May 19, 20169 yr If FC Cincinnati wins on June 1 against Tampa Bay, we play the Crew in Columbus on June 15th for the fourth round of the US Open Cup! This would be an amazing atmosphere!
May 21, 20169 yr I was wondering if we might see this matchup in this year's US Open Cup tournament. In the three previous years, the Crew have faced the Richmond Kickers, Indy Eleven and Dayton Dutch Lions. According to the Dispatch's Crew beat reporter, Shawn Mitchell on twitter: "#CrewSC will host fourth-round Open Cup match vs. Tampa Bay Rowdies or FC Cincinnati at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium on June 15." Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium is a 10,000-seat stadium on the Ohio State campus that is home to the OSU soccer, lacrosse & track and field teams.
May 22, 20169 yr No goals were scored in yesterday's match up north in Toronto. Meaning no win for the Crew, but no loss either. And a road draw is never a bad result in MLS. However, both teams probably felt that a win slipped away from them yesterday. The Crew stayed with the same starting 11 as in the previous game (see 3 posts ago) - but at 35' was forced to replace central defender Gaston Sauro after he went down with an apparent knee injury (hopefully it's not too serious). His natural replacement, Tyson Wahl, was not available due to lingering concussion symptoms. So Coach Berhalter subbed in rookie midfielder Rodrigo Saravia(!), who had played some central defense earlier in his career. So Parkhurst and Saravia were tasked with stopping 2015 MLS MVP Sebastian Giovinco of Toronto. And though they did keep him off the scoreboard, they didn't prevent him from taking 8 shots (which were the total shots taken by the entire Toronto team!). Giovinco was a force all game long. At 36', he forced Crew goalkeeper Steve Clark into an acrobatic save. At 63', a close-in shot was deflected over the net. But Giovinco's best scoring chance came in the 68th minute on a well-timed run and pass that found him one-on-one against Clark. Clark came out to close down his space and Giovinco pushed the ball just wide of the Crew net. (Check out the video to see how agonized Giovinco was after that miss!) The Crew had 15 shots. Ola Kamara had a couple of good header chances - early in the first half on a ball that bounced over the Toronto crossbar and at 43' on a header that the Toronto goalkeeper barely saved with his right hand. But the Crew's best scoring chance came in the 51st minute when Meram stole the ball at midfield and drove to Toronto's goal. His chip shot beat the Toronto keeper but clanged off the left post. The rebound went to Higuain, whose shot also beat the keeper, but was stopped by a desperate kick save from a Toronto defender! VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: http://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2016-05-21-toronto-fc-vs-columbus-crew-sc/recap RECAP: http://www.massivereport.com/2016/5/21/11733242/columbus-crew-sc-leave-toronto-with-0-0-draw
May 24, 20169 yr This roster news was expected: Crew defender Harrison Afful and midfielder Cedrick Mabwati were called up to their respective national teams of Ghana and the Democratic Republic of Congo and will miss the next two games.
May 24, 20169 yr This roster news was not. Central defender Gaston Sauro's knee injury suffered in Saturday's game will keep him out for at least four months - nearly the entire 2016 MLS season! Because . . . this season: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/sports/2016/05/24/0524-Sauro-out-4-months.html
May 31, 20169 yr The Memorial Day weekend messed up my normal posting schedule for Saturday's Crew game. But it's perhaps fitting because that game's 7:30PM start got delayed over 90 minutes due to dangerous storms and lightning near the stadium. After it started, Crew fans might have wished for a further delay when Real Salt Lake scored the opening goal in 13' (beauty of a shot too). But then the Crew offense got into gear. Their first goal came in the 17th minute off a nice run by Justin Meram from left of the RSL goal that led to him passing it across the goal mouth to Ola Kamara, who tapped it in for the equalizer. --- Then in the 20th minute, Meram dispossessed an RSL player at midfield and moved quickly toward RSL's goal. Meram split the two central defenders, who couldn't stop him until he was at the edge of the 18-yard box. But in doing so, the defender to Meram's right kicked the ball into the defender to Meram's left, and the ball was knocked past the RSL keeper for a goal. It went down as an own goal, but Meram deserves the credit for the 2-1 Crew lead. --- In the dying moments of first half extra time (46') it looked like that 2-1 lead would be erased going into halftime, when an RSL player was fouled inside the box and awarded a penalty kick. But the PK was stunningly saved by Steve Clark to keep it 2-1 at halftime! The Crew offense turned it on again in the second half (and it became the Ola Kamara show). In the 64th minute, Waylon Francis hit a lofting cross to the edge of the 6-yard box that Ola headed past the keeper. Then in the 74th minute, Ola struck again with a header off a Higuain corner kick. This Ola header was blasted so hard that it went in even though it went directly at the RSL keeper! So that gave Ola Kamara a hat trick, and gave the Crew a 4-1 lead. Easy win right? Well, the porous Crew defense struck again! RSL scored two more goals at the 78' and 83' marks to tighten it up 4-3. Fortunately, the Crew defense held on for the 4-3 win. After three straight draws, Crew SC needed a home win in the worst way. But they got it. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: http://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2016-05-28-columbus-crew-sc-vs-real-salt-lake/recap RECAP: http://www.massivereport.com/2016/5/28/11807256/ola-kamara-gets-hat-trick-en-route-to-4-3-crew-sc-victory
