https://www.massivereport.com/2020/8/17/21372299/columbus-crew-complete-trade-with-fc-cincinnati-for-fatai-alashe-mls-2019

 

GM Bez completed a third trade before the Crew's season restart today.  This one is a trade with FCC for defensive midfielder Fatai Alashe.  The Crew will send a second-round pick in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft back to Cincinnati, who would also receive $50,000 in GAM for the 2021 season if Alashe meets certain performance conditions.

 

So its not exactly a blockbuster-type deal.  But it is emblematic of the active management Tim Bezbatchenko has brought to the Crew since his tenure in Toronto building a championship team.  In the first trade, he addressed a winger depth issue.  In the second trade, he filled a central defense depth spot created by the first trade.  And in the third trade, he addressed a defensive midfield depth issue in which Bez (wisely IMO) choose not to solely rely on a pair of 18-year-olds for the remainder of this season.

And once again, the Crew play at Mapfre tonight - but without fans.  More below:

 

Crew returns to Mapfre Thursday, but without fans

 

The Columbus Crew SC is set to play its first match at Mapfre Stadium since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic – but without fans.  The Crew announced on Monday that fans will not be allowed to attend the Crew's first "Return to Play" match on Thursday against the Chicago Fire.  It also will close its parking lots to supporters, to discourage gatherings.

 

"The club will make an announcement at a later date when it knows more regarding its potential ability to allow supporters at future Crew home matches," the Crew said in a release. ... “We have spent significant time, energy and resources on the development of a robust return to stadium plan that prioritizes the health and well-being of our players, fans and community," Crew General Manager and President Tim Bezbatchenko said in a release.

 

"However, given the current state of the pandemic, we will not be hosting fans at our match this Thursday night." ... "As things develop, we will continue to work with MLS as well as our local government and health authorities to determine whether we will be able to host fans at some point during the season," he said.

 

MORE:  https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2020/08/18/crew-to-return-to-mapfre.html

^ No fans last night in Mapfre, but at least the season got restarted without any issues.

 

Still, without any fans, FSO felt like they needed to do something to hide all those empty seats.  And if you can't spring for actual tarps like the EPL did, you create digital banners (plus you get some additional ad space to sell).  And it was, well, visible, on your viewing device of choice:

 

But enough about the off-the-field stuff, how about the game:

 

GAME 6 of the 2020 "Regular Season":

 

https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2020-08-20-columbus-crew-sc-vs-chicago-fire-fc/recap

https://www.massivereport.com/2020/8/20/21381482/columbus-crew-down-chicago-fire-3-0-in-return-to-home-action

 

First off, Zelarayan was not in the starting lineup or available off the bench.  Apparently he is recovering from an ankle injury he suffered during the MLS is Back Tournament.  Starting GK Room and starting left winger Mokhtar were also not available for this match.

The Crew got an early advantage from Mokhtar's replacement Etienne in the 20th minute.  Etienne was left unmarked by the Chicago defense and was set up beautifully by a deep run and crossing pass from Valenzuela.

It looked like the Crew would add another goal just before halftime when right winger Diaz made a fine move to get past his marking defender and made a quick run into the 18-yard-box until taken down for a penalty kick.  Unfortunately, the PK shot by Zardes missed high and entered the stratosphere.  So it remained 1-0 at halftime.

 

There were some tense moments early in the second half when Chicago had some decent scoring chances and shots-on-goal.  But Room's backup Tarbell made a couple fine saves to keep the game 1-0.  In the 66th minute, Coach Porter made a lineup change to respark the Crew offense.  Defensive midfielder Berhalter came in to replace Diaz.  Berhalter moved into Nagbe's position.  Nagbe moved up into Santos' #10 spot, and Santos moved over into Diaz's right wing spot.  Later in the 74th minute, newly acquired winger Boateng replaced Etienne at left wing.

 

These fresh legs and reworked formation set the stage for the goal-of-the-night in the 81st minute.  Darlington Nagbe, in his new #10 central spot, took a pass from Zardes, popped it up into the air to control it, and blasted the ball into the net with a dazzling shot that kissed the inside of the left post(!)

That incredible Nagbe goal basically clinched the match for the Crew at 2-0.  But with Chicago pressing forward, the Crew added a third goal in the 88th minute on a counter-attack started by Nagbe, and finished by a nifty crossing pass from Santos for a Zardes tap-in.  Pretty stuff.

 

https://www.massivereport.com/2020/8/22/21397106/columbus-crew-caleb-porter-not-concerned-about-chicago-fire-positive-covid-test-mls-2020

 

A bit more about Thursday's game against Chicago.  The Chicago Fire announced AFTER THE GAME(!) that one of their players had a positive COVID-19 test prior to traveling to Columbus.  According to the Fire, no one else in the organization has tested positive or exhibited any symptoms after further testing and the Chicago player who tested positive immediately self-isolated and did not travel with the team to Columbus for Thursday’s game.

 

Despite those wise precautions taken by the Fire, learning about the positive test AFTER THE GAME(!) does lead the Crew to be concerned that someone else could potentially have gotten the virus and passed it on.  However, Coach Porter did say in a Saturday press conference, that all Crew players and staff are tested daily for COVID-19 and that as of Friday no one has tested positive.

^ Because of that positive Chicago Fire test scare, I propose that MLS suspend the 2020 season right now and award the MLS Cup to the team currently in first-place.  Let's look at the current standings:

 

 

Hmm.  It looks like the Columbus Crew are first in the entire league.  I guess they'll just need to award us the MLS Cup, in the name of safety of course.?

 

^ However, in the event that MLS doesn't stop the 2020 season and the Crew aren't awarded the MLS Cup after 6 games - I guess we need to look at tonight's game against NYCFC.  Over the weekend, Coach Porter updated some of the team's injury issues:

 

https://www.massivereport.com/2020/8/22/21397240/caleb-porter-updates-on-lucas-zelarayan-columbus-crew-injuries-mls-2020

 

Apparently, Zelarayan has not trained in full since the Crew returned from Orlando in late July, due to an ankle injury picked up during that tournament.  However, it is thought that Zelarayan might be available in some capacity for Monday's game.  But it might be more likely that he would wait until Saturday's match at Cincinnati to return.

 

Two players that are definitely out for Monday's game are goalkeeper Eloy Room and winger Youness Mokhtar.  They are described as week-to-week with their injuries.

 

One more player unavailable for Monday's game is newly acquired central defender Grant Lillard.  Because Lillard was acquired from the covid hot spot of Miami, he is currently within a 14-day self-quarantine that ends just prior to next Saturday's scheduled match.

GAME 7 of the 2020 "Regular Season":

 

So MLS didn't stop the season and award Columbus the league title.  The Crew flew into NYC on this game day (and will be flying out after the game) as part of the 2020 MLS mandate for all teams to avoid time spent in other markets.  Technically, they were going to Harrison, NJ because NYCFC is playing all their "home games" in NYRB's Red Bull Arena instead of Yankee Stadium for 2020.

 

Because of the quick turnaround from Thursday's match, Coach Porter went with this roster rotation.  Berhalter replaced Artur in the defensive midfield pairing.  Jimenez and Cadden replaced Valenzuela and Afful at the left and right back pairing.  And Keita replaced Williams in the center back pairing.  Also, Zelarayan was unavailable for a second straight match:

It looked like the Crew had gained an early lead in the 10th minute when Jimenez played a ball to Etienne, who quickly cross-passed it to Zardes, who nicely finished with a shot past the NYCFC keeper.  But the play was offside, so no goal for the Crew.

