Columbus.- Two wins back to back makes a difference in this League. Before beating Chicago twice in one week, CrewSC was close to falling behind the thin red line. With this six points, they jumped into second place in the Eastern Conference with 30, only behind DC United with 35.
Having to face a team two times with five days to recover is not an easy task, but CrewSC managed to obtain all six possible points. Kei Kamara recognized it and was grateful for the positive result:
“Definitely it wasn’t our best. At some point I even forgot we were a man up. I felt like Chicago was controlling the ball a lot. But again, it’s really good for us to come out with three points and multiple goals. Being at home, always, we have to take three points from those games. Doing it twice against Chicago back to back is definitely good for us” the striker said.
On Wednesday’s game Columbus was sawing the Fire’s defense methodically with deep passes, it took forty-one minutes to find the back of the net. Today? Twelve seconds. Yes, seconds, not minutes. It’s part of the improvement this team is having in the last month. They are penetrating defenses deeper and faster. Of course, they are not going to find themselves a goal up every game before the fifth-minute mark every week, but today they forced it and they executed it perfectly.
The scoreboard shows a 3-1 but Chicago fought the entire game and put up a significant amount of pressure on the home team, especially on the flanks Patrick Nyarko and Jason Johnson. Once again the accuracy played against the Fire. They had nine shots inside the box and converted one while CrewSC scored three times in ten shots. That’s when having the League’s leading scorer in the starting eleven inclines the scale in your favor.
“I have said that Kei fits our system perfectly, and he is the ideal striker to have in our system. The confidence level in the group on their crossing is purely because of Kei Kamara” Gregg Berhalter said “He has been a fabulous addition to our team. His goals and his play has certainly been leading the cause. So we are proud of him, we are proud the he has been able to make such an impact and all the credit goes to him for putting himself in those positions.”
If Ethan Finlay would have a car with a licence plate big enough to fit a quote, it would be the one from the great Jim Valvano: “Don’t give up, don’t ever give up”. Only one player from the CrewSC is in the All-Star game (Kei Kamara). But there’s no question that Finlay belongs to that elite group. Not only because of his numbers (12 assists, six goals) but because what Taylor Twellman said on the broadcast: “ he works relentlessly for 90 minutes.”
Finlay scored in the 83rd minute. It wasn’t based on his usual speed; this time was his positioning. The level of focus he puts in during the entire length of the game makes him a difference maker on this team. Chicago, with a man down for 40 minutes, was very compact on its defense and Columbus couldn’t close the game until the very end. But again, when the League’s leader on goals and the League’s leader in assists are playing on the same team the chances to win this type of games are bigger.
Next week CrewSC will host the Toronto FC and the red hot Sebastian Giovinco in a battle of playoff contenders.
