Columbus Crew

[jlb1705]

Another own goal to end the half, and a penalty after a dive for good measure. 5-0.

[BuckTwenty]

That was a pitiful game to watch. I have NEVER seen a Crew team give up like they did tonight. Came out flat, played like we didn't want it. Lucky that wasn't 7-0.

Wow.

[Bucky Katt]

Wow....I almost delayed bedtime to head downstairs to watch this....glad I didn't. Ouch.....

[jlb1705]

I'm just glad this was in the CCL and not in an MLS match.

[BuckTwenty]

Luckily, we play NYRB this weekend... the last place team in MLS. Need to get our confidence back.

Unluckily, I stayed up to watch that game last night all the way through and felt like hell this morning.

[jlb1705]

Well that was disappointing. The Crew lost 1-0 to Red Bull tonight. Columbus missed a lot of chances and some of their best attacking players on the bench for most of the match. Maybe the match would've gone a little differently if New York hadn't been allowed to get away with so many obvious and flagrant fouls. The artificial surface was also a factor - I'm glad they won't have to contend with that anymore in New York. Still the focus and execution didn't seem to be there tonight. They didn't deserve a win and couldn't salvage a draw.

[jlb1705]

Just got back from today's match vs. Houston. The refs were horrible and had no control over the match. Houston was permitted to get away with cheap [censored] all night. There was one dive they took in the first half where their guy did one of these to get up when the ref's back was turned:

YouTube - Breakdancing Kip Up Tutorial

The Crew - and GBS especially - seemed to pass up a lot of shots, which ended up killing some good chances. They got disorganized in the second half and gave up what was at that point an inevitable equalizer late in the match.

That seemed to wake up the Crew a bit and they got forward a little more and tried to make more of their chances. At that point it probably wouldn't have been enough if not for the mother of all make-up calls resulting in a penalty in stoppage time that was buried for the match winner. I was glad that at least one of my teams would pull out a win on a big sports weekend for me.

There were supposed to be five minutes of stoppage time. After the goal Lenhart got possession on the right side and did the smart thing, carrying the ball to the corner and sitting on it. He did a great job wasting some time down there, frustrating Houston's defenders who started the second scuffle of the night. A man from each side had been sent off in the first scuffle, and they had lost control so completely at that point that when the referee and linesman when to the corner to sort it out, Houston restared play while their backs were turned in the far reaches of the pitch. The entire stadium erupted in protest and they played for what seemed like 45-60 seconds before the ball crossed the touch line on the other side where the remaining linesman could act to stop play. All in all five minutes of stoppage time seemed like it took ten - and it was one of the stranger things I've seen in a soccer match at any level.

With those three points, the Crew remain at the top of the table in the East, and take over the lead for the Supporter's Shield by two points over this very Houston club.

[jlb1705]

I had overlooked this, but the Crew got a huge win in CCL action on Wed., getting a 1-0 win at Saprissa. Gaven scored in the 5th minute on the counterattack, and Hesmer made it stand up. The Crew now have 6 points and are in second place in the group halfway thru the stage. There are four groups and the top two in each group move on to the elimination stage. Columbus is in a pretty decent position to advance.

Perhaps more importantly though, the Crew are playing at Chicago later today. A win would give them certain control of the East as the regular season nears its end. They will be without Chad Marshall for this one - he has a sprained knee.

[Bucky Katt]

Schelotto scored twice in the 2nd half yesterday, helping the Crew salvage a 2-2 draw after being down 2-0 at the half.

Still have 3 point lead on Chicago in the east with a game in hand. Tied with Houston in points for the Supporter's Shield, with 2 games in hand.

[BuckTwenty]

Missed the Chicago game, but BIG time comeback by the Crew. We've gotten saved in the last 2 games by timely PK calls by the ref. The one that happend yesterday should have been a free kick for Chicago and a card issued to Lenhart, but I have no qualms about the ref's decision!

The Crew's 1-0 win at Saprissa was an amazing win. The Crew put together a makeshift lineup (including NO starting defenders in the starting 11... Hejduk and Padula rested, Brunner was serving a red card suspension, and Marshall was injured), got an early lead, and sat on it. Hesmer played a BRILLIANT game to earn the shutout and the win. First time an MLS team has won in Costa Rica and I heard somewhere this might be the first time in qualifying for this tourny that an MLS team won an away game... not sure how credible that is, but huge nonetheless. Bottom line is if we can beat the Islanders and win one of the other two games at home, we're in to the next round in the CONCACAF Champions League.

Crew continues their hell-ish schedule with arguably four of the most exciting matches of the season We'll be hosting Cruz Azul (Sept 23), Los Angeles (Sept 26), Saprissa (Sept 29), and Sigi & the Seattle Sounders (Oct 3) in consecutive games.

[TDG]

I'm a huge fan of the Crew and soccer in general, so now you guys get to have a fourth person to talk about the Crew with.

