The Formations The Vancouver Whitecaps made a tactical change for their game against the Houston Dynamo on Saturday, dispensing with their preferred 4-2-3-1 formation in favour of a 4-4-2 formation with a diamond midfield. Carl Robinson made three changes to the team that started against the New England Revolution a week ago. Skipper Jay DeMerit replaced Jonny Leveron at the back, Gershon Koffie replaced the concussed Nigel Reo-Coker to make his first start of the season and Pedro Morales replaced Sebastian Fernandez. The changes saw Matias Laba play as Vancouvers holding midfielder, with Russell Teibert on the left and Koffie on the right, leaving Morales to operate as the attacking midfielder. The Dynamo had a bye week last weekend, and head coach Dominic Kinnear decided to field an unchanged lineup from their 1-0 win over the Montreal Impact on March 15. (click for larger image) The Game Tactically, this was an intriguing matchup. The Houston Dynamo are one of the most well-organized teams in MLS, and Kinnear has an experienced squad who are consistent performers. However, Carl Robinsons decision to play a diamond midfield was a clever one. Not only did it allow Robinson to get his most creative player (Morales) into his preferred position, it allowed Vancouver to nullify many of Houstons threats. Both Houston fullbacks – Corey Ashe and Kofi Sarkodie – are encouraged to get forward to supply crosses for Will Bruin and Giles Barnes. The quality of Brad Davis on Houstons left side, coupled with Ashes energy, could have been a real problem for Vancouver. But the introduction of Gershon Koffie on Vancouvers right, coupled with the tactical change to the Whitecaps lineup, limited Houstons ability to generate a supply line from that side. With Russell Teibert shutting down Kofi Sarkodie on Houstons right flank, both Bruin and Barnes were cast adrift, starved of the crosses upon which they thrive. In midfield, Matias Laba had an excellent game for Vancouver, disrupting Boniek Garcias forward progress. The young Argentinian is proving to be an excellent signing for the Whitecaps, and his ability to cover so much ground freed up Pedro Morales to dictate the game. In the opening half, Morales had arguably the best 45 minutes of any player in the Whitecaps relatively short MLS history. His technical ability is superb, and his passing range is magnificent. Time and time again, Morales was able to spring teammates into attacking positions, or change the point of attack with his precise short and long range passing. Vancouver went into the break leading 1-0, courtesy of a Jordan Harvey goal. After his corner kick was cleared, Morales hooked a one-time pass to the back post, where it was nodded across goal by Andy OBrien. Harvey caught the Dynamo defenders flat-footed, and he prodded the ball home from six yards. Vancouver added to their lead in the 58th minute, as Kenny Miller converted a penalty kick after Kofi Sarkodie had handled in the penalty area. Miller scored at the second attempt, as his first kick had to be retaken due to the encroachment of Darren Mattocks. The Jamaican striker could be forgiven for his exuberance – it was his excellent work that created the penalty kick in the first place. Mattocks has yet to score this season – something at which he is surely frustrated – but his play has been much improved over last year. He is holding the ball up well, linking with his teammates, and because of his blistering speed, he is a genuine threat to any defence that chooses to play a high line. If he can improve his composure in front of goal, he will surely reach double figures in goals. Down 2-0, Houston brought on Omar Cummings for the ineffective Garcia. Cummings took a place up front alongside Bruin, with Barnes dropping into midfield. The substitution effectively resulted in Houston matching Vancouvers diamond midfield – something that should have been done at the half. Houstons midfield partnership of Garcia and Ricardo Clark never got to grips with the movement of Pedro Morales. The Chilean was everywhere he needed to be to get on the ball – even dropping into the left back position at one point to gain possession. Morales effectively dispelled the notion that a midfield diamond has to be narrow or positionally rigid. Playing Miller up front alongside Mattocks also worked in Vancouvers favour. While Mattocks offered game-breaking speed, Miller offered craft and guile. When Morales vacated the central position, Miller was clever enough to move into that space – meaning Houston always had to be wary of Clark and Garcia getting bypassed. And because Mattocks speed caused the Dynamos Jermaine Taylor and David Horst all kinds of bother, neither centreback wanted to step into midfield and leave the other exposed 1v1. After Houston pulled a goal back through Clark in the 75th minute, Robinson showed his tactical nous by reverting back to a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Teibert slotting in alongside Laba to congest the middle of the park, and substitutes Sebastian Fernandez and Kekuta Manneh taking up wide positions. This allowed Vancouver to see out the remainder of the game, sealing an important three points and maintaining their unbeaten start to the season. The Positives Pedro Morales showed all of the qualities that led the Whitecaps to make him a designated player. He rarely conceded possession, showed