With their playoff hopes on the line, a depleted Columbus Crew SC delivered when they needed to.
In front of a sold out home crowd of 20,031, the Black and Gold put together a comprehensive performance in a 2-0 win over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday night. The win came despite a makeshift lineup that didn’t include either attacking midfielder Federico Higuain or striker Ola Kamara. Head coach Gregg Berhalter was forced to slot Tony Tchani into a more advanced role while giving Adam Jahn his first start in a Crew SC uniform.
Columbus Crew SC Stays Alive and “Keeps At It” in 2-0 Win Over San Jose
Right from the opening kick-off, Columbus dominated the overall flow of the game. They owned the lion’s share of the ball and were continuously making forays into San Jose’s final third. But 13 minutes into the game, they suffered a bit of a setback.
Holding midfielder Wil Trapp was involved in a collision with the Quakes’ Shaun Francis. The two clashed heads while going for an aerial ball, with Trapp looking noticeably woozy afterwards. It forced Columbus into an early change, with Dilly Duka coming on for the Crew SC number six.
Trapp has had a history of concussions. He suffered one in practice in 2015 and was forced to miss three months of action last season. And it appears that he may have sustained another.
“He suffered a concussion,” Berhalter said post-game. “We don’t know the severity of it as of now but we’ll work through it this week.”
Despite the loss of Trapp, Crew SC would find the breakthrough in the 32nd minute. Ethan Finlay, whose finishing issues have been well-documented this year, was left virtually unmarked in making a back post run. Justin Meram slotted it towards him from the right flank and he made no mistake putting it past Quakes goalkeeper David Bingham.
The goal marked Finlay’s fourth in as many games. This after having gone 15 consecutive contests without finding the net. Meram’s helper on the goal was his seventh assist this season which adds to his career high total.
Center back Nicolai Naess was credited with a secondary assist on Finlay’s tally. That’s significant in that it was the Norwegian’s first appearance on the Crew SC score sheet since signing with the club. And it came off a direct ball towards Meram that Naess says was crucial to giving Finlay the requisite space to finish.
“When we keep the ball on one side, we can switch the play,” Naess emphasized. “and then there’s so much space on the other side.”
Right before first half stoppage time, Bingham was injured after colliding with his former teammate Jahn. Despite initially trying to remain in the game, the San Jose goalie collapsed to the ground after claiming a cross. He appeared to be favoring his lower back. As a result, backup Andrew Tarbell was forced into the first start of his MLS career.
The Black and Gold went into the locker room at halftime enjoying significant advantages in a variety of statistics. They had a 67-33 edge in possession, outshot the Quakes 13-3 and created eight more chances. They also finished the half with 18 open play crosses. That’s the most any team in the league has attempted in a half this season.
The Quakes came out of the break looking to reverse the trend in search of an equalizer. The team as a whole attempted four shots throughout the first 25 minutes of the second half compared to Crew SC’s one. The most promising of these was a strike on goal from Simon Dawkins from outside the box in the 64th minute. However, goalkeeper Steve Clark was more than up to task at keeping it out of the net.
The dagger for the home team came in the 84th minute. After making a run into the box, Meram was tripped up by San Jose defender Marvell Wynne who came into the game 26 minutes earlier. Referee Ismail Elfath wasted no time in pointing to the penalty spot. And the Iraqi international made no mistake in sliding it by Tarbell who guessed wrong.
Both Meram and Finlay are slowly but surely returning to the form that made them such a dynamic 1-2 punch on the flanks for this club last year. Crew SC’s ability to wrest three points out of games is made much easier when they’re finishing their chances. For Meram, it’s all about trusting the process and remaining persistent while keeping true to the club’s overall style of play.
“The losses are tough but we’re not going to change the way we’re playing because we know how successful we can be.” Meram said. “So we just have to keep at it.”
“I think we’ve been a little bit unlucky and I think it’s good lately (for) myself, Ethan and other guys (being able) to score goals and get on the score sheet to help the team win.”
Saturday’s triumph marked the club’s first home victory since May 28th and broke an eight-game winless streak in the history of the series with San Jose dating back to August 8, 2009.
Crew SC is back in action next Saturday when the Black and Gold travel to Southern California to take on the LA Galaxy. The game kicks off at 10:30 PM ET and is the only regular season meeting between the two clubs in 2016.
Photo courtesy of Columbus Crew SC Communications.