We got insanely lucky to get the point in Chicago, that definitely wasn't a PK, but we'll just call it karma for the bull[censored] red card Padula got in the home game against them earlier in the season.

We've got a tough, critical stretch remaining in the schedule. Getting home-field advantage in the playoffs is crucial. But at the same time, we're in good position to reach the knockout stage of the CCL. I saw we throw a few less-used players out there against Azul on Wednesday, like Oughton, Grendi, and Renteria. The starters lost to Azul by 5, I doubt the back-ups could do much worse, and it'll keep some guys fresh for the critical game against the Galaxy.

Tactics-wise, I continue to appreciate Warzycha's willingness to go all-out to get comebacks by switching to a 3-5-2. However, I really am tired of the 4-4-2 empty bucket formation we're using. The empty bucket only works when your CDMs are good passers, and Carroll and O'Rourke are not good passers. And they're being pushed too far up the field, leaving our backline exposed and negating the supposed benefits of the empty bucket. While Marshall is injured I'd much rather see O'Rourke play CB (rather than the mistake-prone Andy Iro,) with Carroll and Center Mid. Then we can either place Guillermo at forward behind Lenhart and Garey as the dual strikers, or Moffat can play CM and Schelotto and Moreno can be the strike force.

[Emperor Brutus]

Originally Posted by TDG

I'm a huge fan of the Crew and soccer in general, so now you guys get to have a fourth person to talk about the Crew with.

Awesome

Originally Posted by TDG

We got insanely lucky to get the point in Chicago, that definitely wasn't a PK, but we'll just call it karma for the bull[censored] red card Padula got in the home game against them earlier in the season.

I agree it was a bad call, but it was the least MLS could do to try to make up for what happened earlier this season.

Originally Posted by TDG

We've got a tough, critical stretch remaining in the schedule. Getting home-field advantage in the playoffs is crucial. But at the same time, we're in good position to reach the knockout stage of the CCL.

With good team management we should be able to do both; honestly at this point I'll be disappointed if we don't get the supporter's shield.

Originally Posted by TDG

I say we throw a few less-used players out there against Azul on Wednesday, like Oughton, Grendi, and Renteria. The starters lost to Azul by 5, I doubt the back-ups could do much worse, and it'll keep some guys fresh for the critical game against the Galaxy.

I'm inclined to agree, not because I don't think we can't beat the blue bunnies but because we're in good position right now even with no points against Cruz Azul. I'd settle for bunker ball tomorrow and go for the full three points on Saturday. I think we beat the Islanders in Puerto Rico, and I certainly think we can at least draw with Saprissa at home. We don't need to win the group; lets just make it through and take the shield.

Originally Posted by TDG

Tactics-wise, I continue to appreciate Warzycha's willingness to go all-out to get comebacks by switching to a 3-5-2. However, I really am tired of the 4-4-2 empty bucket formation we're using. The empty bucket only works when your CDMs are good passers, and Carroll and O'Rourke are not good passers. And they're being pushed too far up the field, leaving our backline exposed and negating the supposed benefits of the empty bucket.

I don't like the empty bucket either, I don't even like it when your CDMs have solid ball skills. That said, it's not Bob's forte, I'm not sure he thinks it's the best formation but it's what he has right now.

Originally Posted by TDG

While Marshall is injured I'd much rather see O'Rourke play CB (rather than the mistake-prone Andy Iro,) with Carroll at Center Mid. Then we can either place Guillermo at forward behind Lenhart and Garey as the dual strikers, or Moffat can play CM and Schelotto and Moreno can be the strike force.

If GBS were eight years younger I'd love to see him at CAM, but he does all the running and off the ball work he can up top right now. He'd have to run twice as much at CAM, he'd look good for 45 of his first game there, but he wouldn't stand a chance at lasting three games there. Unfortunatly Moffat just hasn't shown himself to be the same player that he was before his injury, if he was he'd already have taken one of the CM spots. fully healthy my lineup right now...

---------------------------------------Hesmer

Hejduk------------- Brunner------------------------- Marshall-----------------Padula

----------------------------------O'Rouke*

------------------------------------------------Gaven*

Ekpo-----------------------------------------------------------------------------Rogers

-------------------------------GBS
-----------------------------------------------Moreno**

* I like Carroll, but Danny has played better of late. Other than that Gaven can play respectable defense but he? better going forward so he?s best paired with Danny who can be ok on offense but is a natural destroyer. Gaven also looked like a revelation in the middle earlier this season, I?d like to see him there again. If Moffat is fully fit Carroll and Moffat are better paired together as two box to box midfielders. In that setup Brian is more focused on defense and Adam on offence but they are somewhat interchangeable.

** I think Renteria might be able to replace him, but we have to see what he can do first.

[Emperor Brutus]

[Steve19]

I'm not much of a soccer fan, but I must say that I get immense enjoyment out of seeing Columbus at the top of the MLS.

Well done, Crew!

[jlb1705]

It's the only pro team worth a damn in this state.