April 18, 2016
Kevin Kinkead/for PhillyVoice
Josh Yaro (right) started his first MLS game on Saturday night next to former Georgetown teammate Keegan Rosenberry.
One week after scoring an own goal just 13 seconds into a third division game, Josh Yaro looked like a completely different player against a tougher team, in a tougher environment.
The rookie draft pick got his MLS debut in Seattle on Saturday night, and he didn't look outmatched at all. Yaro stepped in the for the injured Ken Tribbett, who had started all five games this season.
The number two overall selection in January's draft, Yaro played at right center back next to his former college teammate, Keegan Rosenberry. He had a few iffy moments early on, but otherwise put in a solid performance.
"Strong game from Josh," said manager Jim Curtin after the game. "It's as tough of an assignment as you can get, to deal with Jordan Morris and Clint Dempsey. I thought he did well. Again, physically, there was never a question, in my mind, of him being ready. He can run, he's good on the ball, and he reads things well. Obviously you're nervous for a young guy when he gets his first start, and when there's 50,000 people here that's not easy. But he's a guy that I believe in. It's difficult that we lost Ken Tribbett to injury early in the week, but I thought that Josh stepped in and performed well. You learn from your first game, for sure, but I thought he had a good game."
Take a look at some clips from the 2-1 loss:
This play happened about 15 minutes in. It's a perfectly weighted long ball from Andreas Ivanschitz to Jordan Morris.
Yaro reads the play well, and has the speed to stay with Morris as the ball is brought to ground. I think he plays it well to begin with, and stays on the inside shoulder to put himself between the attacker and his goalkeeper. Then, Yaro overplays the outside shoulder instead of holding position, which allows Morris to turn and get the shot off.
Morris is not a small guy, and earlier in the game he gave Richie Marquez trouble on a similar shoulder-to-shoulder run. Both plays offered some obvious foreshadowing, as Morris would later score on a similar pass and run.
In a few cases, Yaro was able to use his athleticism and speed to put out fires.
In this one, there's a bit of ball watching on a quick Seattle throw. Yaro asks for an offside call, then tries to assign a midfielder to cover Morris, who gets a few yards inside Vince Nogueira and Warren Creavalle. Yaro is quick to react, and jumps in front of Dempsey to put the ball out for a corner.
This one is similar to the above play.
Yaro starts the play in good ballside position on Dempsey. When the cross comes in, Marquez whiffs on a clearance, and it comes off Yaro's shin and rolls across the box.
I like the idea to just get there first and carry the ball out of danger, though he could have tried to hoof it upfield with his left foot.
Whenever you're unsure about a situation, this is the safest play to make. Yaro and Blake will eventually build chemistry and learn each other's tendencies in that kind of scenario.
Here's what Yaro had to say about starting his career with a difficult assignment:
"I've always played my game in a way where, it doesn't matter who I'm going against. If you don't do your job, you're going to get punished by anyone in this league. I try to keep the same mentality no matter who I'm going against, whether it's Clint Dempsey, or any other person. Our coaches made that clear; every game is a new challenge. You have to come in, do your part, and work hard. I try to execute that every game and play my best."
(This one doesn't have anything to do with Josh Yaro, but I didn't know where else to put it.)
Follow Kevin on Twitter: @KevinKCBS3