 

The scoring chances and possession were limited for the Crew in the first half due to NYCFC's strategy of tight pressing and frequent fouling - particularly on Nagbe.  It led to an ugly looking game, but the strategy worked for NYCFC because the game ref allowed it continue without issuing multiple yellow cards.  The constant fouling effectively disrupted any extended possession for the Crew.  The game went into halftime scoreless.

 

Early in the second half, NYCFC had two near-misses.  In the 51st minute, a long range shot hit the crossbar, and in the 55th minute, Tarbell needed to come out strongly to disrupt a scoring chance.  But in the 59th minute, a routine CB-to-CB pass was badly misplayed by young Keita that allowed NYCFC to poach an easy goal and take a 1-0 lead.

 

Coach Porter employed a similar second half roster switch that worked in Thursday's match.  This time he brought in Artur for Diaz, and again moved Santos into the Diaz right wing position, while again moving Nagbe up into the #10 position.  It didn't pay off like in Thursday's match, but Santos did get a decent chance in the 82nd minute that was saved by the NYCFC keeper.

 

In the 91st minute, it looked like the Crew tied it up when Adi scored off a nice crossing pass from Afful.  But just like the 10th minute disallowed goal, this play was offside as well.  So NYCFC won 1-0 and the Crew drop their first game in 2020 regular season play.

 

GAME 8 of the 2020 "Regular Season":

 

https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2020-08-29-fc-cincinnati-vs-columbus-crew-sc/recap

https://www.massivereport.com/2020/8/29/21407103/columbus-crew-fails-to-break-through-in-stale-draw-with-fc-cincinnati

 

Hell is Real.  Coronavirus is Real.  0-0 is Real.

 

Good News:  Zelarayan, Mokhtar and Room returned to the lineup.  Got a road point.  Room made three fine saves to preserve that road point and looks fully healed.

 

Bad News:  FCC's bunkering stuffed the Crew offense.  No fans in the stands.  Road point feels like a loss.

 

I am just surprised they have managed to get a season in. I cannot wait till this pandemic is over and the stadium(and surroundings)are built and the Crew are playing in it!  I never thought i would miss sports this much.

Also it will be nice to get to a new "normal" and build a nice healthy rivalry with Cincinnati.

Edited August 30, 20204 yr by Toddguy

^ After the first 20 mins it was clear that game was headed for a 0-0. 

GAME 9 of the 2020 "Regular Season":

 

https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2020-09-02-columbus-crew-sc-vs-philadelphia-union/recap

https://www.massivereport.com/2020/9/2/21419262/columbus-crew-edges-philadelphia-union-with-a-1-0-victory-mls-lucas-zelarayan

 

The Crew were pretty fortunate to get the full three points tonight.  Philly brought in a good young team riding a two-game winning streak and the Crew weathered their strong first-half with some good goalkeeping from Room, good team defense and Nagbe being in the right place at the right time in the 27th minute to clear this Philly shot off the goal line.

 

But a strong second half and a 55th minute moment of magic from Zelarayan was enough to see Columbus through tonight.

The Crew now move to 6-1-2 with 20 points - moving back into first place in the East, two points ahead of Toronto.  The Crew have another game on short rest this Sunday against Cincinnati for the third edition of Hell is Real in 2020.

https://www.dispatch.com/sports/20200903/columbus-crew-allowing-1500-fans-at-sundayrsquos-game-vs-fc-cincinnati

 

According to the above article, it looks like the Crew are dipping their toes into allowing fans back in the stands.  After no fans were allowed in the first covid-era home game on August 20, a maximum of 250 guests and family members of players and staff were allowed to attend Wednesday night’s game.

 

Today, the Crew announced that a maximum of 1,500 tickets will be allotted to season-ticket holders for Sunday's game against FC Cincinnati.  All spectators must wear masks and practice safe social distancing of being 6 feet away from another individual or another group.  No tailgating will be allowed.

 

Gov. Mike DeWine signed a health order last month that gave sports teams the ability to have up to 15% of capacity or 1,500 spectators for outdoor events, whichever would be a fewer amount of spectators.  Mapfre Stadium has a listed seating capacity of 19,968.

If I survive this pandemic I will go to our new stadium and watch the Crew play our new frenemies Cincinnati if it is the last thing I do. 

GAME 10 of the 2020 "Regular Season":

 

https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2020-09-06-columbus-crew-sc-vs-fc-cincinnati/recap

https://www.massivereport.com/2020/9/6/21425530/columbus-crew-overpower-fc-cincinnati-in-another-hell-is-real-win-gyasi-zardes-mls

 

Third match of 2020, and second in 8 days, with in-state rival FC Cincinnati.  Since the 4-0 win over FCC in the MLS is Back Tournament, new FCC head coach Jaap Stam instituted an "extreme defense" game plan.  It led to two FCC victories in the tournament after that 4-0 defeat and has gotten them three 0-0 draws in the season restart.  It hasn't been pretty, but the defense-first strategy has stabilized FCC and gotten them to just below the eastern playoff line going into last night's game in Columbus.

 

For Columbus, they knew exactly what to expect from FCC.  So they knew they would need to be quicker with their ball movement and better with their scoring chances to prevent another 0-0 match with FCC.  And they would need to do it without Zelarayan (out with a nagging ankle injury).  Coach Porter went with Nagbe in Zelarayan's #10 spot and newly acquired midfielder Alashe in Nagbe's normal spot.  Adi also got the start at striker over Zardes, to give the workhorse a bit of a break.

 

After 45 minutes, it looked like we were on the way to another 0-0 result.  But Coach Porter replaced Mokhtar with Diaz to start to second half and the Crew offense was rightly represented by this tweet:

 

In the 52nd minute, Diaz got the scoring started with a great stop-start run to beat his defender and whipped a low crossing ball into the 6-yd box that Nagbe let go though to Santos, who blasted it home to put the Crew up 1-0.

 

Zardes replaced Adi in the 62nd minute and scored on this beautiful finish from Santos in the 64th minute.  Zardes' 'rocking the baby' celebration was a nod to his wife giving birth to their fourth child during the week(!)

 

Then Zardes got his second goal of the night in the 71st minute off a sequence that saw an FCC defender block a Diaz shot from 16 yards out, the FCC keeper block a Zardes shot from 6 yards out, and then Zardes knock in the rebound to put the Crew up 3-0.

 

And with that three-goals-in-19-minute stretch, the game was decided.  The limited attendance crowd of 1500, plus all the Crew fans watching STO, left happy.

 

These first 10 games of this 2020 "season" have been the most unusual 10-game stretch ever.  But unusual as it has been, its also been historic for the Crew.  The 7-1-2 record is the best start in team history.  And after last Sunday's win over FCC, the Crew stand atop the Eastern Conference and the entire league.  The Crew have the best goal difference (+14) and the least goals against (2) by a good margin.  Of the 10 games played, the Crew have had 8 clean sheets(!)

