The Columbus Crew played out a disappointing draw on Saturday vs a short-sided San Jose squad who found their way back into the game due to a pair of late goals by Francisco Calvo. The Crew found themselves a goal down, but up a man due to Jamiro Monteiro being sent off in the 33rd minute. At the 84th minute mark the Black & Gold would watch their 3-1 lead be whittled down before seeing it dissipate before their eyes in stoppage time when Calvo powered home his second header of the game to secure a draw for the Quakes. Caleb Porter did make a few notable adjustments in the game, but in the end the Crew only have a point to show for it.
Attacking through give and go’s
This is one of the bright spots from the game. The Crew has been so entertaining to watch because in these first two games they go through spells of quick, but efficient, passing sequences. Once all the attackers get on the same page and start doing little one two around the defenders the Black & Gold can be a very dangerous team. By finding numerical mismatches where the Crew attackers outnumber the defenders, they are able to just pass around them and get in high quality goalscoring spaces. Another layer to this style of play is Miguel Berry. Lots of outside noise is being directed at Berry getting the first two starts of the MLS season, but his passing so far has been superb. He has great awareness of where his teammates are on the field and his passes are laser focused at times. Saturday he was missing the goalscoring touch, but he is showing incredible promise for a 24-year-old.
Using width and space to their advantage
One of the biggest adjustments I observed Caleb Porter make was after Monteiro was sent off for his tackle on Darlington Nagbe. After he knew San Jose was down a man, he instructed Pedro Santos and Stephen Moreira to push wider and higher to stretch the opponents even more. At times, Santos and Moreira were almost a second set of wingers, adding to the attacking threats the Crew had going forward. Not only did this give flexibility down the wing, it opened up space inside for Artur, Nagbe, and Zelarayan to operate. When the defense was worried about getting beat on the outside and shifted to defend it, Zelarayan would scamper down the middle. When the Quakes bottled up to keep Zelarayan in front of them, he would knock it out wide for one of the wingers to wreak havoc. Unfortunately, the Black & Gold had to abandon the hyper attacking approach after San Jose’s second goal, but there were flashes of real attacking danger from the Crew in those areas.
The Zardes Substitution: Why is it brilliant?
I know what you’re thinking… the substitution was brilliant because Miguel Berry had done nothing all game and Zardes ended up scoring, but that’s not the whole picture. The substitution was brilliant because of what the Crew needed at that moment. From the start of the game, Caleb Porter needed Miguel Berry to feed the attacking pieces around him with great passes and set them up in scoring positions. While Berry accomplished his task, he didn’t get his own name on the scoresheet even though he had opportunities to. So, when the Crew are tied and need a goal, why don’t you put on a natural born finisher and top rate poacher? Gyasi Zardes was subbed on because he was what the team needed at that exact time. Miguel Berry had done all he could, he had set his teammates up in scoring positions and aided the attack mightily, but when you have an ace up your sleeve like Gyasi Zardes, you’re going to pull it out. Now if Zardes had ended up not scoring would this substitution be brilliant? Maybe… maybe not. The fact of the matter is, Caleb Porter had a decision that was a no brainer. The Crew needed a goal, Porter subbed on Zardes, he scored, and now all the USMNT fans who call on Twitter for him to be dropped can rest their thumbs for a week until they figure out something else to criticize him about. Brilliant move by Porter, good poachers finish by Gyasi, and solid offensive day for the Black & Gold.
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