June 3, 20169 yr Crew SC followed up last Saturday's 4-3 win with a mid-week match at Philadelphia last night. The Crew were hoping to improve their position in the Eastern Conference with another win (which would have vaulted them from 9th to 5th place in the tightly packed standings). And it started out on a positive note in the 14th minute, when Ethan Finlay used his speed to break away on the right side and loft a crossing pass that Ola Kamara deftly kicked into the Philly net. Ola's fourth goal in the last two games. However, it went downhill for the Crew after gaining the initial lead. The next two goals went to Philadelphia in 21' and in 57'. Both goals came on shots deflected by Crew defenders that looked like they were going to be saved by Steve Clark! Then, in the 77th minute, second-half sub Conor Casey was given a very questionable straight red card on what looked like very little contact with a Philly player at the sideline (just look at the stunned reaction from the Philly player in the highlight video)! Philadelphia took advantage of the Crew pressing forward for an equalizer while down one man in the 84th minute. Philly had a 2x2 breakaway that was finished by a brilliant, and unsaveable, shot to put them up 3-1. That goal ended up being the game-winning goal for Philadelphia after the Crew scored their second goal of the night in second-half stoppage time (93'). It came off a crossing pass from Finlay that was forcefully headed in by 19-year-old Panamanian midfielder Cristian Martinez, who made his MLS and Crew debut as a second-half sub. Also making his MLS and Crew debut as a second-half sub was highly touted central Ohio midfielder Ben Swanson. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: http://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2016-06-01-philadelphia-union-vs-columbus-crew-sc/recap RECAP: http://www.massivereport.com/2016/6/1/11836200/columbus-crew-sc-score-first-but-drop-a-3-2-decision-to-the-philadelphia-union
June 3, 20169 yr So, with last night's game out of the way, the Crew will join the rest of MLS on a two-week Copa America tournament break. Crew SC won't play another MLS match until Saturday, June 18, when they host Montreal at Mapfre. Crew SC also hosts an Open Cup tournament match on Wednesday, June 15 against the lower-division Tampa Bay Rowdies at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium on the OSU campus.
June 15, 20168 yr The Crew SC Open Cup tournament match against the Tampa Bay Rowdies has been put on a weather delay because of severe thunderstorms moving into Central Ohio. The match is 0-0 in the 26th minute. So, instead of watching this match online, I'll post some Copa-break Crew news: - First, news about former Crew striker Aaron Schoenfeld - nicknamed "Big Celery" by Crew fans. Schoenfeld was not resigned after the 2015 season and was signed by an Israeli club in January 2016. He's had a quick rise to the top of the Israeli Premier League and sounds like he's having a great time there: http://www.americansoccernow.com/articles/aaron-schoenfeld-left-mls-and-found-success-in-israel - It was noted that Cristian Martinez, 19 (who scored the Crew's final goal in the 6/1 game at Philly) is now the youngest Crew player to score a goal for the team in an MLS match. The Dispatch's Crew reporter noted that he was slightly younger than Eddie Gaven, who scored as 19-year-old in 2006. - 18-year-old Ben Swanson also made his MLS debut in Philadelphia along with Cristian Martinez. Later that week, Swanson had another big moment ... his high school graduation!: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/sports/2016/06/10/ben-swanson-says-mls-debut-tops-graduation.html - Reserve midfielder Emil Larsen, acquired by the Crew this season, scored a hat trick for his native Denmark against Nigeria during a U23 tournament during the Copa break: - Crew SC appealed the red card given to Conor Casey in the Philadelphia match. The appeal was successful and the red card rescinded, no suspension for Casey: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/sports/2016/06/07/0607-red-card-rescinded.html - Dispatch Crew reporter tweets that wing defender Waylon Francis now has his green card. This opens another international roster spot for the Crew that they might use during the summer international transfer window:
June 16, 20168 yr Because the Crew never draw more than a few thousand and I guess it's cheaper for the Crew to rent out Jesse Owens instead of operating Mapfre. I believe the attendance was under 2,000. Though it was raining and gross out.
June 16, 20168 yr Because the Crew never draw more than a few thousand and I guess it's cheaper for the Crew to rent out Jesse Owens instead of operating Mapfre. I believe the attendance was under 2,000. Though it was raining and gross out. Have you ever been to a Crew game? They draw more than a few thousand. http://www.columbuscrewsc.com/media/all-time-attendance
June 16, 20168 yr ^I'm talking about US Open Cup matches. I root for the Crew and have been to games. They have terrible attendance (as most MLS teams do) for US Open Cup matches.
