It’s said that championships aren’t won early in the season. But it’s very possible that they can be lost. And the composition of the Columbus Crew SC schedule over the first month and a half puts the club in a complicated position in that respect.
Saturday’s home opener against the Philadelphia Union will be the only time fans of the Black and Gold will be able to cheer their team at home during the month of March. In fact, their next opportunity to do so doesn’t come until over a month later. That occurs on April 16th when New York City FC comes to town. What this means is that Crew SC will be facing an extended period of time away from MAPFRE Stadium to start the season.
Early-Season Crew SC Schedule Necessitates Result Saturday
It also underscores the fact that the club needs a result this weekend. And more likely than not, that result must be the full three points and nothing less. This is especially true since they’re playing a Philly side not expected to be in the mix come playoff time. Their 2-0 loss to FC Dallas on opening day didn’t seem to squash that sentiment much.
Defending home turf this weekend against a beatable opponent is paramount. But it must be said that the MLS schedule makers did Columbus no favors by having the team play four of its first five on the road. Other than Toronto FC (whose stadium is once again undergoing renovations), Crew SC is the only team in the league facing this situation. Every other club has at least two home games during that span. In fact, New York City FC has four.
Those Boys in Blue from the Bronx sure figure prominently into the Black and Gold’s quirky schedule. As mentioned before, they’re the first team to visit central Ohio after Crew SC’s three-game road slog following this weekend’s match. But they’re also the club’s Decision Day opponent at Yankee Stadium which concludes another three-game road slog to close out the regular season schedule.
Not only does Crew SC open the season with four of five on the road. They also close the season with four of five on the road. No other team in the league is faced with such a daunting start and finish to their schedule. Call it a bizarre quirk in the schedule or something less savory than that but either way it’s a challenge the club is going to have to tackle head on.
As disadvantageous as the schedule is, it’s not all gloom and doom. After all, Crew SC finished last season in blazing hot form on the road. From August 1st onward, the team went 5-2-0 away from Columbus which was best in MLS during that time. Overall, they finished 6-7-4 on the road which was tied for the third-best mark in the league.
That said, it took Columbus until July 15th to register a road win last year. It had an added level of sweetness given that it came against rival Chicago Fire by a score of 1-0. And their next road contest takes place against that very same Fire side a week from Saturday. It’s certainly a huge opportunity to find success on the road earlier in the season than they did a year ago.
But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. There’s still the task at hand of getting a W at home against the Union on Saturday. It will be the fans (well, at least the ones that didn’t make the trip to Portland) first opportunity to see the team in action since coming up short in MLS Cup. But excitement will still be palpable as the defending Eastern Conference champions get their home slate underway.
History is certainly on the side of the Black and Gold. Since the Union joined the league in 2010, Columbus has a 10-4-1 all-time record against them. This includes going unbeaten in all seven matches that have been played at MAPFRE Stadium.
But what needs to happen on the pitch in order for Crew SC to emerge victorious Saturday? Here are three things in particular I will be keeping an eye on.
Spacing of the fullbacks when defending needs to improve
Against Portland last week, both Crew SC fullbacks, Harrison Afful and Waylon Francis, tended to drift too far inward in defensive situations. Afful was particularly culpable and this left way too much space for the Timbers’ Dairon Asprilla to operate down the left wing. It showed in his shot total. Asprilla finished tied with Diego Valeri for the team lead with six including two on goal. And though he didn’t get credit for an assist, his cross paved the way for Fanendo Adi’s 79th minute game-winning goal. Afful’s ability to choke away opposing wingers’ width will have to get better on Saturday.
Vulnerability on the counter remains an issue
Under Gregg Berhalter, Columbus makes no bones about the fact that they are a possession-oriented team through and through. Where that becomes an issue is in defensive transition when the ball is lost. This is particularly the case when you have fullbacks who push forward as aggressively as they do for Crew SC. And last Sunday, the Timbers were highly successful in exploiting this to their advantage in creating numerous chances on counterattacks. Though Portland possessed the ball just 38.8 percent of the time, they enjoyed a 17-10 edge in key passes.
Can Kei Kamara open his account?
No, I’m not talking about his bank account which isn’t suffering considering his newly minted designated player status. I’m referring to him getting on the score sheet for the first time in 2016. Last season, he was fairly successful against Philly. In Crew SC’s two wins over the Union, Kamara tallied three goals and an assist. He should enjoy much more success than he did in Portland. Philly’s defense was fifth-worst in the league in goals allowed in 2015 and has already given up two this year.
The Crew SC schedule isn’t very friendly both to start the season. Three straight road games loom after Saturday. Two of those come against FC Dallas and the Montreal Impact. The former came within a series of hosting MLS Cup, while the latter defeated Crew SC by a combined score of 5-1 in the two games played in Montreal. Suffice it to say that the gauntlet will be thrown in front of the Black and Gold over the next month of MLS action.
