When the final whistle blew Saturday night to conclude Columbus Crew SC’s 2-1 loss to the Montreal Impact, it marked the conclusion of what could aptly be described as a disastrous week for the Black and Gold. Two games that appeared to be clearly winnable at the start of the week ended up in the loss column when all was set and done. The week itself also marked the end of some long-standing trends that both their opponents were able to finally reverse.
A Rough Week for Columbus Crew SC After Two Bitter Losses
First came Wednesday’s 3-0 defeat in Philadelphia, marking the Union’s first win in the series since June 5, 2013. In almost haunting irony, that too was a midweek contest where Crew SC found themselves on the wrong end of a three-goal shutout.
Then came the real surprise of the week which was what transpired Saturday night against Montreal. To say that virtually every match on the road for the Impact since Frank Klopas took over as head coach has been a veritable house of horrors would be quite the understatement. 21 matches played, only six draws and not a single win – until Saturday night.
Goals by Maxim Tissot in the 55th minute and Andres Romero 24 minutes later took the air out of a MAPFRE Stadium crowd likely anticipating three points given the above mentioned road woes. Though Federico Higuaín would halve the Impact’s lead in the first minute of second half stoppage time, it was ultimately too little too late.
The win ends nearly two years of futility on the road for Montreal. You have to go back to September 8, 2013 to find the last time they were able to emerge victorious away from Stade Saputo: a 4-2 triumph over the New England Revolution.
Head coach and sporting director Gregg Berhalter was quick to deflect the blame from the team and absorb it himself after the game.
“We lacked organization, we lacked ideas, we lacked the ability to move the ball quickly and that’s on me,” Berhalter noted.
He further emphasized the need for accountability starting from the coaching staff on downwards.
“I’m not going to sit here and make excuses. We should be better than that,” Berhalter noted. “There’s no way I’m going to say ‘the team’ or anything because what it is to me is lack of organization and lack of execution.”
Crew SC’s vulnerability to Montreal’s counterattack appeared to be their undoing. Despite getting 20 shots on goal compared to the Impact’s nine and controlling the ball 57.2 percent of the time, the stat that truly matters at the end of the game was in the visitors’ favor.
Berhalter admitted that his side struggled in the second half adapting to Montreal’s quick strike style of play.
“You can’t expect against a counterattacking team to play like that and win the game.”
As a result of what took place in other matches involving Eastern Conference teams, the Black and Gold currently find themselves in the sixth and final playoff spot after 14 games played. It’s a far cry from the aftermath of their emphatic 3-2 win over the Seattle Sounders when they stood fourth in the East. With the Los Angeles Galaxy coming to town next Saturday for what is anticipated to be a sold out crowd, a reeling Crew SC has a full week to try and get themselves back on the right track.
Center back and captain Michael Parkhurst emphasized that it’s going to require a team effort to get the club out of its current funk.
“We want to get out of this before it escalates,” Parkhurst said. “There’s a lot of season left and we need to stay positive and get back to working hard. We all need to step our games up. Collectively, individually, the effort has to be better.”
Likewise, goalkeeper Steve Clark, whose performance in net may have prevented the scoreline from becoming even more askew in favor of the Impact, echoed Parkhurst’s sentiments.
“It’s gonna be a real character test for our group,” Clark emphasized. “We’re going to start with ourselves. We know that we’re capable, we just got to get back to work.”