 

 

And so it is no surprise that the Crew were also atop the weekly power rankings issued by MLS and ESPN on Monday:

GAME 11 of the 2020 "Regular Season":

 

https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2020-09-12-chicago-fire-fc-vs-columbus-crew-sc/recap

https://www.massivereport.com/2020/9/12/21434269/columbus-crew-come-from-2-0-to-get-a-draw-at-the-chicago-fire-gyasi-zardes

 

Okay, so I was a little p.o.'d at MLS rescheduling Saturday's Crew at Chicago match from evening to afternoon.  Then, they switched it from FSO/STO to a nationally broadcast game on Univision.  The nationally broadcast part was certainly fine, but having it broadcast in Spanish was no bueno.  Mostly because bueno is one of the few Spanish words I understand.  To be fair - Univision did offer an english commentary twitter feed (which I did use during the game) and some TV's offer a SAP function to get the english commentary with the standard broadcast (mine either doesn't or I don't know how to use it).

 

Anyway, then the game start got delayed from 3:30 to 3:55PM for no announced reason.  Then the lineups came out and both Zelarayan and Nagbe were not in the Starting 11 or the GameDay 18(!)  Then, after rightfully bragging about the Crew giving only 2 goals in their first 10 games, the Crew apparently forgot how to play defense for a three-minute stretch early in the first half when Chicago scored in the 11th minute and 14th minute on two nearly identical low crossing passes into the 6-yd box to virtually unmarked players.

 

Well, after all that, and with the Crew down 2-0 at halftime, I was ready to pack it in and not watch the second half.  Good thing I didn't.

 

The Crew offense looked more dangerous after halftime with some decent scoring chances.  However, the Fire held firm until the 68th minute, when it looked like Zardes headed in a corner kick:

However, the Zardes headed ball actually went off the face of Alashe into the net(!)  That's right, HIS FACE:

However the goal was scored, it gave the Crew fans some hope to escape Chicago with a standings point (or three).  But as the second half regulation time was ebbing away, it looked like Chicago might hold on to their one-goal lead.  Until the 88th minute, when two second-half subs combined on a counter-attack that saw Mokhtar blast a shot outside the 18-yard box - get blocked by a Chicago defender - but then deflect onto the feet of Zardes inside the 18-yard box - who blasted it past the Chicago keeper for the 2-2 equalizer(!)  But the most interesting thing about the play was that Zardes used a Butt Trap to control the ball before he took the shot:

 

So the game ended 2-2 and the Crew got a road point.  And this was after:

- not starting two of their most important players

- giving up two early goals in a three-minute stretch to go down 2-0

- scoring their equalizing goals with someone's face and someone's butt

 

So, yeah.  We'll take the draw.  ?⚽?

 

With Saturday's match at Chicago, the last of the six games in Phase One of MLS' 2020 return to play schedule finished.  So MLS announced the next three games of its Phase Two schedule:

 

The Crew is set to host Nashville on Saturday, Sept. 19 and Minnesota on Wednesday, Sept. 23.  The Crew will then travel for a Sunday, Sept. 27 at "Toronto" — which is actually a match at UCONN's football/soccer stadium in Hartford, Connecticut.  Toronto is playing this "home game" in the U.S. because of Canadian border restrictions due to COVID-19.

 

The Saturday Sept. 19 game against Nashville will be the Crew's first MLS regular season match with the 2020 expansion team.  One of the SaveTheCrew leaders wondered if Nashville will be wearing their all-yellow kits in the home of the original all-yellow soccer team.  If so, Morgan Hughes may have over-promised on twitter:

 

GAME 12 of the 2020 "Regular Season":

 

https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2020-09-19-columbus-crew-sc-vs-nashville-sc/recap

https://www.massivereport.com/2020/9/19/21447168/columbus-crew-edges-nashville-sc-in-return-to-winning-ways-gyasi-zardes-pedro-santos

 

The good news going into last night's match was that the Crew were rockin' the banana kits, while Nashville wore the Acoustic Blue kit (that's their actual name for the dark blue in their blue and yellow color scheme).  So Morgan Hughes didn't need to set himself on fire(!)

 

The bad news was that both Nagbe and Zelarayan were not in the starting lineup again.  Although Zelarayan was on the bench in the GameDay18.  Without two of Crew's best offensive players, the first half was a rather uneventful 45 minutes.  But some outstanding individual play from Gyasi Zardes early in the second half broke the game open for the Crew.

 

In the 50th minute, Zardes made a fine defensive play to dispossess a Nashville player near the left sideline.  After gaining the ball, Zardes drove to the left side of Nashville's 18-yd box.  Then, as the defense converged on Zardes, he slipped a pass to a wide-open Santos in the center about 15 yards from goal - which he deftly curved past the keeper to put the Crew up 1-0.

The Crew held on to that one-goal lead for the rest of the second half as Nashville pressed for an equalizer.  Zelarayan entered the game in the 70th minute to replace Santos at the CAM position.  And in stoppage time (92') Zelarayan began a 4-on-3 counter-attack(!) and passed the ball to Artur on the right, who sent a low cross to the front of Nashville's 6-yd box, that Zardes back-footed past the keeper for the Crew's insurance goal to go up 2-0.  Like the Crew twitter feed said, straight cheeky from gyasinho(!)

 

https://www.massivereport.com/2020/9/22/21451115/columbus-crews-final-nine-games-of-mlss-2020-regular-season-announced-fc-cincinnati-d-c-united

 

MLS announced the final nine games of this 2020 "regular season".  Below is the schedule to Crew will play after tonight's match hosting Minnesota and next Sunday's match "at Toronto" — which is actually at UCONN's football/soccer stadium in Hartford, Connecticut.

 

Some roster news about tonight's match against Minnesota:

 

-- Minnesota added 36-year-old striker Kei Kamara to their roster in a trade from Colorado:  Yes,THAT Kei Kamara.  The Kei Kamara who was our totally awesome MVP striker during our run to the 2015 MLS Cup - and then left in an ugly way in 2016.  The Kei Kamara who is now playing for his 8th MLS team(!)  The Kei Kamara who seems to face us every single season since 2016 (usually with a different team) and usually scores against us(!)  THAT Kei Kamara.

 

-- Zelarayan is back in the lineup after missing two matches with a grade 1 MCL injury.  He entered Saturdays' match in the 70th minute and assisted on the final goal in stoppage time.  No word if he will start or be available as a sub for tonight's match.

 

-- Nagbe had scope surgery to his knee last week for a meniscus injury that might keep him out for 2-3 weeks.  He had missed two previous matches before having this surgery.

GAME 13 of the 2020 "Regular Season":

 

https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2020-09-23-columbus-crew-sc-vs-minnesota-united-fc/recap

https://www.massivereport.com/2020/9/23/21453518/columbus-crew-holds-firm-earns-ninth-win-of-2020-against-minnesota-united-lucas-zelarayann-mls

 

Zelarayan started this game, with Santos on wing and Zardes at striker - a potent offensive triad.  And yes, Kei started for the Loons.  For the first half-hour of the first half, the Crew dominated possession but the scoring chances were slim.  Until the 31st minute, when Santos saw Zelarayan making a run into the Minnesota box.  Santos left-footed a beautiful arcing pass that Zelarayan got his head (and his whole body) behind for a dazzling Kamara-esque header to put the Crew up 1-0:

The Crew nearly went up two goals on two Diaz chances late in the first half.  In the 44th minute, Santos fed a low cross to Diaz about 12 yards in front of Minny's net - but the shot was just a bit high.  Then in the first minute of first half stoppage time, Artur found Diaz down the right side, who then beat his marking defender into the box and was fouled - thus earning a penalty kick.  Unfortunately, the PK taken by Zelarayan was hit high(!) - so the score remained 1-0 at halftime.

