MLS Heineken Rivalry Week has arrived. And that means many of the games on the schedule this weekend involve teams who have a certain amount of disdain for one another. This includes Trillium Cup Part 1: the first of three matches this season involving Columbus Crew SC and Toronto FC.
Now it must be said that every time these two teams get together, an age old question emerges. Is this really a rivalry? Is Crew SC-TFC a true run of the mill hatefest or is it something concocted by the league?
There are certainly arguments both ways. About the only thing Columbus and Toronto seem to have in common is their connection to the flower that bears the name of the silverware given out in this series. The trillium is the provincial flower of Ontario. It’s also the state wildflower of Ohio.
Whichever way you look at it, there’s a trophy on the line. And who doesn’t like winning one of those and having bragging rights over someone for an entire year? It’s something that Crew SC has enjoyed for a majority of this rivalry’s history.
Columbus sports a 12-5-8 all-time record against TFC dating back to their inaugural season of 2007. The Trillium Cup was instituted a year later and the first six years of the series was particularly one-sided. From 2008-2013, the Black and Gold came out victorious eight times compared to the Reds two, with six games ending in draws.
Overall, Crew SC has won the Trillium Cup six times. Toronto FC has managed to come away with it just twice.
But fast forward to the present and the roles from a league standings standpoint are reversed. TFC are currently fourth in the Eastern Conference with a 4-4-3 record. Crew SC, on the other hand, sit second from bottom at 2-4-4. The club is in desperate need of some sort of result to avoid falling further behind after a slow start to the season.
Saturday’s clash (5 PM ET, MLS Live, TWCSC-Ohio, CW Columbus, SN360) marks the fourth consecutive home game for TFC. This after having to play their first eight on the road as renovations to BMO Field were being completed. It marked the second straight year the club was forced into a lengthy road trip as a result of work being done on their home ground.
When these two fierce rivals (or maybe faux rivals to some) take the field this weekend, what can we expect? TFC has a win, loss and draw in their three previous matches at home. Meanwhile, Crew SC are still in search of their first win away from MAPFRE Stadium this season.
What are some of the things that need to happen on the field in order to facilitate a Crew SC victory? Here are three things in particular to pay attention to on Saturday.
3 Keys to Success for Columbus Crew SC in Trillium Cup Part 1
Breaking the Michael Bradley-Will Johnson Wall in Front of the Back Four
Against New York City FC on Wednesday, TFC head coach Greg Vanney had his team line up in a diamond 4-4-2 which really played more like a 4-3-1-2. Michael Bradley, Will Johnson and, to a lesser extent, Jay Chapman, tended to sit deep in the midfield. And throughout the game, both Bradley and Johnson were a force at thwarting NYCFC’s forays into the attacking third.
Check out the following Opta chalkboard from MLSSoccer.com.
Those are the recoveries (orange), interceptions (blue) and tackles (green) from both players. I’ll save you the time in trying to count them all. It comes out to a total of 46. TFC as a team had a combined 99 of these three defensive actions during the game. So between Bradley and Johnson, you’re looking at 46.5 percent of the team’s total amount of winning possession. Industrious doesn’t even begin to describe that kind of effort.
And it had nothing to do with TFC consistently losing the ball and having to win it back. Nor was it the result of deciding to absorb pressure and play for counters. The Reds had 55.4 percent possession on the game. This was yeoman’s work in front of the back four on the part of Bradley and Johnson. There simply isn’t another way to put it. And Johnson was rewarded by scoring perhaps the easiest goal he’ll ever score in his career.
Much of their focus seemed to be centered around speedy NYCFC winger Steven Mendoza. Whoever starts on the right for Crew SC, whether it’s Justin Meram or Ethan Finlay (if he wins his starting job back), will similarly have their hands full breaking this first line of defense.
Remaining Resolute in Transition
Crew SC head coach and sporting director Gregg Berhalter is, if anything, the mark of consistency. During his tenure in Columbus, he has rarely strayed away from his possession-oriented style of play. And the fact that the Black and Gold are second in MLS with 54.4 percent possession lends credence to that notion.
But where the team can be highly vulnerable is in transition. With the wing backs having as much liberty as they do to push forward into the final third, teams with speedy attacking players can really feast on turnovers and hit Columbus on the counter. That could become a problem Saturday.
Toronto FC has three goals off counterattacks this season. That’s more than any other team in the league. And their diminutive Italian maestro Sebastian Giovinco has played a part in all three, having scored twice and assisted on another. The defending league MVP is trending towards a repeat performance in 2016 with eight goals and five assists so far this year.
But simply put, Crew SC has to be careful to avoid getting broken on the break.
The Added Pressure on Ola Kamara to Step Up
The Major League Soccer Players’ Union released 2016 salary data for the first time on Thursday. And perhaps the biggest surprise among Crew SC fans was to see the relatively large sum of money being doled out to Ola Kamara. Columbus is paying the Norwegian striker a $425,000 base salary this season. To put that in perspective, the now departed Kei Kamara made just $400,000 in base compensation last year.
The latter Kamara certainly exceeded expectations with the MVP caliber season he had in 2015. And he rode that success he had all the way to the bank with a new designated player deal that pays him $1 million this year. But all this serves to put added pressure on the former Kamara whose guaranteed compensation of $457,500 is the minimum salary budget charge before being considered a DP himself.
Though it’s difficult to be too critical on him since he only has one appearance in regular season play, he’s now the main man up top in Crew SC’s 4-2-3-1 shape. The onus is on him to begin contributing to the Black and Gold’s score sheet. This is especially true when you consider his salary compared to other attack-oriented players who joined MLS clubs in varying manners this off-season.
The following chart illustrates how much these players are being played in 2016 as well as their goal/assist total so far.
Source: MLSplayers.org
With Kei no longer on the roster, Ola is now the third highest paid Crew SC player behind Federico Higuaín ($1,175,000) and Gaston Sauro ($601,313). You don’t pay someone that kind of money without the expectation that he can play a prominent role in what the club wants to accomplish on the field. And with respect to the center forward position, it’s time for Ola to step up.
One thing he will need to improve on is his hold-up play. It’s something that Kei excelled at during his now relatively short stint with the club. Being able to hold possession with your back to goal as a means towards linking up with the wide players is a key skill in the arsenal of any good target man.
Matt Doyle of MLSSoccer.com pointed out in his weekly synopsis column of the league’s action that Ola had some issues in this regard against Colorado. Look no further than his passing map from the game last Saturday.
Compare this to what Kei was able to do in his New England Revolution debut, a 2-0 win over the Chicago Fire.
It seems pretty apparent that Kei was much more proactive in getting his teammates involved in the attack around goal. As a number nine in the modern game, you not only have to score but also facilitate scoring. Whether it’s through your movement in baiting center backs out of position or holding the ball up, the center forward needs to be a provider as well as goal-scorer nowadays.
If Crew SC can get better hold-up play out of Ola, it should certainly aid in the club being able to get quality opportunities to find the goal.
Crew SC-TFC isn’t the only sporting event in town involving teams from Ohio and Ontario on Saturday. Just a mere two miles away from BMO Field, the Cleveland Cavaliers will be taking on the Toronto Raptors in Game 3 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals at Air Canada Centre.
With that in mind…
You can rest assured that a lot of sports fans from the Buckeye State will be eliciting the sentiment evoked by that dude’s sweatshirt on Saturday.
