Here's a preview from the LARS Website by Joaquin Gaitan...
After starting their season with four points in four games Club Sport Herediano has slowly climbed to fifth in the Primera Division of Costa Rica. Having earned 11 points in their last six games, they’re getting in form just in time as the CONCACAF Champions League resumes. Having won their last two games before the CCL, dispatching 11th place Belen 3-1 and winning 2-1 over ninth place AD San Carlos, Herediano will want to keep the momentum going. Meanwhile, the season has just started in the United States, but already the Los Angeles Galaxy has jumped out in last year’s playoff form. Playing as they did during their run to a second consecutive MLS Cup, the Galaxy thoroughly dominated the Chicago Fire 4-0, with Mike Magee adding to his legendary status with a natural hat trick.
Live by the Sword, Die by the SwordHerediano has proven to be a force in the dead ball situations. Scoring most of their goals in league play off of set plays. However, defending set plays is their greatest weakness. This is something they will need to work on if they hope to stop a team led by Bruce Arena. Most Central American teams lack size in the back, for Herediano their back line hovers around six feet; Derrick Johnson who is 6’ 2” is their big man in the middle. Depending on the lineup that Arena puts on the field this could prove to be an advantage with Omar Gonzalez using his size to exploit Herediano’s weakness of set piece defending.
Herediano will try to get the ball to Yendrick Ruiz early and often, the 25 year old is their top scorer and is currently tied with Alajuelense’s Jerry Palacios atop the Costa Rican league in goals scored with six. Ismael Gomez will threaten from the midfield hoping to draw defenders off of Ruiz or just blasting it from long range, the Argentine’s three goals makes him Herediano’s second leading scorer, with one of those coming from the spot.
First Priority?That of course brings up a vital question for the Galaxy’s hopes of moving on in the CCL. Is it a top priority? The Galaxy is building a history of underestimating opponents since their first foray into the new CCL format. A history that started with a humiliating loss to the Puerto Rico Islanders in the preliminary round in the 2010-2011 edition, and that hasn’t improved much after their elimination at the hands of a much weaker Toronto FC side last year. The question being is will they underestimate their opponent once again? If the team’s words are to be believed winning this years CONCACAF Champions League is the top priority of the season.
With the Galaxy having this week off from MLS play, expect Arena to put in the first team, or at least a team with more starters than reserves. If the first team plays they should be able dominate Herediano who, on paper, are weaker than the Fire.
With that said no match has ever been won on paper. Should Arena choose to put in the younger squad he picked for the second half against the Tijuana reserves the match up should be even and hard fought.
The Enemy BeneathIt’s a well-known fact that teams that play on a natural surface despise playing on plastic. This is usually an advantage for the home team, as some teams rest their most experienced players that can’t handle 90 minutes on a plastic pitch. Herediano like many Costa Rican teams has changed their pitch from a natural to synthetic surface, and this could prove to rule out some Galaxy players.
The result of this match will depend on the lineup that Arena puts on the field, but with a few players already gone from the team and his CCL roster his options are limited, and luckily it’s limited to his strongest squad.