 

The Crew also dominated possession in the second half but, once again, the scoring chances were slim.  Until a fine bit of individual work from Santos in the 70th minute put the Crew up 2-0:

With that insurance goal, it looked like the Crew would easily play out the final 20' and notch a "dos a cero" in the home of said scoreline.  But an 88th minute goal from Minnesota stymied another clean sheet game for the Crew.  Then, in the third minute of stoppage time, the Crew narrowly avoided giving up the win, as Minnesota thought they grabbed an equalizer goal.  However, there was an immediate whistle and the linesman raised the offside flag.  Although, looking at the replay, it was a very close call(!)

 

But with all the late game bad luck the Crew endured in 2019, they had some good luck karma due in 2020.  So, yeah, we'll take the home win to go 9-1-3 on the season.  With 30 points, the Crew are five points clear of Toronto, Philadelphia and Orlando in the Eastern Conference standings.

 

P.S.:  It looks like we finally got past the 'Kei Curse' - as Kei started, did not score, and we won(!)

As the Crew gear up for their third game in nine days "at Toronto" in Hartford - here's some injury news:

 

-- Zelarayan was a second-half sub who went 25 minutes in last Saturday's match and a starter who went 77 minutes in Wednesday's match.  Unknown how or if Porter will use him on Sunday, but given the Crew's current midfield situation (more on that below) it would be great if they could get something from him against a strong Toronto FC squad.

 

-- Defensive midfielder Fatai Alashe exited in the 19th minute of Wednesday's game after trainers came onto the field in the 16th minute to examine his right knee.  According to a report in the Dispatch, Porter said he didn’t know Alashe’s condition, but said “he's probably got a little strain.”  Alashe, who has been starting in place of the injured Nagbe, was replaced by Sebastian Berhalter.

 

18-year-old Berhalter played well, but this was why Alashe was acquired last month - to provide defensive midfield depth and prevent young Berhalter from being thrown into key MLS games, like Sunday's Toronto match.  And given the way Alashe looked after his injury, I'd guess that Berhalter will be in the starting lineup on Sunday.

GAME 14 of the 2020 "Regular Season":

 

https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2020-09-27-toronto-fc-vs-columbus-crew-sc/recap

https://www.massivereport.com/2020/9/27/21459082/columbus-crew-falls-on-the-road-to-toronto-fc-in-disappointing-performance

 

It was a tale of two halves in Hartford(Toronto) - both on the field and on the screen.  On the field, the Crew went with a nearly identical lineup as their mid-week win, subbing Jimenez for Valenuela as the only change.  On the screen, FSO gave us a nice picture for the first 17 minutes, but without the on-screen game clock.  Then in the 18th minute, they added the game clock - only to have the game feed go to black seconds later(!)  Here's what it looked like before they slapped on the "Technical Difficulties" graphic:

To make matters worse, because of COVID restrictions, the FSO Crew announcers were calling the game remotely.  And so they couldn't see the game action either(!!)  So, this went on for about 10 minutes of game time, while Crew twitter racked up the jokes.  The jokes went from groan-inducing:

To more groan-inducing:

To less groan-inducing:

To spot-on brilliant:

Meanwhile, the Crew were having a good first half and putting pressure on Toronto.  The pressure finally gave way to a 40th minute own-goal from Toronto (fortunately after FSO got the game feed back up!).  Defender Chris Mavinga was the unlucky Reds player to commit the own-goal.  Or, as one twitter user called it, a Mavinga Bazinga:

Then the second half started with the Crew up 1-0.  And everything switched.  The on-screen FSO game feed was flawless.  But the on-field Crew performance was not.  Toronto came out on fire and scored an equalizer in the 48th minute, a go-ahead goal in the 59th minute, and an insurance goal in the 76th minute to win 3-1.

 

Comparing the first half stats with the second half stats tells the tale.  Here are the halftime stats which show the Crew dominance in the first half:

 

And here are the final game stats which show the Toronto dominance in the second half:

 

The Crew conceded more goals in this game than any other game this season.  They drop to 9-2-3 but remain at 30 points, two points ahead of Toronto, Philadelphia and Orlando at second place in the Eastern Conference.  No mid-week matchup this week, as the Crew will travel to Texas for a Saturday night match at FC Dallas.

GAME 15 of the 2020 "Regular Season":

 

https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2020-10-03-fc-dallas-vs-columbus-crew-sc/recap

https://www.massivereport.com/2020/10/3/21500528/columbus-crew-ties-dallas-earns-road-point-santos-zelarayan

 

Okay, first the standard game recap from last night's match in Frisco, TX.  The Crew had the better play and scoring chances in the first half, until Dallas struck first on the really beautiful goal in the 38th minute to go up 1-0.  Later in the first half, Zelarayan had a scoring chance near the Dallas goal, but his footwork got tangled up and he awkwardly crashed to the turf after attempting a shot - injuring himself.  After a halftime evaluation, 18-year-old Aidan Morris subbed in for Zelarayan to start the second half with FCD up 1-0.

 

The Crew quickly equalized in the 47th minute on a Afful crossing pass that deflected past Santos in the middle of the box to an unmarked Mokhtar at the left of the box, who did not miss his wide-open chance to put the ball in the back of the net:

But in the 51st minute, infamous MLS ref Ted Unkel got his first chance to screw up the game.  An FCD crossing ball played into the Crew box got headed really high.  While Afful tried to run under the ball, the FCD player who headed it tried to shield Afful from getting to the ball and in the process Afful went over the back of the Dallas player and was given a foul by Unkel and awarded Dallas a penalty kick.  Dallas converted the PK to take a 2-1 lead.

 

In the 57th minute, it looked the Crew re-tied the game on a fine finish by Zardes from a Diaz crossing pass.  But he got "Unkled" again, when VAR had Unkel look at a possible Zardes offside before the goal.  Although the two replay angles did not give a conclusive view, Unkel ruled offside and disallowed the Crew goal.

 

Fortunately, in the 62nd minute, the Crew equalized 2-2 on a goal even Unkel couldn't disallow.  Valenzuela slipped a pass that second-half sub Boateng ran onto and crossed the ball through the 6-yd box that Santos blasted home:

The Crew had some more injury drama shortly after equalizing, when goalkeeper Eloy Room appeared to injure his knee.  He was subbed out in the 71th minute for backup Andrew Tarbell.  Neither team had any great scoring chances to finish out last night's match and it ended 2-2, with the Crew getting a road point.

Now for non-standard game recap of last night's match at FC Dallas:

Soccer in Texas - its come a long way.  But not far enough, unfortunately.  Those high school football markings on an MLS soccer field were embarrassing.  Even moreso because this Hunt Family-owned stadium is also the home to the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame(!)

And then there was referee Ted Unkel.  When long-time Crew TV broadcaster Neil Sika announced the game refs and said, "and the head referee is Ted Unkel", a collective groan was heard throughout the Crew community.  Particularly since it seems like Unkel refs so many Crew games(!)

There is a reason MLS fans coined the term "Getting Unkeled".  And it happened again to the Crew last night.  A questionable foul in the box that gave a PK goal to Dallas.  A disallowed Crew goal on a questionable offside replay review.  A yellow card given to Room before the questionable PK.  A yellow card given to Coach Porter(!) for loudly complaining about what a terrible ref Unkel was from the sideline(!) - you could clearly see and hear Porter saying "you've got to be f-ing kidding" at one of Unkel's calls(!!)