June 16, 20168 yr This is the point in the Open Cup that MLS teams join the tournament. And MLS teams usually treat these matches against lower-division clubs as part-game/part-scrimmage. MLS teams usually field a lineup of half starters and half reserves. Sometimes reserves play that don't get much MLS playing time, as in the extreme case of Crew backup goaltender Brad Stuver because of Steve "Iron Man" Clark starting 81 of 81 MLS matches in goal: http://www.massivereport.com/2016/6/14/11939728/brad-stuver-is-ready-to-take-his-open-cup-spot-in-goal-for-crew-sc As a result, the Crew usually schedules these MLS vs. lower-division matches at an alternate venue. Last year, the Crew scheduled this round's match at the Univ. of Akron's soccer stadium. Later Open Cup rounds return to MLS venues.
June 16, 20168 yr The Crew SC Open Cup tournament match against the Tampa Bay Rowdies has been put on a weather delay because of severe thunderstorms moving into Central Ohio. The match is 0-0 in the 26th minute. The Open Cup match resumed after a two-hour weather delay that saw heavy rain, high winds and lightning (which is the primary cause of these delays). The Dispatch had a nice recap of the match, plus a cringe-worthy headline: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/sports/2016/06/16/crew-awakens-storms-to-open-cup-victory.html But "storm" the Crew did after the weather delay to a 4-0 victory. Meram (in the striker role for a resting Ola Kamara) scored first in the 41st minute off an Emil Larsen crossing pass. At halftime, Meram was replaced by Finlay, who set up the Crew’s second goal in the 48th minute when he took a crossing pass from Francis and back-heeled a pass to Cristian Martinez who scored. Four minutes later, Saravia was fouled inside the box and the Crew were awarded a penalty kick. Finlay took the PK to make it 3-0. In the 65th minute, rookie Marshall Hollingsworth (on loan from the Pittsburgh USL affiliate) took a pass from Hector Jimenez and scored to make it 4-0.
June 16, 20168 yr Great pic from the game. http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/england-striker-frank-worthington-in-action-for-the-tampa-bay-rowdies-picture-id118379571
June 16, 20168 yr Great pic from the game. http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/england-striker-frank-worthington-in-action-for-the-tampa-bay-rowdies-picture-id118379571 Nah. With the exception of the mustache, TB's current unis are much better!
June 16, 20168 yr This season is unbelievable!!!!!!!!!! Federico Higuain Out 6-8 Weeks with Sports Hernia, Mohammed Saeid with Broken Vertebrae http://www.massivereport.com/2016/6/16/11952076/federico-higuain-out-4-6-weeks-with-sports-hernia-saeid-broken
June 18, 20168 yr Some more about the Higuain and Saeid injuries from Massive Report: Higuain: http://www.massivereport.com/2016/6/16/11950714/what-is-a-sports-hernia-and-what-does-it-mean Saeid: http://www.massivereport.com/2016/6/17/11961400/what-does-it-mean-to-have-a-broken-back The TL/NR verdict from the MR author (who is also a registered nurse) is that Higuain's injury is probably the worse of the two and will require the longest and trickiest recovery. While Saeid's back injury might not be as bad as it sounds, but still might require up to 4 weeks of rest to heal properly.
June 18, 20168 yr Crew SC resume MLS play by hosting Montreal tonight at MAPFRE. The last time we played Montreal was the "Kei Meltdown" match on May 7 (blowing a 3 goal lead in the process). And both teams will be missing key personnel: http://www.massivereport.com/2016/6/18/11967376/restart-columbus-and-montreal-juggle-absence-as-mls-returns-crew-sc-impact Montreal will be missing center-back Laurent Ciman (who is with Belgium in the European Championship) and midfielder Ignacio Piatti (who is out with an injury). And the Crew will be missing ... alot of players (see below): The two week Copa break only served to swell the number of Crew players out or questionable for tonight's game. (Because - this season) Only Tony Tchani healed up during the break and is fully ready to go against Montreal. Otherwise, who knows? If Conor Casey and Ola Kamara are unavailable, the Crew might go with Meram as the striker (as they did in the mid-week Open Cup match) with a Cedrick - Larsen - Finlay line behind him. Tchani & Trapp might reunite in the defensive midfield. And the defensive backline might be Afful - Parkhurst - (Saravia/Barson/Wahl?) - Francis. And in goal, the one player who never misses an MLS game, Steve Clark (81 straight going into tonight).
