Hector Villalba and Kenwyne Jones each has played four games as Atlanta United’s lone striker in place of the injured Josef Martinez.
Though it’s impossible to say exactly why, which means neither praise nor blame can be given, the MLS expansion team through eight games gets better results on offense and defense with Villalba. The team also has a better record: seven points with Villalba up top compared with three points with Jones up top.
“It’s one of those things maybe where one pitcher gets good hitting from this team and another one doesn’t,” captain Michael Parkhurst said.
With Villalba as the lone striker for four games, Atlanta United has scored seven goals, an average of 1.75 goals per game:
- 0-0 draw at Seattle
- 2-2 draw at Toronto, in which he scored twice.
- 1-1 draw at Portland
- 4-1 win over Houston
Villalba contributed two goals and an assist at that position and he was on the field for all of the team’s seven goals when they were scored. Villalba has four goals and three assists this season. The team has allowed four goals in four games.
With Jones as the lone striker for four games — and Villalba shifted back to the right in midfield — Atlanta United has scored six goals, an average of 1.5 goals per game:
- 2-1 loss at Montreal, in which he scored.
- 3-1 win at Real Salt Lake.
- 3-1 loss to D.C. United, in which he scored.
- 3-1 loss at NYCFC.
Jones contributed two goals at that position, which is the sum of his season total, and was on the field for five of the six goals when they were scored. The team has allowed nine goals in four games.
Villalba doesn’t know why the team has better stats with him. He said it may be because he tries to pattern his game after the style used by Martinez. There is still no timetable on his return from a thigh injury sustained while playing with the Venezuelan national team in March. Martinez is tied for the team lead in goals scored (five).
“The team has already adopted to play that scheme,” Villalba said. “That’s what I try to do is mirror what he does. The team, we all defend and all attack. That could be a reason.”
Villalba and Jones bring different skills to the 4-3-3 formation and pressing tactic.
Villalba, like Martinez, is small and quick with speed that defenses must respect. The back three or four typically won’t play a high line, which compresses the field, because Villalba is fast enough to take advantage of the open space left between the defenders and the goalie. If the opponent’s defense must play a lower line it gives Atlanta United’s players when they have the ball more space with which to work and try to create more opportunities.
Jones, at 6-foot-2, has size and strength that opponents must respect. He is better suited as a hold-up forward. However, there is one problem that Parkhurst has noticed when Jones is up top.
“Kenwyne does not get any fouls called against him,” Parkhurst said. “That sometimes negates playing the ball into him if he’s incapable of holding the ball up because guys are over his back and he’s not getting the foul calls, which is crazy. But I digress.”
That was particularly noticeable against Real Salt Lake and Montreal. To try to win long passes toward Jones, defenders would sometimes climb up his back, which is against the rules, but seldom were they penalized.
The other issue is with Jones as the lone striker the back lines can sometimes play higher, which compresses the field by putting more players in a smaller space and making it difficult for Atlanta United to have enough room to utilize its build-it-from-the-back approach.
The team works consistently on escaping from tight situations, so it may not be as big an issue.
“Both guys play the system and know what is expected offensively and defensively in the press,” Parkhurst said.