 

And Crew twitter did not disappoint with the Unkel roasting last night:

 

So, with this road draw, the Crew are 9-2-4 after 15 games and have 31 points.  Still first in the East and the league, but now only by a +5 goal differential over Toronto, who has an identical record.  Another mid-week match upcoming for the Crew, when Montreal comes to Columbus on Wednesday.

 

But of equal concern is that both Zelarayan and Room had to leave Saturday's game with injuries.  Room's looked like a knee injury, with an unknown impact on his availability.  Zelarayan could have a speculative hamstring injury with an also unknown impact on his availability.

 

If Room and Zelarayan are unavailable for upcoming games, they would join Nagbe, Alashe and Adi on the growing list of injured players for the Crew.

The Crew made a surprise signing that was announced Monday afternoon just hours before the European transfer window closed for the fall.  31-year-old Hungarian striker Krisztian Nemeth was signed by the Crew for at least the remainder of the 2020 MLS season:

 

https://www.massivereport.com/2020/10/5/21502757/columbus-crew-sign-forward-krisztian-nemeth

 

Nemeth first played in MLS in 2015 with Sporting Kansas City before signing with Qatari club Al Gharafa.  After playing 26 games in the Middle East, Nemeth joined the New England Revolution in 2017 followed by a return to Kansas City for the 2018 & 2019 seasons.  The Hungarian striker appeared in 82 MLS games (starting 52) with 20 goals and 12 assists over five MLS seasons before signing with a Slovakian team for the 2020 season.

 

This addition of Nemeth gives the Crew extra depth at striker behind Gyasi Zardes.  His signing also augments the previous 2020 veteran striker signing of Fanendo Adi, who has been indefinitely sidelined with an ab strain (e.g. pulled groin) and might not be available for the remainder of this season.

GAME 16 of the 2020 "Regular Season":

 

https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2020-10-07-columbus-crew-sc-vs-montreal-impact/recap

https://www.massivereport.com/2020/10/7/21507019/columbus-crew-falls-at-home-for-the-first-time-losing-to-the-montreal-impact-mls

 

The Crew fell 2-1 to Montreal in a disappointing midweek match on Wednesday at Mapfre.  Although the Crew were without Room, Zelarayan and Nagbe, they still looked better on paper then a struggling Montreal team.  And the Crew did pretty much dominate in possession and shots to start the game.

 

But it was Montreal that scored first in the 24th minute when a player broke through to bang a shot off the crossbar, have it deflect to another Montreal player, who deflected it onto Afful's arm, then deflect back to the same player, who shot it into the Crew goal.  After some post-goal confusion by the ref, Montreal was awarded the goal to go up 1-0.

 

The Crew equalized 1-1 just before halftime in the 44th minute on a beautiful set-up from Santos in the middle to Valenuela on the left one-timing a crossing pass into the 6-yd box that Zardes finished with his chin(!)

 

The Crew continued to have the better possession and shots in the second half.  But once again, it was Montreal that came through with the goal.  Although not without some assistance from the VAR and game ref.  For the second game in a row, the Crew were victimized by an opponent not trying to play the ball in the Crew box and instead leaning into a Crew defender, who was trying to play the ball, and then flopping on contact.  This one was even worse than the Unkel call at Dallas because the ref didn't deem it to be a foul during game play.  But the VAR instructed him to review it after an additional minute of game play, and then he awarded a PK to Montreal - which they converted for a 2-1 lead in the 74th minute.

 

Its no wonder a Crew fan tweeted this:

The Crew didn't seem to have much energy left in the final 15+ minutes and the 2-1 Montreal lead held.  So this tweet accurately sums up the Wednesday match:

With the loss, the Crew falls to 9-3-4 and out of first place in the Eastern Conference.  Columbus is now in third place on goal differential - tied with Philadelphia on points.  Things remain tight in the East with Toronto at 34 points, Columbus and Philly at 31 points and Orlando at 30 points.  The Crew travel to Orlando for a 7:30PM Sunday match.

Tonight's Crew game at Orlando has been postponed after two Crew staff members tested positive for COVID-19:

 

https://www.massivereport.com/2020/10/10/21511081/breaking-crew-vs-orlando-city-postponed-columbus-coronavirus-mls

 

"Sunday’s scheduled match for the Columbus Crew on the road against Orlando City has been postponed until further notice.  The decision was announced late Saturday night that Columbus’ match is postponed along with FC Dallas’ game against Minnesota United."

 

"According to the team’s website, the decision to delay came after two Crew staff members had confirmed positive tests for COVID-19 on Friday.  Saturday’s training session was suspended and the team has now undergone extensive contact tracing to go along with multiple health and safety protocols."

 

"The next step before the team finds out when this match against Orlando City will be played is to find out if coronavirus spread from these staff members to other people around the club.  The team, coaches, staff members and more will have to undergo more tests over the next few days to determine if the virus has spread."

The timing of tonight's postponement with Orlando comes during a congested stretch of games for MLS to end the regular season:

• The Crew have a Wednesday 10/14 match scheduled at Cincinnati
• Then a Sunday 10/18 match hosting NYCFC.
• Then no mid-week game until Saturday 10/24 with a match at Houston.
• Then a Wednesday 10/28 match at D.C.
• And then the two "Final Sunday's" of the MLS season on 11/1 and 11/8, when every team plays at the same time.

It's unknown if the Crew will need to postpone any additional games.  But assuming no postponements for next Wednesday's FCC game and the following NYCFC game - about the only space available to reschedule tonight's Orlando game would be during a mid-week date between scheduled 10/18 and 10/24 matches.  That mid-week space is also available to Orlando, who also play on 10/18 and 10/24.

 

If a mid-week date between 10/18 and 10/24 doesn't happen, both teams do still have the mid-week between the two "Final Sunday's" of 11/1 and 11/8.  But using that mid-week is much less desirable because it would leave both the Crew and Orlando at a competitive disadvantage versus the rest of MLS in those two "Final Sunday's".  In fact, I think MLS would more likely just cancel tonight's postponed match instead of forcing both teams to play between 11/1 and 11/8.

 

But this is sports in 2020 during the COVID pandemic.  We'll see what happens.

On 10/11/2020 at 1:14 PM, Columbo said:

Tonight's Crew game at Orlando has been postponed after two Crew staff members tested positive for COVID-19:

 

https://www.massivereport.com/2020/10/10/21511081/breaking-crew-vs-orlando-city-postponed-columbus-coronavirus-mls

 

"Sunday’s scheduled match for the Columbus Crew on the road against Orlando City has been postponed until further notice.  The decision was announced late Saturday night that Columbus’ match is postponed along with FC Dallas’ game against Minnesota United."

 

"According to the team’s website, the decision to delay came after two Crew staff members had confirmed positive tests for COVID-19 on Friday.  Saturday’s training session was suspended and the team has now undergone extensive contact tracing to go along with multiple health and safety protocols."

 

"The next step before the team finds out when this match against Orlando City will be played is to find out if coronavirus spread from these staff members to other people around the club.  The team, coaches, staff members and more will have to undergo more tests over the next few days to determine if the virus has spread."

