Atlanta United’s Chris McCann thought his partnership with co-defensive midfielder Jeff Larentowicz worked well in Saturday’s 4-0 win over Chattanooga.
Manager Gerardo Martino elected to use a 4-2-3-1 formation that paired the two just in front of the fullbacks.
Now, there may be a tweak ahead of Saturday's preseason game against Columbus in the Carolina Challenge Cup in Charleston, S.C.
McCann said Martino spoke to him as they were coming off the field at halftime. While on defense, Martino wants McCann to continue to work with Larentowicz to break up attacks and maintain a tight shape that will be difficult for opponents to break down.
While on offense, Martino wants McCann to venture forward about 10 yards higher up the field so that he’s between the opponent’s banks of lines.
“He wants to play me more advanced, push me further behind the midfield to receive the next pass,” McCann said.
McCann was also impressed with the speed of the team’s counter-attack, which led to the first goal by Hector Villalba from a pass by Miguel Almiron. Two more were scored following turnovers by Chattanooga.
“The speed of the counter was tremendous,” McCann said. “That kind of caliber in our side is brilliant. Speed we counted on Saturday, teams may have trouble defending.”
He said Chattanooga provided a good test because teams always cause different problems than those that are experienced during training camp exercises.
He said there were some attacks that b roke down because the players are still getting to know each other .
“That’s why we are working in the preseason, so that when we are in MLS games we won’t make the same mistakes,” he said.
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