Columbus.- Nothing went right for Columbus tonight. Two and a half minutes into the game and Gastón Sauro, on his debut, had to be subbed after he collided with Will Trapp. Many will blame it on the absences of Kamara, Francis, and Meram. But the truth is that this 3-0 by FC Dallas was masterfully planned by Oscar Pareja, and it was perfectly executed by his players.
“I think we keep improving. Today, we were tactically impressive. The team showed signs of maturity. We might be young, but we are smart. The kids are growing they were very disciplined today. We’ll keep fighting because there is a long way to go still in this League.” said Oscar Pareja after the game.
FC Dallas shut down Columbus plain and simple. But wait a second, let’s take a look at the stats: Crew SC possession: 67.8%, 11 shots, 24 crosses how did they lose 0-3? If you didn’t watch the game,
these numbers might have you scratching your head.
The possession percentage does not add anything positive if the team is not able to push it forward into the rival’s box. Tonight, Dallas got the lead before the 30th-minute mark. In the second half they gave away the possession built a 5-4 -1 bunker only with Michael Barrios as a loner hit man ready to execute any chance of counter attacks.
Out of the eleven shots, only three went on target and didn’t represent any real danger for Jesse Gonzalez. At some point during the game, it looked like Dallas had 20 players on the pitch. They were compact, and covering every possible angle with a very organized rotation that the only route left for Columbus were: crosses. They crossed the ball twenty-four times with such inaccuracy it was almost sad.
What didn’t work for CrewSC? The list of reasons is long, but these are the top three:
Jack is not Kei, therefore, feed him differently
CrewSC system is designed to play deep with the outbacks and to find Kamara up in the air, as he can go higher than anybody in the League. McInerney is a different animal, the both poachers, but the ball needs to find him as he finds his space behind the center backs. Columbus never found the channels to make him effective up front.
When Finlay is contempt, the offense goes down a notch, or two.
It’s just a matter of time, but it will happen. Jurgen Klinsmann will call Finlay for the National team. But tonight, they were too many red shirts in front of him, and he couldn’t figure a way to get through them. A weakness of his game surfaced tonight: His left foot. At least in three situations he could’ve shot with his left leg but he took those extra seconds to accommodate to the right, and he lost the ball inside the box. And of course, he couldn’t find the space to explode with his speed.
Set pieces.
Adam Jardy from The Columbus Dispatch tweeted this:
“Worth noting: best #CrewSC defender on set pieces this year has been Kei Kamara, and he’s missing tonight.”
There’s one caveat: He is not a defender.
The actual best aerial defender on the roster is Emanuel Pogatetz and for different reasons he is not starting. In the first Dallas goal, two headers took place inside the box. This has been a weakness all year long, and it probably won’t go away.
CrewSC misses its chance to catch DC United at the top of the East. They remain in third place with 41 points. Behind them is New England (40) with one game on hand, and Toronto (37) with two games on hand. There’s absolutely nothing set in the playoff picture yet.
