After three straight matches at home, Bethlehem Steel FC hits the road this weekend for a contest against Swope Park Rangers. Head Coach Brendan Burke and his squad enter this weekend’s contest after collecting a hard-earned point with a 2-2 draw against in-state rival Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC. In order to maintain the momentum moving forward, Burke’s staff is stressing focus this weekend.
“They’re big [and] play wide open in a 4-3-3, similar to [Sporting Kansas City], they’re good passers and committed to playing out of the back and when they catch you the field is wide open,” said Burke. “So you have to decide if you want to sit and compact the field, if you want to press and try to generate turnovers, but whatever you do you’d better be very aware of the size that they build with. It’s very similar to the way that we used to play, which makes it, not easy to prepare for, but easier. Out of that 4-2-3-1 that we used to play out of, they’re just a slightly more traditional 4-3-3 I would say, that drops into a 4-5-1 when they’re defending from the middle-third down.”
Steel FC’s last match featured a team full of tall bodies that are physical and live for those 50-50 balls in the Riverhounds. The Steel now have to transition quickly from defending a direct style of play to the more technical and strategic attack that’s favored by Swope Park.
“That’s part of the beauty of the League,” stated Burke. “It’ll be a very good surface that we play on this weekend and a highly technical team, so that’s a tough combination. If you miss assignments, [Swope Park Rangers] will make you pay with their feet. They’re good at playing through the lines and they do an excellent job of keeping the field wide open when they’re building. We’ll have to be careful about how high we press up the field this week and maybe compact the field a little bit.”
Brendan Burke has said previously that the Rangers are a team that really likes to build out of the back. With this being only their second road test of 2019, the Steel will face a challenge in the Swope Park attack. Once the Rangers do get forward, Burke thinks it will be crucial for his squad to get numbers on the ball.
“I think getting everyone behind the ball is important,” Burke noted when asked about how to defend Swope Park’s attack. “We did a good job of that, for the most part, after those first five or 10 minutes of the Pittsburgh [Riverhounds] game; we did a pretty good job of that throughout. I think that’s key to this system and style of play. Everyone has to be committed to being a good defender, no matter what position on the field you play.”
Bethlehem Steel FC will square off against Swope Park Rangers on Saturday, April 6. Kick off from Children’s Mercy Park is at 5:00 p.m. ET. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+.