 

Looks like Wednesday's game at Cincinnati is still on after no new COVID cases from three sets of tests since two team operations staff members tested positive on Friday.  The team resumed training on Monday.  No news yet on when (or if) Sunday's postponed game at Orlando will be rescheduled:

 

https://www.dispatch.com/story/sports/mls/columbus-crew/2020/10/12/columbus-crew-no-new-covid-19-cases-team-resumes-training-monday/5967296002/

GAME 17 of the 2020 "Regular Season":

 

https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2020-10-14-fc-cincinnati-vs-columbus-crew-sc/recap

https://www.massivereport.com/2020/10/14/21516965/columbus-crew-falls-to-fc-cincinnati-for-first-time-in-mls-history-hell-is-real

 

If last Wednesday's 2-1 loss to Montreal was "a sad game", then this Wednesday's 2-1 loss at Cincinnati was even sadder.  First, you had the obligatory bad PK call against the Crew.  This one came in the 17th minute on a collision between the Crew keeper and an FCC player that was even more then the two bad PK calls in the previous two matches.  But I'm not even mad about Cincy going up 1-0 on the PK conversion because FCC played better then the Crew in the first 20 minutes - plus the Crew got a PK call of their own (on a legit foul in the box) to equalize in the 45th minute going into halftime.

 

The second half is what was really sad about "Hell is Real: The Quatro - 2020 Strikes Back".  The Crew had a chance to gain a key road victory with a good final 45'.  Instead, Cincy gets a 2nd goal in the 49th minute (on a really nice header from a free kick).  Which allows FCC to implement a Jaap Stam park the bus defense, that the Crew didn't come close to breaking down with Zelarayan and Nagbe still out of the lineup.

 

Only four games ago, the Crew were 9-1-3 and vying for the Supporters Shield.  In the last four games, they've gone 0-3-1 and are now tied for 3rd in the East with Orlando.  Columbus hosts NYCFC on Sunday.

GAME 18 of the 2020 "Regular Season":

 

https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2020-10-18-columbus-crew-sc-vs-new-york-city-fc/recap

https://www.massivereport.com/2020/10/18/21522270/columbus-crew-gets-back-to-winning-ways-against-new-york-city-fc

 

The Crew put together a much better showing (on shorter rest) hosting NYCFC on Sunday.  Still no Zelarayan or Nagbe - but the team was much more aggressive from the start with better possession and pressuring the NYCFC defense.  It paid off in the 26th minute when Artur pounced on a loose ball in the box to put the Crew up 1-0.  This was Artur's second-ever MLS goal, and was his first MLS regular-season goal.  His other MLS goal?  It was during the 2017 Eastern Conference Semifinals — also against NYCFC(!)

That very rare Artur goal was a result of the normally defensive midfielder playing further forward to compensate for the loss of Nagbe and Zelarayan.  The second Crew goal came just after halftime in the 50th minute from another player pressed into offensive midfield duty when Pedro Santos drove home a crossing pass from Etienne to put the Crew up 2-0.

Unfortunately, the Crew couldn't make it easy as NYCFC got on the board in the 55th minute with a goal off a header from a set piece to halve the lead 2-1.  NYCFC dominated possession for the rest of the second half.  But the Crew defense kept NYCFC away from the prime scoring spots.  NYCFC shots came from a distance and were either blocked by Crew defenders or handled by Crew keeper Andrew Tarbell (replacing Eloy Room for a fourth straight game).

 

The clincher came off a counter-attack in stoppage time when Artur was fouled in the box.  The PK was converted in the 93rd minute by Zardes (eventually) when his initial PK shot was stopped by the NYCFC keeper, but deflected back to him for an easy tap-in to give the Crew a 3-1 win.

 

This home win moves Columbus to 10-4-4 with 34 points and clinches a playoff berth.  They now sit in third place in the Eastern Conference, a point behind Philly and five behind Toronto.

 

The next game is at Houston on Saturday 10/24, then at D.C. on Wednesday 10/28.  The final week will feature three games:  Sunday 11/1 hosting Philadelphia; the rescheduled game at Orlando on Wednesday 11/4; then the regular-season finale hosting Atlanta on Sunday 11/8.

Both Zelarayan and Nagbe (plus Room) missed their fourth straight game on Sunday.  Tarbell seems to be an adequate replacement for Room in goal - but the loss of the two key midfielders has been harder to replace.

 

Santos moved into Zelarayan's #10 spot - much like he did last season when Higuain was injured.  And so it was very concerning when Santos had to be replaced in the 65th minute of Sunday's game due to injury, after going down once, attempting to continue, and then going down a second time.  Mokhtar replaced Santos to see out Sunday's game, but that's a less than ideal situation.  Below is the Dispatch's Crew reporter on what Porter said about these midfield injuries:

 

https://www.massivereport.com/2020/10/20/21524879/mls-announces-columbus-crew-orlando-city-match-rescheduled-for-nov-4

 

MLS announced that the Crew's postponed game at Orlando will be played on Wednesday, November 4.  With that game time set, here are the final five games of the 2020 regular season for the Crew:

Of note is that the Sunday, November 1 - 3:30pm game against Philadelphia will be shown nationally on ABC, instead of the regional FSO/STO channels.  As of today, this would be a matchup between the #2 and #3 teams in the East.

 

Below are the Eastern Conference standings going into this weekend's games, along with the East's playoff format and tiebreak rules for 2020:

 

GAME 19 of the 2020 "Regular Season":

 

https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2020-10-24-houston-dynamo-vs-columbus-crew-sc/recap

https://www.massivereport.com/2020/10/24/21532436/columbus-crew-draws-dynamo-1-1-in-trip-to-houston-mls

 

The Crew got some good news on the injury front with Nagbe, Zelarayan and Room returning to the gameday lineup.  Room and Nagbe were in the starting lineup, while Zelarayan was on the bench and subbed in at halftime.  But then Zardes was scratched from the lineup due a knee injury he picked up in training (which is said to be minor and he is expected to be out a week).  So the newly acquired Nemeth took over his striker role (because apparently Adi is also injured - again).

 

Road games have been a problem for the 2020 Crew.  The MLS COVID protocol of flying into the road city on the morning of the evening match doesn't help, but they've put in some road sluggish efforts.  Saturday night's first half was another one.  The offense didn't generate any shots-on-target and the defense didn't stop Houston from getting some good scoring chances.  The home team finally broke through in the 37th minute when the wonderfully named Memo Rodriguez one-timed a crossing pass that was initially blocked by Room, but the rebound was tracked down by Rodriguez for a tap-in.

 

The Crew had a better second half with more effort and more scoring chances.  It eventually resulted in an own-goal from Houston in the 67th minute when Diaz zinged a low crossing pass to Nemeth making a dangerous run to the 6-yd box.  Two Houston defenders tried to stop the pass and one ended up deflecting past his keeper's ear and into the net.

That tied the game 1-1 and that was how it ended.  Not a win, but not a bad result given how the Crew played.  The Crew were outshot 24-8 and only managed one shot-on-target (which came in the 82nd minute!).  Houston defenders actually had two shots-on-target to their own net - doubling the Crew total(!)  So we'll take the road point.

 

That road point puts the third-in-the East Crew up three points on Orlando (who suffered a road loss at Miami) and six points behind both Philadelphia and Toronto (after Philly trounced Toronto 5-0 on Saturday!).  But the Crew does have one game-in-hand against both top-of-the-table East teams.  The Crew head to D.C. for a Wednesday road match.

