We’re 13 weeks into the League One season, but how much stock should we put into the table? At this point last year, three of the eight playoff positions were occupied by clubs that wouldn’t make the cut come October. The eventual Players’ Shield winner, One Knox, sat in fifth place. Indeed, the last time the eventual first seed topped the table in Week 13 was all the way back in 2022.
In other words, nothing is decided in the 2026 season. We’ve seen a handful of clubs start well, but League One is a meat grinder. Who looked prepared to meet that challenge, and what stood out for every club in Week 13? Let’s dig in.
Union Omaha’s versatility
Union Omaha is first in League One, and it’d be easy to assume that they’re copy-pasting the same tactical approach every single week. That’s not the case. Vincenzo Candela is sticking to a back four, dominating possession, and trusting his center backs to backstop a strong counterpress, but there’s room for innovation around those principles.
Away to New York midweek, Omaha secured a 2-1 win by tempering their system. If the Cosmos are going to beat you, they’ll do so by breaking into the channels off long balls or press-driven breaks. To stop that from happening, Candela made the astute choice to sit Ryen Jiba and Cam Lawrence deep at the fullback spots. Los Búhos took on more of a 4-2-4 look going both ways, stabilizing their resting base and limiting open spaces up the sidelines.
That choice didn’t stop Omaha from being the aggressor. At times, one of the center mids would push into more of a 4-1-5 or 4-1-2-3 to pin New York. When the Cosmos inevitably drove a pass up the channel, Lawrence was particularly good at tracking the danger. By the time they went up in the 60th minute, Omaha had only allowed six shots in the run of play, none worth more than 0.05 xG.
Compare the heatmaps of Omaha’s starting fullbacks from the Cosmos game and their preceding win against Chattanooga, and the distinction is even clearer. Basic squad rotation played a part – the rookie Lawrence offers less of an offensive punch than veteran Younes Boudadi at right back – but the back line’s depth is clear. Jiba’s main nexus of touches took place in the defensive half, and Lawrence was relatively uninvolved in possession.
