The Columbus Crew drew against Western Conference side Colorado Rapids on Saturday night by a score of 1-1. After Cucho Hernandez opened the scoring early in the game, Columbus seemed to go stagnant in attack and allowed Colorado to equalize via a penalty kick In the 41st minute due to a Steven Moreira handball. It was a cagey game with lots of fouls committed by both teams highlighted by the number of cards that the referee handed out. The Black & Gold’s tactical set up was consistent with the past few games, but there were some nuances that stuck out. Let’s dive in.
Consistent Offensive Pattern of Play
It seemed like every possession that the Crew had there was a scripted idea of where the ball should/would go. Many times, when Columbus would regain the ball in their own territory, the ball would then be possessed around the back until it reached either Steven Moreira or Pedro Santos in their wing back positions. From there, the ball would make its way to one of the Black & Gold wingers, most times it was Luis Diaz. This allowed Diaz to take on his defender one verse one and then finally cross the ball back into the middle to try and find his fellow attackers. It was this pattern that was incredibly prevalent throughout the game that had both positive and negative effects on the result. First let’s go through the positive. Caleb Porter said before the season started that he wanted to get more production from his wingers, and he wanted them to contribute more in the goals and assists catalogue. So far this season they have succeeded, often times providing assists for the other attackers and even putting in a goal of their own. The main positive of play this pattern has been the revelation of Luis Diaz. Diaz has been on a tear over the past few games, highlighted by getting a brace of assists against NYCFC last week. In this game he was often causing the defense lots of problems, causing fouls and stretching the defense with his speed. His continued form is something to look out for over the next few games. Unfortunately, playing this style also had some negative effects on the Black & Gold as well. The main problem was that Darlington Nagbe and Artur were not on the ball as much as usual, which is a big issue. During the All Star break the whole of MLS kept hearing about Nagbe’s skillset and ability to boss a midfield, with a few players at the All-Star Game going as far to say that Nagbe was the player that surprised them the most with his play. His and Artur’s creativity and play in the middle of the pitch was missing for the Crew last night. At times there was space to exploit down the middle, but Columbus was bent on attacking down the sides. I don’t think this will be a long-term issue for the Crew, but it is something to watch for in the next couple of games.
Cucho Hernandez Dropping Into the Midfield
When Cucho Hernandez first signed for the Crew many fans thought they had finally found their sought-after striker of the future to replace Gyasi Zardes. There were many reports of Hernandez’s versatility and ability to play on the wing, but I don’t think a lot of Black & Gold fans expected Hernandez to drop and play in the midfield as often as he did on Saturday night. Granted, Hernandez isn’t a set midfielder in the formation, but he often finds himself drifting back on offense to help Columbus build going forward, as well as coming back defensively to put in a shift to win the ball back. It was surprising to see that Lucas Zelarayan would often stay higher up the field than Hernandez while the Crew were possessing the ball in their own half, and it was instead the Colombian that would be checking back and then finding Zelarayan’s feet. This could be dangerous for the Black & Gold going forward in the coming weeks, because with Hernandez’s speed and Zelarayan’s passing ability, it makes for a deadly one-two passing combo that can unlock defenses. Unfortunately for Columbus, we didn’t see really any of that last night, because most of the attacks were done down the wing by Derrick Etienne and Luis Diaz. Just a reminder, this is only Cucho Hernandez’s eighth game that he has played in with the Black & Gold, so as time goes on the chemistry will also increase, and the rest of MLS is already on alert about this attacking duo.
Slowing the Pace of the Game
This was something that the coaching staff would have instructed the players on going into this clash out west. Colorado plays a certain type of game where they want to draw opponents into a very open counter attacking game, which is not the style that Caleb Porter and the Crew want to play. Colorado’s strategy is so effective because when they lose the ball going forward, other teams look ahead and see a chance to counter, when in reality the Rapids’ defense is set up and ready to capitalize on a misplaced pass or touch. In the moments of the game where Columbus looked in control and dangerous was the time that they slowed the pace of the game down and decided to possess instead of throwing haymakers at Colorado’s backline on the counter. It takes longer and doesn’t look like the Black & Gold are making progress going forward, but as they switch the ball and play simple passes the opposition begins to back up and get anxious without the ball. The Crew did this best in the opening 15-20 minutes of the game as well as throughout parts of the second half and looked like the more controlled and better team in these moments. If the whole game had been played at their pace then maybe Columbus would have flew out of the Rockies with all three points, but they will settle for a point on the road this time around.
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