It’s a do or die situation for all eight remaining MLS teams with the second leg of the conference semifinals fast approaching. With just a single goal separating opponents in three of the four pairings and the other one tied after the first game, each side has much to play for.
That’s certainly the case for Columbus Crew SC heading into their return leg against the Montreal Impact. It can’t be doubted that the level of buzz and electricity inside MAPFRE Stadium will be palpable as the Black and Gold look to advance to Major League Soccer’s final four for the first time since their championship season of 2008.
They have a bit of an uphill climb though, having fallen 2-1 in the first leg at Stade Saputo last Sunday. Nevertheless, they’re in a much more favorable position than they were last year when they dropped the first leg at home to the New England Revolution by a score of 4-2. It was a hole they couldn’t climb out of in Foxborough as the Revs also took the second leg 3-1, advanced to the conference finals 7-3 on aggregate, and would eventually make it all the way to the MLS Cup Final.
Clearly, Crew SC is in much better shape this time around heading into Sunday’s crucial clash. A 1-0 win at home would see them advance by virtue of the away goal they scored in Montreal. Any victory by more than a goal would also get them to the next round. A 2-1 triumph would force a 30 minute extra time period, after which a penalty shootout would ensue if Montreal and Columbus still remained tied.
The worst case scenarios that would eliminate Crew SC from playoff contention include both a loss and a tie, as well as any one goal victory beyond a 2-1 scoreline. For example, if Columbus wins 3-2, the two teams would be tied 4-4 on aggregate but Montreal’s two away goals would see them through to the conference finals.
Head coach and sporting director Gregg Berhalter spoke with the media after one of the club’s training sessions this week and emphasized that despite the loss to Montreal in the first leg, he sees the club well-positioned heading into Sunday’s home fixture, particularly if they can turn in a more complete performance
“We were happy with the result, not happy with the performance and I think that says a lot about where this group is at,” Berhalter told Ashleigh Ignelzi of the Crew SC broadcast team. “We’re looking to get a little sharper in our movements, a little quicker (with) the ball movement and see if we can put them under some pressure.”
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Last week, in my tactical analysis of this series, I discussed the contrast in styles as it relates to how these two clubs hold onto the ball.
Crew SC relies on a heavily possession-centric method of play that places added emphasis on building from the back and using their wing players to create chances in the box. Nowhere is this more evident in the fact that an MLS-high 131 of their key passes came via crosses.
Montreal, on the other hand, is highly effective at absorbing pressure, wresting possession away and hitting teams on the break. It’s a strategy that has continually dogged Crew SC in all three games they’ve contested against the Impact, including last Sunday. Johan Venegas’ go-ahead goal for the Bleu-Blanc-Noir was a perfect example.
But it must be said that counterattacking teams like Montreal aren’t just dangerous on the initial foray into the opposition’s half upon winning possession. When a given team loses the ball and is forced to track back, oftentimes that will lead to anything from emergency defending and straight up tactical fouls aimed at preventing chances at goal. The former tends to lead to corners, while free kicks at varying positions around the penalty box are the inevitable result of the latter.
Either way, both effectively demonstrate how teams that can effectively hit their opponents on the counter are also able to facilitate chances via set pieces.
The Impact have proven their ability at creating chances off corner kicks with 34 key passes via that version of a set piece all regular season, good enough for sixth-best in the league. Their equalizing goal against Crew SC in the first leg proved their quality from the corner stripe, with Marco Donadel placing a well-struck outswinger that veteran Patrice Bernier was able to head past goalkeeper Steve Clark.
Minutes after Venegas’ eventual game-winner, Columbus found themselves a near victim of the second kind of set piece a good counterattack can facilitate. In the 79th minute, Ignacio Piatti was able to win the ball away from Federico Higuaín right around the midfield and suddenly Crew SC was frenetically trying to get back to defend. With Piatti barreling towards the box, Higuaín clipped his legs out from under him from about 30 yards away from goal, drawing a yellow.
It was then that Didier Drogba, who has proven to be perhaps the best of MLS’ summer transfer window signings with 12 goals in 13 appearances since his arrival, stood over the resulting set piece. His eventual shot would float over the wall and dip towards the right upper 90, only avoiding the back of the net due to perhaps the save of the game from Clark. His heroics likely prevented Crew SC from facing the stiff task of having to come back from a two-goal deficit in the second leg.
If the Black and Gold want to erase this deficit and clinch a berth in the conference finals for the sixth time in club history, they’ll have to do a better job at limiting not just Montreal’s counterattack itself but the set pieces that come about as a result of it. They also have to be much improved at possessing the ball with purpose. Despite a 58-42 advantage in possession percentage, Columbus had four less chances created while Montreal also had a 4-1 edge in successful crosses from both open play and free kicks.
The addition of Drogba has given them not just a dangerous false nine kind of player that can make opposing center backs cheat off their line, but a formidable weapon on free kicks. The less he’s staring at the ball around the box in a free kick situation looking to blast it into goal, the better. Though his most lethal quality in this series might end up being his knack for getting into opponents’ heads, he must continue to be effectively neutralized as a goal-scorer as well. That means taking away his ability to convert on set pieces by being more disciplined when defending the inevitable counters the club is likely to face from the Impact throughout the night.
In the end, this will undoubtedly be one of many factors which has the potential to tilt this series in Columbus Crew SC’s favor and vault them to within two games of MLS Cup 2015.
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