June 18, 20168 yr In Open Cup news, the Chicago Fire will host Crew SC in the next round on June 28 (because we always play at Chicago in this round - every year). If the Crew win, they will host the winner of Orlando/Ft. Lauderdale at MAPFRE on July 19/20: http://www.columbuscrewsc.com/post/2016/06/16/black-gold-face-chicago-open-cup-round-16
June 19, 20168 yr When Montreal and Columbus faced off one and a half months ago at MAPFRE, it was a wild roller coaster of a game that saw a 4-4 final score. Last night's rematch at MAPFRE saw depleted lineups, lackluster play and 8 less goals scored. For those with #mathskillz, you've already figured out last night's final score! Some surprises in the Crew starting lineup: Saeid played at Pipa's midfield position despite having a lumbar fracture(!) - Finlay starts at striker and Meram at wing despite Meram being the more natural striker and Finlay being the more natural winger(!) - Jimenez started at wing instead of Cedrick, who had a fever(?) - Ashe started at left back instead of Francis and Wahl returned to center back after missing multiple games with a concussion: -- Meram generated a good scoring chance in the 21st minute when he dribbled the ball into the Montreal 18-yard box and uncorked a blast that was punched away by the Montreal keeper. Meram's shot was also the sole shot-on-target that was recorded by Crew SC on the entire night! -- The decision to use Finlay at striker instead of Meram likely cost the Crew their best scoring chance of the night that came later in the first half. It came off a quick counterattack that started with Tchani at midfield passing wide right to Afful. Afful quickly passed the ball up the right side to Jimenez, who struck a low crossing pass over to Finlay, who held inside position on a marking defender at the 6-yard box in front of Montreal's goal. But Finlay was unable to redirect the pass on goal, despite the ball being right at his feet! If the more natural striker, Meram, had that same chance I believe he likely would have buried that chance (or at least got a shot-on-goal!). -- Each team had a few more scoring chances in the second half, but the finishing quality was just not there for either side last night. So, a 0-0 draw was the outcome. Decent road result for Montreal. Less decent home result for the Crew. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: http://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2016-06-18-columbus-crew-sc-vs-montreal-impact/recap I normally use only one of the Massive Report recaps for each game. But this time I'm linking two of their recaps, because I liked the extreme contrast in each recap headline: - OPTIMISTIC RECAP HEADLINE: Crew SC possesses well, sidesteps injury woes to tie fourth-place Montreal, 0-0 - PESSIMISTIC RECAP HEADLINE: Blunt Impact meets dull Crew SC
June 21, 20168 yr For those fans clamoring for a Dilly Duka return to the Crew - you got it!!! http://www.columbuscrewsc.com/post/2016/06/20/crew-sc-acquires-midfielder-dilly-duka
June 26, 20168 yr CREW SC need a home win to climb the East standings? --- CHECK. CREW SC face an NYRB team that won 4 of their last 5 games? --- CHECK. Cedrick out of the Crew lineup because he contracted malaria while on national-team duty with DR Congo in Madagascar? --- CHECK?!? NYRB dominate most of the first half but enter halftime 0-0? --- CHECK. Crew defense leave NYRB leading scorer Bradley Wright-Phillips completely unmarked in front of the net for a header in the 52nd minute? --- CHECK. NYRB continue to dominate the rest of the second half with a 1-0 lead? --- CHECK. CREW SC puts on a late flurry in stoppage time? --- CHECK? Ola Kamara scores off a Waylon Francis crossing pass in the 93rd minute to tie the game up 1-1? --- CHECK!!!!! CREW SC remain 9th in the East after this home draw? --- CHECK PLEASE. RECAP: http://www.massivereport.com/2016/6/25/12032148/crew-sc-outplayed-by-new-york-but-draws-level-at-last-gasp VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: http://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2016-06-25-columbus-crew-sc-vs-new-york-red-bulls/recap
June 26, 20168 yr Fireworks after the game? --- HELLS YEAH!!! --- http://www.massivereport.com/2016/6/26/12033012/photos-columbus-crew-sc-vs-new-york-red-bulls
June 29, 20168 yr It's early summer, so that means it's time for the Crew to travel up to Bridgeview and lose an Open Cup match to the Chicago Fire: http://www.massivereport.com/2016/6/28/12056948/columbus-crew-sc-fall-from-open-cup-again-in-round-of-16 Well, they certainly took care of that! The good news is Crew SC can put their full effort toward the MLS season. The bad news is that Crew SC sits 9th in the East. However, 19 games still remain in the Crew's 34-game MLS season, and they are only 4 points below the playoff line in the East. So the 2016 season isn't a lost cause yet. It just feels like it. The Crew travel to KC on Sunday for a Third of July game nationally televised on FS1. Getting this season's first road win would be great. Even a road draw would be a result that might carry some momentum forward into the remaining five matches of July (3 home; 2 away).
