Columbus.- In their last visit to Mapfre Stadium, Toronto FC felt robbed after Justin Morrow got a red card, and Crew SC beat them 2-0. It was the second week of the tournament, a bit too early to get a conclusive read of what the two teams were capable of. In this second meeting for the Trillium Cup, things are clearer. It will be a clash of fire powers featuring the League’s top two scorers Kamara (14) for the hosts and Giovinco(12) for the visitors. Which shooter will prevail? Will see.
The numbers are in Columbus favor: (11-5-7 against the Reds all time, 8-3-2 at home). They haven’t lost at Mapfre Stadium since June 6th (to Montreal Impact 1-2) however the recent explosion of Sebastian Giovinco raised the respect flags all over the League.
“Definitely people have to respect him. Us, our team, we have to respect him. And he is going top come in here, he’s going to want to play well. But for Us, I have trust in my defense that hopefully it can stop him. Stop him from catching up to me and us create some more [scoring chances]so I can pull away from him” Kei Kamara said on the Crew SC website.
Despite all the offensive hype the Italian is generating, Columbus is “grateful” that Michael Bradley will not be on the field. The USMNT Captain is playing for the third place against Panama in the Gold Cup. His deep passing and anticipation gave Crew SC all sorts of trouble in their previous meeting.
These two teams are direct playoff contenders. Every point they can earn against each other will count at the end of the season on whether who will remain above the red line or below. The Reds are vigorously chasing their first playoff appearance in nine years, and Crew SC is looking for its second consecutive one under Gregg Berhalter.
Fast pace, intensity (hopefully without red cards) and a high scoring game are expected for tonight (2.5 goals scored in 9 of Columbus’s ten home games) Prediction? CrewSC 3-2, with braces from Kamara and Giovinco.
