Columbus.- It was just a matter of time.There was no way Sporting Kansas City was going to be able to maintain the ferocious rhythm they imposed during the first thirty minutes of the game. Not because they are not capable, but because this was their fifth game in two weeks. CrewSC took advantage of it to come up with a hard earned victory thanks to a late goal from Jack McInerney.
Every win has an architect, and tonight that was Federico Higuaín. The little maestro put the hard top helmet on and directed the “not again, not at home Kansas City” project from the ground. He is in charge, but the way he contributed from every aspect of the game made the difference.
“He was special tonight. It was a very complete performance by Federico because in my eyes he did it in many different ways, that’s why it was good. He was back in, build up. Controlling the tempo of the game, he was winning tackles, he was up in the box creating chances he was shooting, it was a complete performance by Federico, and it was great to see.”
This is a significant victory for CrewSC and the message they sent to the League tonight was: My jaw got stronger. Kansas City pounded Columbus early and often. Peter Vermes was determined to make his rival choke, not mentally but psychically. When the host tried to play from the back their three forwards (Peterson, De Jong and Dwyer) were chasing defenders like hungry pit bulls. Having the ball was a risk to get a bite, and that’s how they got the early lead. They forced Afful out of position, and De Jong scored freely.
There’s not doubt Kansas City is, tactically, the most disciplined team in the MLS. They stay organized the ninety minutes; they move their lines efficiently and it is rare to see unforced errors in their defensive end. What Coach Gregg Berhalter saw was an opportunity to get them out of their comfort zone. How did he do this? By taking striker Kei Kamara off of the pitch.
“What we wanted to do was to get speed wide. The idea was to keep Ethan[Finlay]in one side Cedrick [Mabwati] in another side, and you see the impact that they had. They draw attention; they draw two guys every single time, and what I felt it did was to open the field up and gave us some more space to operate.”Berhalter explained.
It was not an experiment; it was a bold decision. Kamara was clearly upset when he was subbed, but that anger vanished it when he saw his team getting the three points without him on the field, and without him scoring a goal. How do you call that? DEPTH.
“Part of the message to the guys in the locker room is we are in this together. It’s everyone, and we need contributions form everyone and is not easy to get into the eighteen, not easy to get in the starting eleven but their job is just to keep going, and they’ve been doing a fantastic job, kept working hard and when they guys get the opportunity to step up is really nice to see. I think our three reserves did a fantastic job tonight.”
On Wednesday, Mabwati scored to tie the game. Tonight McInerney scored to win the game. Goals are coming not only from starters.They are coming off the bench too. In this final stretch of the season, when every game is a battle to get into the playoffs, looking at the bench and know that anybody there can jump in and make a difference, gives you a third lung when you need it. Lots of oxygen for the home team tonight and for November too.
