The Columbus Crew fell on the road in Portland on Saturday 3-2 in a back-and-forth game that snapped the team’s eight-game unbeaten run. The Timbers went up 2-0 in the first half before midfielder Lucas Zelarayan scored two goals to tie the game back up at two apiece.
While it seemed another tie may be in the offing, lackluster defending from the Black & Gold allowed Portland to regain the lead courtesy of a Sebastian Blanco goal in the 80th minute. From there the hosts saw out the game and sent Columbus home with a first loss since late ay.
This was a very open game but also showcased where the Crew’s biggest weaknesses lie. Let’s dive into the tactics and mishaps from the match.
Creating two 5 vs 5 situations
Out of the gate, the Timbers wanted to press high, which gave the the Black & Gold trouble early on. Columbus opted to make a change and go with Sean Zawadzki at the central center back position and move Steven Moreira out to the right side center back spot. This gave Portland a slight advantage in the press due to the young American’s inexperience in that position. The Crew countered this press by eliminating the midfield and creating two five-on-five situations.
In the defensive half, the Black & Gold had their three center backs and the two central midfielders to help keep the ball and build out of the back. Both wing backs were sent high to provide width in the attacking spaces. This meant Timbers’ attack and midfield stepped up high to press, leaving a gap in between their attack and defense.
This approach left room for Zelarayan and forwards Jacen Russell-Rowe and Christian Ramirez to drop into those half spaces and receive the ball to feet and create these five-on-five situations in the attacking half. The front three along with the two wing backs tried to stretch the Portland backline and create numerical overloads before the other Timbers recovered.
It was in this is area of the pitch where Columbus missed the playmaking ability of the suspended Cucho Hernandez. Leading the team in assists this season, the Colombian likes to roam and find pockets where his teammates can get him the ball and allow him to attack. It’s a different story with Russell-Rowe and Ramirez.
Because of Hernandez’s absence, Zelarayan had to do most of the playmaking and, as it turned out, the scoring. The missing piece was the added dynamic and danger of Hernandez’s ability. Russell-Rowe played well, but he is not at the level of Hernandez and Ramirez couldn’t finish his chances.
Zawadzki playing in the middle of the back three
This was head coach Wilfried Nancy’s original plan for this makeshift back three before Moreria came to him and asked for the responsibility to be in the middle. While there are issues with the Frenchman as the most central center back, there were more by playing Zawadzki, a midfielder naturally, there.
One reason for this change at this point is that Zawadzki could combine better with midfielders Darlington Nagbe and Aidan Morris from a more central position given his midfield passing ability. This was likely a tactic to have a reliable building structure in the center on the road rather than Moreira, who prefers to advance the ball on the dribble.
Another reason is to free up the wing backs to be more attacking in the wide channel. While Zawadzki has scored some really important goals for Columbus this year, but Moreira provides more of an attacking danger out wide than the American. Often in the second half, the Frenchman played a second winger to help create overloads.
This also could have been done to see if Zawazski can play centrally along the backline. As mentioned, this was Nancy’s original plan when dealing with so many injuries defensively. Degenek has returned and Moreira will likely move to the right center back position where he started the year, so the coaching staff likely wanted to see where else Zawadzki can help th team.
For whatever reason it actually was, it was not a success. The Crew conceded three goals, one of them a breakaway sprung by Zawadzki stepping up and pressing too high without cover. The American did not look comfortable as the last line of defense, another sign that this makeshift group should be used in emergency purposes only.
What kind of goalkeeper is Patrick Shulte?
The big news out of Columbus this week was the mutual termination of Eloy Room’s contract. This cemented Shulte as the Crew’s No. 1 goalkeeper going forward. But what exactly does the 22-year-old American bring to the table from a tactical standpoint?
Schulte’s distribution is good, which is something Nancy likes about him. He is calm on the ball, can pick out a pass and act as an extra possession player when needed. There is the occasional bad decision, but that is bound to happen with a young goalkeeper.
Also, Schulte is very good at making big saves at crucial times. Last week against New York City was the latest example of that. City could have scored at least three or four more goals that game, but Schutle made stop after stop.
There are also areas in which Schulte has to improve, namely his quality in the air. While he continues to work on it in training, Schulte is uncertain when crosses come into the penalty box, not knowing when he needs to attack the ball and making poor decisions on if he should punch or collect. This is an issue he must continue to work on as it led to another goal against the Tibers.
Schulte’s aggression coming off his line and cutting down attacker’s angles must get better as well. On Portland’s second goal, the goalkeeper stopped coming forward right before he got to the ball and instead shuffled sideways to cut off his front post. This allowed Dairon Asprilla to slot the ball to the back post.
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