Needless to say, it’s been a harrowing opening to the season for Columbus Crew SC.
First came a second straight 2-1 loss to the Portland Timbers. This one came on Portland’s home turf a mere three months after they won MLS Cup in Columbus by the same scoreline.
A week later, the sense of optimism and hope associated with the home opener turned to uncertainty and dread when the final whistle was blown. The Black and Gold unexpectedly fell to the Philadelphia Union 2-1. It marked Philly’s first ever win at MAPFRE Stadium, having lost six and drawn one in the previous seven road games against Crew SC.
As a result, two weeks into the season Columbus finds itself 0-2-0 for the first time since 2006. They’re also second from bottom in the Eastern Conference. This predicament is compounded by the fact that the club plays its next three matches on the road. The first of these takes place at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, IL against the Chicago Fire in the first of three rivalry clashes this season.
Columbus Crew SC Looks To Reverse Early Season Slump in Chicago
In 2015, Crew SC emerged victorious in all three games against the Fire. Those results personified the turmoil in Chicago last year that precipitated the firing of Frank Yallop in late September. The off-season would see new general manager Nelson Rodriguez announce the hiring of Veljko Paunovic as head coach. Paunovic led the Serbia U-20 team to a World Cup title at that level in the summer.
These two clubs have been on completely opposite ends of the MLS table in recent years. Over the past two seasons, Crew SC’s average finishing position in the Supporters’ Shield standings was five. Chicago’s was 12.5 spots lower.
With that in mind, Saturday’s late afternoon tussle is a measuring stick of sorts. Have the Fire made any definitive steps towards reversing the trend of being among the league’s less competitive teams? Consequently, is Columbus’ slow start to the season an aberration or something fans have reason to be legitimately worried about?
We shall soon get our answers to those questions as these two clubs hit the pitch for week three of MLS action. From the standpoint of the Black and Gold, a road win this early in the season would be huge. This is true for two reasons. Firstly, most fans are well aware the team’s road struggles last year. It took until July 15th for Crew SC to register a win away from home. But that win ended up coming against this very same Fire team. Being able to get your first three points on the road against your arch-rival two years running would have to carry an extra level of sweetness.
What has to happen in order for that to occur? Here are three things to keep an eye on as Crew SC looks to get back to winning ways.
Quality Chances/Finishing at Net Must Improve
Last year, Columbus Crew SC generated a total of 368 key passes during the regular season. That number was good enough for second best in the league. 15.76 percent of those key passes resulted in goals. Fast forward to 2016 and not much has changed in terms of the overall volume of chances being created. Their 32 key passes through two games leads MLS.
Despite the large quantity of chances created thus far, quality seems to be lacking. Crew SC’s two goals on the season means that they’re converting those chances at a paltry 6.25 percent pop. That currently ranks third-worst in the league behind Colorado (5 percent) and the New York Red Bulls (0 percent).
It’s not just lack of quality when it comes to service in the final third. The actual finishing of said chances could use some improvement as well. Not only is Columbus tops in MLS in key passes, they also have a league leading 38 shots. Kei Kamara and Federico Higuaín have a combined 21 just between them two. But only four of their shots have been on target which equates to a 19.04 percent shot accuracy rate.
Now it must be said that Higuaín’s lone shot on target was quite the golazo. And Columbus ran into a buzzsaw in goal named Andre Blake against Philly last week. But until the high volume of chances at net result in more clinical finishing, the club will continue to have issues on that side of the field.
Back Line Must Be More Resolute Against the Counter
The nature of Crew SC’s style of play under Gregg Berhalter means that opposing teams are going to attempt to absorb pressure and play for the counter at times. The strategy against such a side is to firstly try and force a turnover in your own half. Then you use the speed of your attacking players in transition to create immediate goal-scoring opportunities. It’s soccer’s version of the smash and grab job.
What would ultimately prove to be the game-winner for the Union last week exposed Columbus’ continuing vulnerability to the counter. Of particular concern is their lateral shape when tracking back. Right back Harrison Afful has had a tendency to drift too close to the centerbacks in both games this year. This leaves way too much space both on the wing and in that diagonal channel towards the near post. Chris Pontius exploited the latter to great effect on Philly’s second goal.
The problem heading into this weekend’s game is that the Fire have plenty of team speed up top for this to continue to pose a problem for Crew SC. The club will need to be particularly concerned with forwards David Accam and Kennedy Igboananike. Both possess a great deal of pace and are capable of exploiting it on the break.
If the Black and Gold want a result out of this game, they’ll need to show improvement in defensive transition.
Ethan Finlay Must Get More Involved
After parlaying his 12 goal, 13 assist 2015 campaign into a contract extension and USMNT call-up, it’s been a quiet start to the year for Ethan Finlay. Through two games, he has three shots, one of which was on target. And even more concerning, he’s created just a single chance. That would put him on pace for just 17 of those after having 36 last year.
It’s a scary thought that despite the above chance creation numbers, Finlay has contributed very little at this point. Part of the club being able to escape this early-season funk is for Finlay to reassume his role as the club’s dynamic playmaker on the right wing. If that happens, watch out.
There’s no doubt that Finlay was the yin to Kamara’s yang in 2015. So far, teams have disrupted the flow between those two this season. In order for Crew SC to rediscover its form around goal, the balance of their on-field relationship will need to be restored. Doing so will play a huge part in this club resembling an MLS Cup contender once more.