July 5, 20168 yr Last Sunday's match at KC seems like a microcosm of this 2016 season. First, all the injuries: -- Higuain is out. So put in Saeid as the #10, right? Can't, his "broken back" kepts him from the roster this game. How about Emil Larsen? Nope, he's going back to Denmark. Okay, maybe 18-year-old prospect Ben Swanson? Nope, he's got mono! Well, how about shifting Meram to #10 and starting Cedrick at his spot? Can't, because Cedrick still has MALARIA!!!!! Coach Berhalter eventually settled on reserve midfielder Hector Jimenez as the #10. And it started out okay when the Crew scored first in the 22nd minute. The opening goal came off a great hustle play by Harrison Afful. Afful kept after a long pass down the right side that looked to be out of his reach. But his pressure caused the KC defender to rush his clearance and the ball deflected off Afful to Finlay. Afful continued his run and Finlay passed it to him. Afful drives into the KC 18-yard box and knocks a crossing pass than Ola Kamara redirects into the KC goal. The Crew kept the 1-0 lead into halftime and a road win was in sight. But three minutes into the second half changed the entire outlook! KC struck a long ball toward their striker, who timed a run against capable but slow Crew defender Tyson Wahl (who is playing as an injury replacement). Wahl ended up fouling the KC striker in the box, received a red card and got KC a penalty kick. KC converted the PK and the Crew lost their lead and had to play the rest of the second half down one man! This forced the Crew to take out Jimenez for a defensive replacement and forced the Crew to reorganize a lineup that was working pretty well in the first half. KC's USMNT player Graham Zusi took advantage in the 56th minute when he torn through that reorganized Crew defense for dazzling goal to put KC up 2-1. -- It looked like the Crew was done after KC's second goal. But in the 75th minute, against the run of play, Tchani struck a long ball to Ola Kamara, who beat his defender and the goalkeeper with a solid finish to tie up 2-2. So now a road draw (with only 10 men) looked in reach for the Crew. They made it to the end of regulation time. But the old Crew bugaboo of set piece defense got em again in the first minute of stoppage time and KC scored the game winning goal to make it 3-2. So, no road win ... no road draw ... because 2016. RECAP: http://www.massivereport.com/2016/7/3/12092130/columbus-crew-sc-fall-to-late-besler-goal-to-sporting-kansas-city VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: http://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2016-07-03-sporting-kansas-city-vs-columbus-crew-sc/recap
July 5, 20168 yr The best Crew takeaway from that loss in KC was this amazing scorpion kick from Coach Berhalter. Check out the Vine too:
July 11, 20168 yr The Crew SC 2016 season is nothing like their 2015 season. All the injuries, all the draws instead of wins, all the losses instead of draws with a little bit of bad luck thrown into the mix. This was all on display on Saturday at New England. The Revs have been rivals since being a founding MLS team like the Crew. But this match-up had another more personal rivalry with Kei Kamara facing his former Crew team for the first time after being traded to the Revs earlier this year. Kei wanted to score and stick it to us. We wanted to keep Kei off the scoring sheet. And Kei was the focus of the Revs attack early and often. In the 3rd minute, Kei was targeted with a pass near the Crew 6-yard box. That pass was intercepted and headed away, but unfortunately directly to an unmarked Lee Nguyen at the edge of the 18-yard box. Nguyen calmly controlled the deflection and one-timed it into the Crew goal for an early 1-0 lead. (Nguyen always seems to score against us - although this was the first time he did it with silver hair!) The Crew had some good scoring chances later in the first half but couldn't equalize. But so did the Revs, and they cashed in on their's in the 34th minute. Kei struck a crossing pass to a Rev player making a late run into the 6-yard box that Wll Trapp tried to cut off, but instead deflected into the Crew goal to give NE a 2-0 lead. -- The Crew's one bit of magic came in the 42nd minute when Tchani struck a nicely weighted pass into the Revs 18-yard box to a well-timed run by Ola Kamara. Ola professionally finished this scoring chance with a nicely struck shot to narrow the Revs lead to 2-1 at halftime. With Ola's late first-half goal, you'd think the Crew might take that momentum into the second half in search of an equalizing goal or better. However it was the Revs who controlled the second half. NE had many near goals (including a save-of-the-match near goal at 56' in the video highlights). But it was a series of Crew defensive miscues that lead to final Revs goal at 71'. First was a turnover in the offensive zone by Parkhurst, which led to a near-foul in the box by Francis. Then Francis gets distracted trying to tell the ref he didn't foul and leaves the ball loose about 12 yards from our goal. Barson sees that the ball is loose and attempts to clear it from danger. But Francis, who gets to it late, blocks Barson's clearance kick, and it deflects to Kei Kamara, who scores the Revs third and final goal! RECAP: http://www.massivereport.com/2016/7/9/12137788/kei-kamara-gets-revenge-in-handing-columbus-crew-sc-a-3-1-loss VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: http://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2016-07-09-new-england-revolution-vs-columbus-crew-sc/recap
July 13, 20168 yr The first half of the Crew's 2016 season has been a nightmare of injuries to key players (Higuain and Sauro) and substandard play for almost everyone else. Through the first 17 games Crew SC is 3-7-7. Bad enough for 9th in the 10-team Eastern Conference. The combination of injuries and poor play have had the Crew treading water for much of the season. But the past two losses at KC and NE have sunk the Crew to a season-low in the standings. The Crew start the second half of the 2016 season tonight with a home match against Toronto. Crew SC is in the middle of a 3-games-in-8-days stretch, having played last Saturday at NE and playing next Saturday against DC. And these 3-in-8 stretches always test an MLS team's depth and stamina. But the Crew are facing another three game stretch that will likely make-or-break this 2016 season. The Crew begin a three game home stand tonight against Toronto. Then another home game next Saturday (7/16) against DC and finishing with a home game the following Saturday (7/23) against Orlando. If the Crew can manage at least 2 wins from these next 3 home games, they can work their way back into the Eastern Conference playoff race. Particularly because these three home games are all against middle-of-pack Eastern teams. Lots of ground can be made up with 2 or 3 home wins this month. On the other hand, failing to get at least 2 out of 3 wins will have the opposite effect for the Crew. Losing a majority of the these next three home games will likely drop the Crew so far behind the rest of the East, that only a miracle-like late season comeback would put the Crew near the playoff line. So it's now or never for the Crew's 2016 season ... starting tonight.
