Saturday night after a string of thunderstorms swept the area, crew fans rolled up their umbrellas for a delayed march down Nationwide Boulevard. My son and I joined the legions. The air had cleared up, the sun was setting; and down the block beckoned the bright lights.
Rolling into the new stadium with the hordes and feeling the mutual anticipation of a live sporting event is a little bit of excitement and flow. Lower.com Field was sold out and raging when we found our seats in Section 110.
We only missed the first five minutes.
Atlanta United had already scored.
On a beautiful Saturday evening, in front of a full house, in a stadium that was supposed to turn these conditions into a definitive home advantage, the defending champions of the MLS Cup could not come from behind. The crew lost 3-2.
For Atlanta, which has already sacked a coach this season, it was the first away win in 10 months. It was the first win in 13 games. And they had to do without star striker Josef Martinez, who was serving a red card suspension.
There are crew fans who denounced the referees who rubbed off two crew goals when called offside and awarded Atlanta two penalties. Bah. Atlanta shouldn’t have been the better team. But they were there that night and won fair and fair.
Defense went from barrier to sieve
The crew is at a dead end right now. The question is whether the team can get out of there. The odds are 50-50.
The crew has lost three in a row, two of them in their new stadium, with an overall result of 11-5. Prior to that strand, the Columbus defense was one of the two most stingy in the league (alongside Western Conference leaders Seattle). Suddenly the back line has turned into a sieve.
Former crew coach Gregg Berhalter had two losses in three games in his five years at Columbus; both passed out in the preseason. Current crew coach Caleb Porter had a serious slip (1-13-2) in the middle of his first season in 2019, but that was a year of upheaval and transition.
Suffice it to say, this current triple drumming – exacerbated by consecutive house losses – rarely occurs in Columbus.
This is a crew team based on strong defense, teamwork and a high soccer IQ. Giving up penalties can be an indicator. Whether the referee made the right call in the box is irrelevant. It is important that the crew should not enable the referee to make such a call. In other words, stop the game before it gets dangerous.
Usually Porter’s teams are very good at this. Not now.
It’s fair to point out that the crew is dealing with issues like injuries and fatigue, some of which is caused by a compressed schedule. Most teams in the league face the same problems.
So what’s the deal?
Bigger problem for Columbus Crew: lack of offensive
There’s a mindset that says that if Vito Wormgoor (thighs) and Josh Williams (ankle) return from injury, the defenses are likely to regain their balance. They are both close.
What is really worrying is the consistent lack of insults. The crew has 18 goals in 18 games. Attacking midfielder Lucas Zelarayan and striker Gyasi Zardes, who last missed a month in the national team, account for 10 goals. Nobody else on the team has more than two. That’s a problem.
The crew has too much talent on offense to be one of the worst offensive teams, which is in every way, standard or metric. The club has eight assists in 18 games.
Without much help from the wings or the full-backs, Zelarayan is left with the constant and crushing weight of Solo creation. The opponents are aware of this and act accordingly. The snake’s head can be easily detached when the body is calm.
The crew scored the first goal in just five games this season. That’s five out of 18. You stand 5-0-0 in these competitions. You’ll have to strike first more often, if only to give the defense a chance. Help a cafeteria.
Porter needs to find a way to make this team more dangerous, especially at the start of the games. Instead, the crew gave in. It’s not a good trend. Columbus has to play with leadership much more often. The team has the players who make it through injuries.
The Black & Gold have only won two of their last 10. Instead, at a time of year when they should trample the teams they chase, Columbus slips.
The good news is that the crew somehow managed to stay above the playoff bar, if only just barely. There is still a long way to go and this is MLS, a league where no one comes within striking distance until the last day of the season.
