The second of the night for Kamara and the Crew SC
Columbus.- Everything was set for a celebration at Mapfre Stadium. Kei Kamara scored a brace, and he was substituted by Aaron Schoenfeld at the 88th minute so he could receive a standing ovation for scoring the 500th and 501st goals at home. But Chicago never gave up and got the most of the four additional minutes given by the referee. The visitors tied the game 2-2 and silenced Ohio.
Once again, the 2-0 lead prove to be the most dangerous partial result in soccer. The team has an advantage that seems to be enough to earn the victory, but it’s just an illusion; it’s not real until the final whistle blows. In the meantime, complacency checks in and plays a vital role in the match. And that’s when the rival, who’s trailing, starts to dictate the pace and ends up either winning the game or at least tying like Chicago did tonight.
It is not the first time Crew SC becomes a prisoner of its own. Obviously when the team had this successful streak at home, nobody questioned the mental aspect and how they changed the approach when they had the lead. They don’t have that killer instinct to finish the rival to a point that they don’t have a chance to come back.
“I wouldn’t pinpoint mental lapses being the cause for those two goals. Credit Chicago for having those dynamic players that can make plays like that but we have to get better defending in the penalty box. You have to locate guys, put bodies on guys and attack the ball. If you look in those two situations, there were runners that were free in the penalty box. I think that’s the biggest thing that we’re going to take out of this game. Like I said, we move forward,” head coach Gregg Berhalter explained at the press conference.
Prior to the game, Chicago Head Coach Frank Yallop was undecided about what system his team was going to use tonight. He chose the 4-4-2 for two reasons:
-Because the double four closes more gaps against the Crew SC’s offense.
– The two forwards, Accam and Igboananike, are so fast that is hard to contain them, but they also put pressure every time Steve Clark played with his feet.
The Fire not only applied pressure on the final third; they were all over the pitch forcing Columbus to commit turnovers. The home team went under ended up with a 79.7% passing accuracy, 2.5% less than their 82.2% average and Columbus felt that gap. It was a similar scenario than the New York Red Bulls set up when they walked away with a 2-1 victory in their visit at Mapfre Stadium back in April.
Chicago entered this week winless on the road. Columbus was enjoying a winning streak at home. The two forms collided and gave birth to a game that would’ve changed the fate for the visitors but ended up being a soccer lesson for the hosts.
Crew-el ending. Fire peg back two goal deficit in Columbus
Columbus Crew SC vs Chicago Fire Gallery recap