GAME 20 of the 2020 "Regular Season":

 

https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2020-10-28-dc-united-vs-columbus-crew-sc/recap

https://www.massivereport.com/2020/10/28/21539172/columbus-crew-fall-1-0-to-d-c-united-as-road-woes-continue-mls-2020

 

When I saw this was the Crew starting lineup for Wednesday's match, I wondered if that was going to be enough for a road win at DC.  Although DC has been a bottom-of-the-table team this year, they have won their last two games:

Well make it three wins in a row for DC now.  Because DC scored in the 32nd minute to go up 1-0 -- and the Crew never could get an equalizer.

 

After an offensively punchless first half, Porter subbed in Nagbe and Zelarayan in the 56th minute and then additional offensive-for-defensive subs later in the second half.  But it never amounted to much of a push.  The closest they would come is a Nemeth header that beat the DC keeper but skipped just over the crossbar in the 73rd minute.

 

So the Crew are tied at 35 points with Orlando and holding a tiebreak for third-place going into their next two key matches - hosting first-place Philadelphia on Sunday and at fourth-place Orlando next Wednesday.

 

Going into the final three games of this seaston, the Crew need to reintegrate Nagbe, Zelarayan and hopefully Zardes into the lineup, because they haven't just picked up where they left off.  With 1st and 2nd-place in the East off the table, getting more consistent and impactful play is only thing that will keep the Crew in the Top 4 for the playoffs.

GAME 21 of the 2020 "Regular Season":

 

https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2020-11-01-columbus-crew-sc-vs-philadelphia-union/recap

https://www.massivereport.com/2020/11/1/21544838/columbus-crew-records-gutsy-important-win-against-philadelphia-union-krisztian-nemeth-luis-diaz

 

The Crew were 1-4-2 in their previous 7 games going into this nationally televised home match against Philadelphia, the top team in the East and the entire league - (oh boy)  But the Crew got back Zardes, Nagbe and Zelarayan into the starting lineup for this first time since Sept. 6 - (oh yeah!)

 

Although Z, Z and Nagbe brought back some life to the Crew offense - Philly's high press caused some miscues from the Crew defensive backline - leading to scoring chances in the first half that Eloy Room needed to be sharp to keep the game scoreless.  The Crew got on the scoreboard first in the 37th minute on a zippy 20+yd strike from Artur:

In the 57th minute of the second half, Philly caught the Crew backline on a quick attack that saw Mensah foul the attacking player inside the 18-yd box.  The PK awarded to Philly was converted to equalize at 1-1.  With a chance to virtually clinch the 2020 Supporters Shield, Philly kept up the pressure for a second goal.  But instead it was the Crew that got a second goal off a quick counter-attack in the 84th minute.  Second-half sub Luis Diaz moved the ball quickly up the right side, while second-half sub Krisztian Nemeth made a run up the middle.  While Diaz drove deep, Nemeth shifted his run toward the left post.  Diaz's crossing pass was inches from the outstretched Philly goalkeeper and found Nemeth unmarked at the left post, who neatly finished it into the back of the Philly net to give the Crew a 2-1 win!

A very nice win for the Crew with Zardes, Nagbe and Zelarayan back in the lineup together.  But without Room's 8 saves(!) the result goes the other way:

 

What's with the twitter name "x - Columbus Crew SC"? Is it an inside joke? 

35 minutes ago, jwulsin said:

What's with the twitter name "x - Columbus Crew SC"? Is it an inside joke? 

It's just indicating that they clinched the playoffs.  The "x" in front of the team name is what is used in the standings to indicate a team clinching a playoff spot.

I'm hoping we can get the chemistry going back to how it was last time we had our ideal starting 11. At least we still get a couple more games with Nagbe and Zelarayan together before the playoffs start, to get the team really firing on all cylinders.

 

This team is deep and weve made a lot of good sensible depth signings this past window as well. Fatai Alashe isnt anything special but gives us a more experienced depth option at D-mid so that we dont always in every circumstance have to rely on the rookie homegrowns. Ema Boateng is a solid pickup as well and adds to the competition on the wings.

 

I'm not lying when I say Kristian Nemeth was somebody I thought would be a good depth option, even before we signed him. It seemed like he had taken a step downward going back to Europe to play in a lesser league like Slovakia, even when just last year he had still been a pretty dynamic striker with SKC. I'll be interested to see what price and salary we got him for but hes a legit backup option for Zardes where I dont totally fear for the future if, god forbid, Gyasi has a major injury or whatever. Adis time is officially up.

Edited November 3, 20204 yr by Tobias C

Penultimate regular season game for the Crew tonight at Orlando.  It's a make-up game for the covid postponement in October.  It's also a big game for both teams.  Both Columbus and Orlando have 38 points, with Columbus in 3rd-place via tiebreak:

• A win would clinch a top-4 finish, which would assure a home playoff game.
• A loss would put a top-4 finish in jeopardy.
• A draw would put both teams 3 points up on 5th-place NYCFC going into Decision Sunday - helpful but not decisive because it would require a result on Sunday to clinch a top-4 finish.

GAME 22 of the 2020 "Regular Season":

 

https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2020-11-04-orlando-city-sc-vs-columbus-crew-sc/recap

https://www.massivereport.com/2020/11/4/21550324/columbus-crew-drops-another-road-game-with-late-goal-to-10-man-orlando-city

 

The Crew blew their chance to clinch a Top-4 regular season finish last night at Orlando.  The game didn't start out well, as Orlando's high press was causing miscues by the Crew defense and Orlando was dominating possession.  That high press led to an Orlando goal in the 27th minute.  That Orlando 1-0 lead could have been bigger if not for some outstanding goalkeeping from Eloy Room.  Check out this double save in the 30th minute(!)

But the Crew held on until halftime only down one goal.  Despite Porter going for the win by using Zardes, Zelarayan and Nagbe in the starting lineup, the second half wasn't going much better for the Crew - until the 52nd minute - when Orlando's Nani committed a hard foul on Artur and was given a yellow card.  Then VAR instructed the ref to take a second look at the call for a possible red card.  After a video review, the ref did issue a red card and Orlando would be down one man for the rest of the match.

 

The Crew took advantage quickly with an equalizing goal in the 56th minute.  It came from Afful making an unusual run into the 18-yd box and being set up with a soft pass from Santos that Afful blasted to make it 1-1:

With an equalizer and a one man advantage, the Crew looked for a go-ahead goal.  But Orlando regrouped defensively and, while allowing the Crew possession, managed to hold the Crew from any prime scoring chances.  With the second half winding down, it was looking like a draw was likely.  Which would have been helpful for the Crew's quest for a Top-4 spot.  But then lightning struck for Orlando in the 84th minute, completely against the run of play.  Below is the goal, a great individual effort from their striker, Benji Michel, who beat three Crew defenders and Room for the game-winner:

 

Okay, so the Crew couldn't close the deal with a win or a draw at Orlando and end up going 0-5-5 in road games(!)  Even given the unusual road trip protocols this season, that is just not good enough.

 

And so, to prevent a road game to begin the MLS Playoffs, the Crew will need a home win on Decision Sunday against Atlanta to grab a Top-4 spot.  A draw against Atlanta wouldn't be enough if NYCFC wins at Chicago on Sunday.  If NYCFC and Columbus finish equal with 39 points, the overall wins tiebreak would go to NYCFC and Columbus would finish 5th.

