Oftentimes how you respond to adversity is the difference between success and failure. Wednesday’s match between Columbus Crew SC and the New England Revolution personified that for the Black and Gold.
After going down 1-0 less than a minute into the game courtesy of a Lee Nguyen strike from outside the box that beat goalkeeper Steve Clark, it had to have felt like “here we go again” for the home side. After all, the club was in the midst of an 0-3-3 skid through their last six, hadn’t won a game since May 9th, and were in danger of failing to come away with a single win during this three-game stand at MAPFRE Stadium.
No more than three minutes after Nguyen opened up the scoring in the Revs favor did Crew SC have an answer of their own. Right back Hector Jimenez flung in a well-placed cross that Federico Higuaín headed on goal, beating New England goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth but not the cross bar. The ball, however, came right in front of prolific forward Kei Kamara, who headed it off a volley himself for his league-leading 11th goal of the season.
Kamara was not finished contributing to the Crew SC score sheet. Five minutes into the second half, the club’s exceptional flank play would manifest itself once more with wing back, midfielder and forward connecting on a goal, this time from the left. Waylon Francis would send in a floating ball that was controlled by Ethan Finlay and centered to Kamara who buried it for his fourth brace of the season.
Ultimately, the Black and Gold would hold on for a 2-1 win that would end a frustrating winless skid which had to have been giving fans unwelcome memories of last season’s summer swoon.
Columbus Crew SC Snap Winless Skid Thanks To Kei Kamara Brace
Crew SC head coach and sporting director Gregg Berhalter stressed the importance of mounting a strong reply in the face of that early Revs goal.
“We talked before the game about managing the game, no matter what happens,” Berhalter said. “We go down a goal, we go up a goal, the game’s tied, we manage the game. I think after (New England’s first goal) happened, obviously it affected the scoreline but the guys kept going and kept playing and seemed to settle in nicely.”
Kamara also emphasized the importance of the team fighting back, taking the lead and the holding onto it to finish with a positive result.
“It’s always difficult because every time you’re looking at them you’re just praying they don’t get one back,” Kamara noted. “But definitely for us to come out of there being at home to get all three points is good.”
Throughout most of the game, Columbus’ possession-oriented style of play was on full display. The Black and Gold enjoyed a 56-44 advantage in possession, had 82 more passes and a whopping 42-14 edge in crosses. The following graphic does a pretty good job at putting into perspective how much Crew SC were utilizing the flanks to create opportunities both via open play and set pieces.
Though they only successfully connected on ten of their 42 crosses, two of them found the net. It just goes to show that when this club can utilize the wings to create a high volume of action inside the box, good things are bound to happen.
Not even halfway through the season, and Kamara’s 12 tallies on the season is already a career high. The Sierra Leone international was asked afterwards if this was his best year in MLS.
“Yeah, I can’t lie about that, you know,” Kei mentioned. “I know it’s going to sound like an echo but…for that to happen, you know, where I actually started my career, in Columbus, I’m more than happy with that.”
Berhalter reiterated that there’s still additional steps to be taken in terms of where the club wants to be.
“We still want to make progress,” said Berhalter. “When we went up 2-1 I think we could’ve been more effective in playing out the game and perhaps getting a third goal. Give New England credit for putting a lot of pressure on us but I think we could be better in those situations.”
That said, the manner in which this club battled back speaks volumes as to the character within the team in his opinion.
“It shouldn’t take away from the fact that I’m extremely proud of this group tonight for responding after going down, coming back and getting the win and then holding onto it when we were under pressure,” Berhalter added.
With Wednesday’s victory marking the end of a winless run that spanned more than a month, the next big task for Crew SC is to get three points in the road for the first time in 2015. Their first opportunity to do so is on Saturday when they travel to Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, UT to face Real Salt Lake.
Photo by Alex Menendez/Getty Images
