Tomas Chancalay Brought Finishing New England Needed
"The thing with him is you know he's gonna finish when he gets in a spot to score.”
Caleb Porter decided to roll out Tomas Chancalay up top instead of Giacomo Vrioni and while the results didn’t go the way of the New England Revolution, the Argentine was able to finally find the back of the net in MLS play.
It might not have been the prettiest or most impressive goal that he scored but it will be a big confidence booster for the Designated Player. He chipped his shot past Drake Callender who went on an adventure outside of his net.
Chancalay and Porter will be hoping that the goals to continue to come.
Yeah, we are trying to find goals,” the head coach said. “We haven't scored enough goals this year. I feel like Chancalay is more of a forward. He’s probably best in a two-front but for us right now we need to get to a point where before we add pieces where we find a guy that can score goals and I think he did well there. Great goal obviously to start the game and the thing with him is you know he's gonna finish when he gets in a spot to score.”
That conclusion seems to be a not-so-thinly-veiled shot at Revolution striker Giacomo Vrioni who has struggled to finish when given the opportunity. While Chancalay has predominantly played out wide in his career, New England might be forced to use him as a lone striker.
The Argentine isn’t your typical hold-up No. 9 and more looks to use his speed to get behind opposing back lines. While Vrioni can go up and win a header, the same can’t be said for Chancalay meaning playing direct isn’t as much as an option.
“Yeah I think it is a good position for him,” captain Carles Gil said when asked about Chancalay playing up top. “He made good movements, also shooting like his first goal. I think he’s comfortable there.”
So while it might not be what Chancalay is used to, it seems like he is destined to play up top for the foreseeable future. With Dylan Borrero building up his fitness, soon New England will have another tool at its disposal out on the wings. If Vrioni isn’t going to make the most of his chances, the Argentine will.
Chancalay is a great counter attacking option at center forward. But this team is allergic to counter attacking.
They hit on a quick counter inside the first minute against a team who's vulnerable on the counter. And then that was pretty much it.