July 13, 20168 yr ^ And to show how important tonight's game is to the Crew, the team will be wearing the fan-favorite banana kits for the first time this season! It might seem silly, but ditching those ugly city flag inspired kits can only help. First, because they're ugly and nobody likes em. And second, because Crew SC has a record of 0-5-2 in the periwinkle shorts this season!!
July 13, 20168 yr ^ And to show how important tonight's game is to the Crew, the team will be wearing the fan-favorite banana kits for the first time this season! It might seem silly, but ditching those ugly city flag inspired kits can only help. First, because they're ugly and nobody likes em. And second, because Crew SC has a record of 0-5-2 in the periwinkle shorts this season!! If I never see the "city flag" kits again I will not be saddened in the least. I thought they were hideous from day one, and apparently the team plays accordingly when they wear them. I do applaud the effort and idea of a tribute to the city and coming up with a new design, but the final product just didn't work for me visually. Go Crew!
July 14, 20168 yr Different uniform, same result. Toronto was missing all three of its DP's (Giovinco, Altidore and Bradley). Which according to the Crew broadcasters, accounted for $23 million of missing on-field salary for TFC (which is amazing considering MLS teams have a $4.5 million salary cap - not counting DP's or allocation money!). So the Crew had a golden opportunity to get a home win and three points against a depleted TFC team. Toronto responded to their depleted roster by parking the bus and going for a 0-0 road draw. They ceded possession and long-range scoring chances to the Crew and stymied them for the first half. After a longer than usual halftime, due to a lightning delay, the Crew finally broke through in the 54th minute. Off a Columbus corner kick, a TFC defender attempted to head the ball from danger. It went in the direction of Harrison Afful at the edge of the 18-yard box, who one-timed the ball with a blasting kick for his first ever goal with the Crew! Afful's joyous goal celebration consisted of running full-speed in toward the Crew bench and jumping into the arms of head coach Gregg Berhalter!! But the good times didn't last. Only 10 minutes later, TFC broke down the Crew central defense with a series of quick passes and a quick run that left Parkhurst and Wahl guarding air, and a TFC attacker unmarked for a tying goal. So the Crew turned a home win into a home draw. And in doing so they also reached a new season nadir - Chicago won last night to pass the Crew in the standings. The Crew are now 10th and dead-last in the East! RECAP: http://www.massivereport.com/2016/7/13/12184794/crew-sc-draw-depleted-toronto-at-home-1-1 VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: http://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2016-07-13-columbus-crew-sc-vs-toronto-fc/recap
July 17, 20168 yr ARRRGH!!! Another "must-win" home game ends in a draw! And it was very much like Wednesday's draw - although bad luck had more to do with this one then bad play. But when a season is going wrong, that's the way it seems to work. After a scoreless first half, the Crew broke through DC's defense in the 63rd minute with a series of quick passes. Tchani found Afful making a run up the right side. Afful quickly crossed the ball into the 6-yard box to an on-running Ola Kamara, who deftly redirected it for a goal a split-second before the DC keeper could get to it. With a 1-0 lead in the 74th minute, Afful slides feet first for a loose ball in the Crew offensive zone. Afful and an on-rushing DC midfielder seem to reach the ball simultaneously. The DC player flies over (and into) the sliding Afful and appears injured. The referee runs over and gives Afful a straight red card. Now the Crew will have to play down one man for remaining 16+ miinutes. However, the replay showed that the ref got it wrong. Both of Afful's studs-up shoes made contact with the ball only and not with the DC player, which would be needed for a red card. In fact, it was because the DC player jumped over the ball and landed studs down onto Afful's thigh that he appeared injured. The league will likely rescind Afful's red card in the coming week. But that doesn't help the Crew finish this game. It looked like the Crew might hold onto their one-goal advantage. Until the 89th minute, when a through-ball is corralled by a DC player near the edge of the 18-yard box. Wil Trapp makes a quick challenge to dispossess him. But in doing so, the ball deflects off Trapp's back leg and into the path of second-half DC sub Fabian Espindola. Espindola is able to left foot a shot into the net a split-second before two Crew defenders can block it. And the game ends tied 1-1. RECAP: http://www.massivereport.com/2016/7/16/12207332/crew-sc-shocked-late-by-espindola-goal-give-up-lead-to-draw-d-c VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: http://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2016-07-16-columbus-crew-sc-vs-dc-united/recap
July 20, 20168 yr As expected, Harrison Afful's red card was rescinded by MLS this week: http://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2016/07/18/after-review-crew-sc-defender-harrison-afful-has-red-card-rescinded The good news is that Afful will be able to play in this Saturday's game against Orlando. The bad news is Crew SC won't get back the two points in the standings lost due to the muffed call. This is the third red card the Crew has gotten rescinded this season. Which matches the total Crew wins this year. (Which shows how this season is going for us!) The two previous red card rescinded were on April 16 and June 1. Crew SC won the April game but lost the June game by one goal due to an extra goal being scored by Philly after the red card issuance. So that's another point in the standings lost due to a muffed call.
