Columbus.- It rained all day in Columbus. By kickoff time the water stop coming and a much more welcoming rain took place at Mapfre Stadium: a rain of goals. For second consecutive week Crew, SC put a dominating performance on the field. The Philadelphia Union attempted to press the host but, like Orlando, failed and got outplayed and outscored 4-1.
Ethan Finlay was waiting patiently for a night like this. He was getting closer and closer until he finally scored. But before, he assisted Kamara to open the game. I assist, therefore I score (twice). He was fast, furious and effective. The question is how good is this Columbus offense?
“I think we are one of the best offenses in the League” was Finlay’s response. If you go strictly by the numbers, as it tonight, Crew SC leads the MLS in goals scored with 12, and they probably will stay at the top in that department as this week ends.
The reason this offense is working the way it does is because they don’t depend on one player to score. Their entire front court can put the ball in the back of the net. Like tonight, designated player, Federico Higuaín didn’t get a goal, nor an assist and the team scored four times.
“I think our offense was working well since the beginning of the season. The first couple of weeks, we couldn’t finish the situations we generated, but now we are. We hope we can keep it this way. Let’s keep playing the way we do, it’s good for us, for our technical staff and for the fans that come to the stadium” Higuaín explained.
The addition of Kei Kamara elevated the product Gregg Berhalter created last year. The Head Coach took a risk when he signed the Sierra Leone native. Kamara did not have competitive minutes during 2014. Crew SC signed him because of his MLS history, not for his current form, and the gamble is paying off so far: six games, five goals, two assists.
Did anybody expect him to get that kind of production? Yes, Berhalter: “He’s been fantastic, besides the assist and the goal that he had, he was dominating out there tonight. Every ball in the air he was winning, bringing his teammates into the game and .. that’s what we imagined when we signed him.”
The season is still young and nothing is guaranteed, but Crew SC is finding a form that last year (when they reached the semifinals in the Eastern Conference) didn’t quite have. At the post game press Conference, Gregg Berhalter mentioned one substantial word: Championship.
“The goal of the season, is to navigate your way trough the season. You want to be consistent, you want to keep performing, and hopefully at the end of the season, when the playoffs are there you’re peaking at the right time to be able to win a championship”
