I’ve been away from writing directly about the Crew over the past few weeks as a result of doing my weekly columns analyzing the broader playoff races in both conferences. Now it’s time to return to the goings on of the Black and Gold as they make a push for the playoffs. With four games remaining, let’s take a look and see what October holds as Columbus seeks its first postseason since 2011.
Columbus Crew Look to Solidify Playoff Status
I emphasized in a previous piece that September was of absolutely vital importance if this team wanted to be in good shape in the Eastern Conference standings. With that month in the books, it’s safe to say that the Crew came through with flying colors. The schedule was immensely favorable in that three of four matches were in Columbus, and they took full advantage.
It began with a 3-0 home pasting of the dumpster fire that is Chivas USA. Then they traveled to Houston for their only road trip of the month and fought to a gutsy 2-2 draw with the Dynamo in which the Crew trailed 2-0 at halftime, then proceeded to even the score a mere ten minutes into the second half. The final two games of the month were twin shutouts at home of New England and Montreal. When all was set and done, Columbus went undefeated in September, securing ten of a possible 12 points.
Coming out of August, the conference standings were quite crowded, with Columbus, Toronto and New England all tied on 33 points in the battle for the third spot. The Crew found themselves in the fifth and final playoff position as a result of goal differential, but Toronto was clearly trending downward considering their front office dropped the wrecking ball on the entire coaching staff the day before September began.
After a month of action, both the Crew and the Revs have been successful in establishing a bit of separation from the other playoff contenders. New England has caught up with a semi-reeling Sporting Kansas City club for the second spot in the East, with Columbus only two points behind. Seeing the standings the way that they are, Saturday night’s clash between the two looms huge.
A mini-rivalry has sprouted up between the two teams this year. The Crew have certainly owned New England recently. They added to the misery of a franchise-record losing streak with a 2-1 road win on July 26 in which an Ethan Finlay 84th minute goal broke a 1-1 deadlock. Federico Higuain scored the decisive goal in their most recent clash at Crew Stadium.
There was a war of words after that September 20th game, as New England coach Jay Heaps complained after the match that Columbus was targeting Jermaine Jones’ foot injury he sustained in a previous game. As a result, this upcoming tussle between the sides has been viewed as a grudge match of sorts for the team in general and Jones in particular.
If Columbus can waltz into Foxborough and come away with the full three points, coupled with a defeat by SKC to conference leader DC United on Friday night, the Crew will find themselves alone in second place. Consequently, a loss combined with a New York win over Houston at home and a miracle Toronto win out west against a borderline unstoppable Los Angeles Galaxy squad could see them right back where they were at the beginning of last month: the fifth and final postseason slot. Clearly, no room for error is the name of the game.
Make no mistake, October can adequately be described as a polar opposite of September from a home and away standpoint. Until the season finale with Philadelphia on October 26th, the Crew will be away from home for the entirety of the month. Firstly, we have the aforementioned clash with the Revs. Then they travel to PPL Park next week to face the Union who “suffered” a 1-1 tie on Thursday night against Chicago, where an 88th minute Amobi Okugo goal that looked like a game-winner was negated in stoppage time by a reply from the Fire. After that, Harrison, NJ beckons as the penultimate game of the year takes place against a New York team that hasn’t lost at Red Bull Arena since May 24 and throttled the Crew 4-1 in their last meeting there on July 12th.
It will be interesting to see if recently acquired central defender Emanuel Pogatetz makes an appearance during this final stretch. There have been rumors that given Tyson Wahl’s solid play recently on the back line in the position formerly occupied by Giancarlo Gonzalez that the Austrian might be shelved until next year. I find it hard to believe that will happen, though, and foresee him coming on as a substitute at some point.
Columbus will need to improve on their overall road form if they want to consolidate and even improve upon their position in the conference. They currently sport a 3-5-6 record away from Crew Stadium. That equates to slightly under 36% of all possible points. If they mirror that trend to close out their away slate, they’ll only come away with three points from the three road games they play in October. If that happens, the home clash with Philly to close out the year could become a must win.
If there’s any possible silver lining to their play away from home, it’s the fact they began the 2014 season going unbeaten in their first three on the road, including consecutive wins. If this team can close out the year with a similar three match run, the playoffs will not only become a crystal clear reality, but a favorable seeding might be in the Crew’s future. One thing’s for sure, there will be a veritable bevy of exciting action throughout the league in its final month of regular season play, with Columbus playing its part as the drive for December’s MLS Cup Final commences.
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