Columbus.- Another night without a W. Yes Pipa was out. Yes, the injuries are like a plague for the team. But it’s also true that when this team had their eleven starters on the field they couldn’t win either. Tonight Montreal came to town to play their game: sit back and counter. Their plan was almost perfect but their bad decision taking in the final touch kept them away from getting three points from Mapfre Stadium. On the other side of the pitch, Columbus ran its fuel efficient engine that can’t go fast enough to get full points.
“Our objective was to move them around a little bit more than we did and give them credit for some good defensive shape but we should have them move much more. It was a slow ball circulation, there was guys not body shape receiving the ball, positioning inside between the lines… all those things could’ve been a little bit better.” Gregg Berhalter explained during the post-game press conference.
With a 61.6% possession and 493 passes Crew SC managed to get 1 shot on target in 90 minutes. These numbers don’t lie, the ball rotates too much and ends up in no man’s land. Ethan Finlay played on top with Justin Meram just a few yards behind. They had some moments with great combinations but they were out of sync. Mohammed Saeid filled in for Higuaín (out for two months, hernia repair) and playing him central was a bit uncomfortable for him, less gravitation than when he goes on the left side.
“I like the lineup, I think it got a lot of flexibility in it and we just didn’t execute that but it wasn’t much time to really work with the group, the concepts and we’ll get better, the movements will much more crisp the next game,” Berhalter said.
Not sure if they have considered this option, but Meram plays as central attacking midfielder with Irak and Saeid feels natural playing on the left side. If they trade positions the offensive flow could be open for good. But in Berhalter’s mind, the left wing is a permanent home for Meram.
There are not many more options to shuffle the attacking front court in Columbus. Any more position adjustments will affect their execution. The truth is that they need help from outside sources and with the summer transfer window coming up Berhalter confirmed, without saying a single name that help is on the way:
“We have a very clear objective of what we want to accomplish in that transfer window, I think you guys will see things start to come out in the next couple of days and we want to improve the team, it’s only about trying to get better.”
Columbus Crew
Montreal Impact