fantastic one and two-touch passing range and generally controlled the tempo of the game. The midfield diamond from Vancouver worked very well, and now offers Robinson a viable alternative to the 4-2-3-1 formation that he used in the first three games. Both Russell Teibert and, to a lesser extent, Gershon Koffie, had effective games, and Matias Laba reaffirmed his growing reputation as one of the top holding midfielders in MLS. The Negatives Houston defender David Horst shouldnt be surprised if he receives a phone call from the leagues Disciplinary Committee this week. On two occasions, Horst used excessive force against Vancouver players. The first was a deliberate elbow into the ribs of Pedro Morales; the second, a deliberate elbow into the neck of Kekuta Manneh. Given the leagues recent precedent of handing out supplementary discipline, Horst could well be in line for a suspension. The Star Man Camilo who? Pedro Morales is making disgruntled Whitecaps fans quickly forget last seasons departed top scorer, as Morales had a magnificent game for Vancouver. He is quickly establishing himself as the number ten that fans have always craved – a technically gifted, free-flowing maestro whose lead the other players follow. 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One of Europes top coaches, Blatt was hired Friday by the Cavaliers, who ended a sweeping, 39-day search with an out-of-the-box selection they hope changes their fortunes. NEW YORK -- Scott Kazmir has been so good for the Oakland Athletics, manager Bob Melvin wasnt prepared to see his ace flop so badly. Kazmir was tagged for three homers and allowed a season-high seven runs in the As 10-1 loss to the New York Mets and Bartolo Colon on Tuesday night. "Its almost a shock when you see him give up some runs but he just got some balls up, missed locations with a few of them and they didnt miss them," Melvin said. "Usually hes so unpredictable in his pitches that if he does get a ball up sometimes he gets away with it but he didnt today." A first-round draft pick by New York in 2002 but sent to Tampa Bay in a very unpopular trade two years later, Kazmir struggled from the start in his first start ever in Queens. He entered with the ALs best ERA (2.08) and on a four-game winning streak, but was out after just three innings. His ERA rose to 2.66. Kazmir (9-3) gave up consecutive homers to Curtis Granderson and Chris Young in the second inning and a three-run shot to Travis dArnaud in the third. The left-hander went 22 starts without giving up more than one homer in a game since Aug. 18, with the Indians. Kazmir blamed his lack of command on his troubles, not his first outing against the Mets in New York -- he beat the Mets in September in Cleveland. "Ive never played in Shea Stadium. Id never played in Citi Field so its not really coming back for me," Kazmir said. "I think itd be a little bit different if I had actually played at the big league level with the Mets and had a little bit of history in that regard, but it was just going out here today to take care of business." The As second straight loss ended with reliever Jeff Francis striking out. Melvin had Derek Norris and Craig Gentry on the bench but Gentry was given a cortisone shot in a knee. Norris was out of the lineup after being hit by a backswing on Sunday. "I wasnt going to use him in that type of game," Melvin said of Norris. Colon (8-5) shut down the team that didnt wannt him back this year despite an 18-win season, pitching four-hit ball for eight innings against the AL West leaders.dddddddddddd Signed by the Mets 10 days after the As inked Kazmir in December, Colon won his sixth straight decision. He also singled for his second straight game, much to the delight of the 25,751 in attendance. "Just when you think youve got him figured out hes going to throw something that you have no idea hes going to throw and thats just a testament to how good he is," Stephen Vogt said of Colon. "Obviously Im frustrated that we didnt beat him but obviously it was great to see him." Colon only faced trouble in the first when Yoenis Cespedes followed Brandon Moss single with a double to the wall in centre field for the early lead. Colon gave up a hit to Cespedes in the fourth and another single in the fifth to Coco Crisp, but he otherwise cruised through the best run-producing lineup in the majors. "It feels really good in particular because its a team like the Oakland As, which for me right now is the No. 1 team," Colon said through a translator. Slumping Mets outfielder Chris Young also homered off failed closer Jim Johnson in the fifth for only the Mets fifth four-homer game at Citi Field since it opened in 2009, according to STATS. Granderson and David Wright had RBI groundouts, and Daniel Murphy added a run-scoring single for the Mets, who scored at least 10 runs in consecutive games for the first time since June 28-29, 2011, in Detroit. They beat Miami 11-5 on Sunday. The Mets have won a season high-tying three straight. NOTES: The As activated RF Josh Reddick before the game. He was 0 for 2 with a walk. ... Oakland placed 1B Kyle Blanks on the 15-day DL with a left calf strain. ... Wright tied a career high with an RBI in his seventh straight game. ... First base umpire Joe West was hit in the chest by a line drive but he barely flinched. ... Up next: Oakland LHP Brad Mills (0-0) vs. New York RHP Zack Wheeler (3-7). ' ' '