July 20, 20168 yr Giving up late goals has also been a problem this year - as the Dispatch highlighted in this article: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/sports/2016/07/19/new-math-late-goals-costing-crew.html There were six games highlights where the Crew gave up a late goal that changed the outcome from a win into a draw, or a draw into a loss. The goals were given up in the 77th, 79th, 88th, 89th, 91st and 93rd minutes for a total of 9 points lost in the standings. Here is the impact of those lost points in the Eastern Conference standings. The Crew are currently five points behind the sixth-place with one game-in-hand. Getting only 5 of those 9 lost points would vault the Crew from 9th-place and into a 6th-place playoff spot. And adding the 3 lost points due to erroneous red cards would vault the Crew into a 4th-place tie. But that's not how it works. You don't get those points back. Instead, the Crew are still treading water and hoping to start a late season winning streak going into their home game on Saturday before the MLS All-Star Break.
July 21, 20168 yr The Crew finally made a move during the summer transfer window and signed 23-year-old Norwegian defender Nicolai Naess. This is certainly a position that has needed to be upgraded since the Sauro injury: -- Crew signs Norwegian defender Nicolai Naess: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/sports/2016/07/22/0721-crew-signing.html -- Columbus Crew SC Sign Defender Nicolai Næss: http://www.massivereport.com/2016/7/21/12247270/columbus-crew-sc-sign-defender-nicolai-naess
July 23, 20168 yr Crew SC announced another summer transfer window signing on Friday, this one for a backup goalkeeper: http://www.massivereport.com/2016/7/22/12256576/columbus-crew-sc-sign-u-s-goalkeeper-zack-steffen Normally, the signing of a backup goalkeeper is not a big deal. But when that goalkeeper was the starting goalkeeper for the 2015 U.S. U-20 World Cup team and is considered the #1 USMNT goalkeeping prospect, it is: http://www.massivereport.com/2016/7/22/12258138/mls-experts-react-to-columbus-crew-sc-signing-of-zack-steffen-on-twitter 21-year old goalkeeper Zack Steffen is not expected to unseat current 30-year old starting goalkeeper Steve Clark this season. But if Steffen turns out to be as good as he projects to be, he might end up being the Crew SC starting goalkeeper of the future.
July 24, 20168 yr [cut]Another "must-win" home game ends in a draw.[paste] Crew SC took a two goal lead into the second half ... only to lose that lead. Because ... this season. Tony Tchani scored in the 20th minute on a nice give-and-go with Meram in which two Orlando defenders collided to leave Tchani one-on-one with the goalkeeper. In first half stoppage time, Ola Kamara was taken down in the box by the Orlando keeper, awarded a penalty kick and converted the PK in the final play of the first half. But that two goal lead was wiped out during a five minute stretch when Orlando scored in the 65th and 70th minute. Even the return of Federico Higuain as a second half sub wasn't enough to give the Crew a third goal for a much needed win. And so, the two MLS teams that are first and second with most draws, got another one. And the Crew got only three of a possible nine standings points from this three-game home stand. RECAP: http://www.massivereport.com/2016/7/23/12264232/crew-sc-blow-two-goal-lead-in-second-half-draw-orlando-city-2-2 VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: http://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2016-07-23-columbus-crew-sc-vs-orlando-city-sc/recap
August 1, 20168 yr This season ... continues. Winless streak extends to nine games. Only one win in the past 14 matches: RECAP: http://www.massivereport.com/2016/7/31/12339266/road-woes-continue-as-columbus-crew-sc-drops-3-0-result-to-toronto-fc VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: http://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2016-07-31-toronto-fc-vs-columbus-crew-sc/recap
August 5, 20168 yr The summer trade window closed this week, and the only other move made by the Crew was acquiring 6'-3" forward Adam Jahn from San Jose for targeted allocation money. Not a terrible move because he fills the "Aaron Schoenfeld" spot of a backup striker who can also be a second-half sub. This spot was supposed to be filled by MLS veteran Conor Casey this season. But Casey is out indefinitely with a knee injury and might not return: http://www.massivereport.com/2016/7/31/12335064/the-reason-behind-columbus-crew-sc-s-trade-for-adam-jahn There were reports that the Crew offered a transfer deal for 28-year-old forward Jonathan McDonald from his Costa Rican team. But that deal apparently fell though: http://www.massivereport.com/2016/8/4/12373384/columbus-crew-sc-remain-stagnant-on-deadline-day Crew SC are on their bye-week. So no game until Saturday, August 13th - when they host Eastern-division leading NYCFC.
