Tactical Shift, Impactful Additions Proving To Be Cornerstones Of Silverbacks' Fall Season Success
Atlanta is rising. And it’s been in more ways than one.
After the Spring Season where the Silverbacks finished in 11th place and scored just seven goals in 10 games, the turnaround has been steep. The club finds itself in second place in the Fall Season Standings and have scored nine times in six games. Also, Atlanta has picked up more points in the second split season (10) so far than in the entirety of the 10-game Spring (8).
Before the Fall Season started, the club added several new faces – several in attacking areas – and it has given the club a facelift. Pedro Mendes and Junior Burgos, who both have played in Atlanta before, have had a tremendous impact in the Silverbacks’ fortune in front of goal. Mendes has two goals and an assist and Burgos has chipped in with a goal and two assists thus far. The squad bolstered its depth as well with the additions of Paulo Mendes, Abdul Bangura, Mohammed Issahaku, and Kosuke Kimura.
“I think when someone knows the environment already, they take less time to blend in and find their feet,” Silverbacks head coach Gary Smith said. “With Pedro and Junior that was a real helpful part of the process. You then look at guys like Abdul and Mohammed who have also been in and around the group.”
In addition to Mendes and Burgos packing an offensive punch, Jaime Chavez has also come to life in the Fall Season. He’s scored three of his four tallies since the beginning of the NASL’s second stanza.
Midfielder Josh Hughes, who has seen an increased role, has made an impactful start to the Fall as well.
“We had a lot of guys who weren’t getting a lot of playing time and one of them, Josh Hughes, who is a young lad out of college, has been a staple part of this Fall Season, and he’s been absolutely terrific.
“I think he needed that Spring Season – how the team was working, the professional environment – because he was straight out of college and that sometimes can be difficult to make that leap from college soccer to the professional ranks. He’s very hard working and what he has shown is that technically he is more than capable of competing at this very good level – and he’s one player that has jumped right out of the pack. He’s like having a brand new player.”
Not only has the arrival of new faces or others finding their form provided a boost for the Silverbacks. A tactical switch from Smith and his coaching staff has Atlanta shooting up the table – where they are six points behind Ottawa in the Fall Season and putting pressure on the sides above them in the Combined Standings.
Having time during the break between the split seasons to think, Smith decided to tinker with the Silverbacks’ lineup and utilized a 3-5-2 formation. It worked so well that the club has continued to use it.
“I thought we looked a little bit flat towards the end of the Spring Season, and a lot of the guys who were playing in the 4-3-3 or 4-5-1, were playing week in and week out, and we weren’t getting the results we thought were necessary.
“I wanted to look at a different shape to maybe switch up at home and then go back to what we had away from home, but it’s worked so well, that at this moment, we’ll stick with it. You never say you won’t change things, but the players have a couple of options that they are comfortable with.”
He added: “It’s stimulating for the players to play a new system, and it gives them something different to think about. It’s certainly offered a lot of the players a better shape to express themselves and more importantly we’ve started scoring goals.”
The Silverbacks are now coming off back-to-back wins on the road – 3-1 in Edmonton and 1-0 in Indy – and head back to Silverbacks Park where they’ll play four of their next five matches.
It’s a crucial stretch that Atlanta must capitalize on.
“We have to take advantage of these home games,” Smith said. “Our form has been pretty decent [here], but we haven’t picked up enough points for everyone in the group. I think everyone will be extremely keen with the four out of five games and 12 points on offer to bag as many as possible.
“You never know then. If you can get three out of four wins and not get beat in the other, that would be a great tally to add to the board and maybe we’re looking even better after that.”
In recent weeks, the Silverbacks are a reinvigorated side getting results, and starting to turn heads around the league. If they can sustain the early Fall Season success, they may just have the chance to do the same in The Championship, the NASL’s four-team postseason tournament.
