Columbus.- It was long. It was painful, but the wait for the first victory is over for Columbus. It didn’t come easy, New York outshot them (19 to 15) controlled the possession (52.5% to 47.5%) and ended up playing with a man up (Parkhurst was ejected, mistakenly). It didn’t matter, Crew SC genuinely earned its first three points of the season and they can breathe. The patient received a much-needed shot of confidence straight to the vein.
“It’s a big relief, we played some good games this year we felt unlucky. We just hadn’t put everything together yet and tonight we did enough and it feels good to have a victory under the belt, hopefully, it’s good for the group and gets our confidence going into Houston” Michael Parkhurst said after the game.
How do you win a game when the opponent numbers are better than yours in the two categories that matter the most? It’s not simple, requires an enormous collective effort to not lose focus on the ultimate goal that is to win. But if we are looking for a reason we can find two:
The attacking duo is back
Last year, Kei Kamara and Ethan Finlay were the most prolific offensive duo in the League. Throughout five games in 2016 effectiveness was not riding along with them, and it hurt the team. Before tonight, Kamara had only one goal and Finlay zero. They both scored against New York and you could sense how their anxiety evaporated from the field. Things started to flow naturally, Ethan Flying from the flanks and Kei floating inside the box, the way it should be. The way it used to be.
“I think we are able to move through teams the attack progresses rather quickly and he knows to coming on top, I think sometimes we were to slow to play, back in Chicago game and some other games. There’s frustration, there’s guys wanting to come on the ball, as we were able to play through teams in our spacing gets him the ball quickly and that’s when we are able to be dangerous.” Gregg Berhalter explained at the Post game press conference.
Solid defense and a monster night from Steve Clark
The hosts didn’t miss Gastón Sauro (out for three weeks with a hamstring injury) at the center back position. Tyson Wahl filled in effectively, solid in the air, precise with his passes and clean in the tackles. Waylon Francis showed signs of why he was in the conversation of the best outbacks in the league, but tonight Steve Clark saved his team from what it would have been a disaster. Three key saves were enough to maintain Columbus lead over New York.
Patrick Vieira saw how they were forcing David Villa to shoot always off balance, he barely settled to get a good angle. The Frenchman sent in Poku and Shelton to make a push in the last third, it was working, but Columbus got compact and they ran out of time and space to complete the comeback.
The match ended up with a “unique” situation. In the 86th minute Tyson Wahl fouled Kwadwo Poku, the referee called a penalty kick but showed a red card to Michael Parkhurst. After the game, the officiating crew owned up to mistake. The disciplinary committee will clear up the event in the next few days, but tonight Columbus is all about the celebration of its first triumph.
Columbus Crew
NYCFC
