunity for Gotham.

Here you have an illustration of the second goal of the game coming as Courage started to really push forward and chase that equaliser. Instead, what happens is Nighswonger picks up a loose ball in midfield and then launches an aerial ball towards Williams to chase down.

Then, you have a battle for the ball between Williams and Kaleigh Kurtz, in which Kurtz is bullied off the ball by Williams. Williams can then hold on to the ball sufficiently to draw in Malia Berkely and play Ryan through on goal to seal the deal and finish the game.

Conclusion

They say that styles make fights, and this was an intriguing one where you had the patient possession team in NC Courage against the high-energy pressing team in Gotham. This allowed both teams to play and utilise their best attributes.

In this game, though, Juan Carlos Amoros’ Gotham side got things right and controlled the game for large spells, taking away Courage’s space and preventing them from building from deep. Ultimately, Gotham thoroughly deserved their 2-0 win to mark their first playoff win in the team’s history.

This result books Gotham’s place in a semi-final clash against the Portland Thorns on November 5th in two weeks.