August 14, 20168 yr This season... Another must-win home game (this one against East-leading NYCFC). Crew SC has a good first half but is down 1-0 at halftime. Crew SC equalizes in the 49th minute off a Waylon Francis crossing pass that was nicely headed in by Justin Meram. But because its "this season", Francis goes down with a separated shoulder only a few minutes later, and might be lost for the season. The Crew takes a 2-1 lead in the 80th minute when Ethan Finlay is fouled in the box and converts a PK. But because its "this season", NYCFC ties it 2-2 only three minutes later and then converts a PK - off an Afful handball in the box - in the 92th minute to go up 3-2. The Crew tied it up again 3-3 in the 95th minute off a deflection melee in front of the NYCFC net that Finlay drove home. But because its "this season", the one-point home draw doesn't help Crew SC much in the standings. RECAP: http://www.massivereport.com/2016/8/13/12470234/columbus-crew-sc-blow-chance-to-climb-the-standings-with-3-3-tie-to-nycfc VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: http://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2016-08-13-columbus-crew-sc-vs-new-york-city-fc/recap
August 22, 20168 yr Crew SC finally got off the tie train with a 2-0 road win at New England. The first Crew goal came against the run of play in the 8th minute when Hector Jimenez (playing for the injured Francis) found Meram down the left side. Meram drove into the 18-yard box and toward the back line before he shot a low ball across the 6-yard box that an on-rushing Finlay struck into the net. -- The second Crew goal came just after halftime in the 49th minute off a wonderful hustling defensive play by Ola Kamara. Kamara forced a turnover in Revs territory. Then, as the defense converged on him, Kamara passed the ball to an unguarded Higuain who struck it home. The Crew kept the Revs off the scoreboard, but not without two goal-line saves later in the second half. The first was kicked off the line by Parkhurst in the 74th minute. The second saved at the line in the 82nd minute by Clark. RECAP: http://www.massivereport.com/2016/8/20/12571652/columbus-crew-sc-correct-the-wrong-defeat-new-england-revolution-2-0 VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: http://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2016-08-20-new-england-revolution-vs-columbus-crew-sc/recap
August 25, 20168 yr Despite our horrific 2016 season, Crew SC entered last night's mid-week match only 5 points behind 6th-place DC for the East's final playoff spot - and with one game-in-hand over DC. So a home win against Philadelphia could've pushed the Crew within 2 points (and one win) of overtaking DC for that final playoff spot. And then the game started. After a scoreless first half, Philly got the first goal in the 60th minute. Columbus tied it up in the 73rd minute off a corner kick that bounced around in the 6-yard box that second-half sub Adam Jahn. Only to lose that lead one minute later on the Union's game-winning goal in the 74th minute. So instead of gaining on DC - who drew at Montreal last night - they lost a point and dropped further in the standings. RECAP: http://www.massivereport.com/2016/8/24/12635196/crew-sc-drops-midweek-2-1-decision-to-union-at-home VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: http://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2016-08-24-columbus-crew-sc-vs-philadelphia-union/recap
August 29, 20168 yr Nice home win this weekend with a bit of a makeshift lineup. Jahn replaced Ola at striker. Tchani replaced Higuain at the #10 spot. Then Wil Trapp got subbed out in the 13th minute after sustaining a concussion. Despite this, the Crew dominated play in the first half and in the 32nd minute cashed in on a Naess long ball to Meram down the right side that he quickly passed across the 6-yard box to an unmarked Ethan Finlay, who redirected it into the San Jose net. The second half saw the Crew keep San Jose away from any dangerous scoring chances until Meram drew a penalty in the box and converted the PK in the 84th minute to clinch the game. RECAP: http://www.massivereport.com/2016/8/27/12677932/columbus-crew-sc-climb-standings-in-2-0-win-over-san-jose VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: http://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2016-08-27-columbus-crew-sc-vs-san-jose-earthquakes/recap
August 30, 20168 yr Yes. According to http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/sports/2016/08/30/crew-vacancies.html: "Harrison Afful (Ghana), Justin Meram (Iraq), Tony Tchani (Cameroon) and rookie reserve Rodrigo Saravia (Guatemala) are away playing for their national teams this week. Meanwhile, Wil Trapp is out with a concussion and Federico Higuain is recovering from abdominal inflammation that sidelined him for Saturday’s 2-0 win over San Jose." So the Crew's makeshift lineup will get makeshiftier for next Saturday's game at L.A.
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