• Crew win on Sunday -- Top-4 finish guaranteed
• Crew non-win on Sunday -- would need a NYCFC non-win for a Top-4 finish

GAME 23 of the 2020 "Regular Season":

 

https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2020-11-08-columbus-crew-sc-vs-atlanta-united-fc/recap

https://www.massivereport.com/2020/11/8/21555685/columbus-crew-close-2020-mls-regular-season-with-2-1-win-against-atlanta-united-gyasi-zardes

 

The final regular season game saw both Columbus and Atlanta needing a win for the playoffs.  Columbus needed a win to finish in the Top-4 and avoid a road game to begin the playoffs.  Atlanta needed a win just to make the playoffs.  It looked like would take an early lead in the 24th minute when an attacker got behind the final defender and forced Room to race toward him and the ball in the 18-yd box.  Room's sliding tackle brought down the attacker as the ball rolled out of bounds.  The contact was initially awarded a PK by the ref.  But the VAR asked the ref to review it and the PK call was reversed after video review.  So some good PK karma fell the Crew's way(!)

 

It didn't take long for the Crew the capitalize on the non-PK call.  In the 28th minute, they got their first goal on a beautiful sequence of quick passes.  Santos lofted the ball to Zardes, who knocked it down with the sole of his shoe to Valenzuela, who dribbled and passed it to an open Zelarayan, who split two defenders with a run to the 6-yd box and a finishing shot over the on-rushing Brad Guzan for the goal:

 

The Crew got a second goal in the 55th minute of the second half off a nice leading pass from Artur to an open Zardes down the left side.  Zardes moved it into the 18-yd box and scored on a shot that beat a sliding defender and Atlanta's goalkeeper Guzan through the legs, 5-hole style:

Sometimes an extra goal is called an insurance goal.  Well, this one was definitely that because Atlanta scored only four minutes later.  Atlanta was awarded a penalty kick when Valenzuela fouled an Atlanta attacker in the box who got past him.  The PK was converted in the 59th minute to halve the lead 2-1.

 

Then it was nail-biting time for Crew fans.  But this time, the Crew saw out the one-goal lead.  The most excitement came in the 90th minute when Atlanta player Franco Escobar was shown a second yellow card and ejected from the game.  On his way to the locker room, he got into a verbal altercation with some Crew sideline personnel and shoved one before being escorted away(!)

With the win on Sunday, the Crew finished in the Top-4 and clinched a home playoff game.  As it turned out, they finished in 3rd-place via tiebreak above Orlando - the team they lost to on Wednesday.  Orlando held a 2-1 lead over Nashville on Sunday with only minutes remaining until the expansion squad scored in the 88th minute and 93rd minute to deny Orlando a draw/win that would have placed them in the 3 spot(!)

 

 

The difference between the 3 spot and the 4 spot turned out to be minor.  The Crew will host NYRB instead of NYCFC and they'll be on the Toronto side of the eastern bracket instead of the Philadelphia side.  Six of one, half dozen of the other basically.

 

Below is the MLS playoff bracket.  Columbus will host the Red Bulls on either Nov. 21, 22 or 24 - once MLS sets the date after the play-in games:

 

It looks like MLS doesn't need to wait until after the play-in games to set the date for the Crew vs. NYRB playoff game.  It will be Saturday, November 21 at 3:00 pm.

 

Also, according to Massive Report, the playoff game will be nationally broadcast in Spanish on UniMas and TUDN.  With an English language broadcast streamed on MLSsoccer.com and regionally on SportsTime Ohio.

 

https://www.massivereport.com/2020/11/8/21555386/columbus-crew-finish-2020-mls-season-third-in-east-will-host-red-bulls

https://www.massivereport.com/2020/11/19/21578228/columbus-crew-announces-no-fans-at-first-round-mls-cup-playoff-game-2020-covid-19

 

The Crew's MLS playoff game against the New York Red Bulls on Saturday will be played at an empty MAPFRE Stadium.  The club announced Thursday afternoon that due to the rising covid cases in Franklin County, they will only have a small group of family members of the players and guests of the team instead of the 1,500 fans they've hosted during the 2020 covid-restricted attendance games.

2020 MLS PLAYOFFS - ROUND ONE:

 

https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2020-11-21-columbus-crew-sc-vs-new-york-red-bulls/recap

https://www.massivereport.com/2020/11/21/21588881/columbus-crew-advance-in-mls-cup-playoffs-after-beating-red-bulls

 

Two MLS originals faced off in the opening round of the 25th anniversary MLS Playoffs yesterday at Mapfre Stadium.  NYRB employed their high press style, but the Crew - with a full healthy lineup - handled it well in the opening minutes.  Though the first 20 minutes the Crew had the better scoring chances and possession, but the game remained scoreless.

 

In the 23rd minute, NYRB lofted a hopeful ball into the Crew 6-yd box that Afful mis-hit directly to an unmarked Caden Clark 15 yards from goal.  The 17-year-old home grown player buried the shot to give NYRB a 1-0 lead.  After that defensive miscue, the Crew quickly put pressure on the Red Bulls for an equalizer.  In the 26th minute, Zelarayan found Valenzuela open on the left edge of the NYRB 18-yd box.  Valenzuela quickly passed over to an open Santos in the 18-yd-box, who was clipped down by a recovering defender for a penalty kick.  Santos converted the PK to tie the score.  The Crew kept up the pressure on NYRB for the remainder of the first half, but the game entered halftime tied 1-1.

 

The Crew started the second half by putting immediate pressure on the Red Bull goal - shooting three shots-on-goal in the first 30 seconds(!)  The first shot by Zelarayan rang off the left post.  The second shot by Etienne was blocked by the NYRB keeper.  But the deflection rolled out to an on-rushing Nagbe, who blasted it in from 8 yards out to give the Crew a 2-1 lead:

The Crew added a third insurance goal in the 68th minute when Zelarayan moved the ball from the center to Etienne on the right side, who lofted a beautiful pass to Zardes at the left corner of the 6-yd box, who hit a beautiful lofting header over the keeper to the right corner of the NYRB net:

After that beautiful goal put the Crew up 3-1, it seemed like they would easily guide this game to a finish.  And it was going that way until a 90th minute goal from the Red Bulls tightened it to 3-2 and made for some dicey moments in stoppage time.  The biggest moment being a kick save from Room in the 93rd minute to keep this playoff game from going into overtime.

 

But the Crew did hang on to the playoff win and will advance to the Eastern Conference semi-finals -- awaiting the winner of the Toronto-Nashville game being played on Tuesday.

Last night's playoff games determined the Crew's semi-final opponent -- and it will be Nashville, after the expansion team shockingly defeated #2 seed Toronto 1-0 in overtime.

 

This is a big break for the Crew.  Not only do we get to face a lower seed in Nashville (although they're on a three-game winning streak, winning their final regular season game over Orlando, a play-in game over Miami and last night's playoff game over Toronto).  We get to play them at home - where the Crew is 10-1-0 this season - instead of going on the road - where the Crew is 0-5-5 this season.

 

Last night's results got even better for the Crew.  On the other side of the Eastern Conference bracket, #8 seed New England upset #1 Philadelphia.  With both the #1 and #2 seeds being eliminated, #3 seed Columbus is the highest remaining seed in the Eastern Conference now.  Meaning the Crew will hold home-field advantage through the Eastern Conference playoff games.

 

The Columbus vs Nashville playoff game will be on Sunday, November 29 at 8:00pm on ESPN.