The Columbus Crew tied yet again on Sunday afternoon, allowing the Portland Timbers to equalize in the last minute of stoppage time to bring the score to 1-1. The dropped points will loom large in the Black & Gold’s mind as the playoffs draw nearer and the Crew find themselves on the wrong side of the playoff line. The game was a tale of two halves, with some nuances tactically that we have seen before, but were highlighted on the day. Let’s dive in.
The Impact of Kevin Molino
Kevin Molino’s ACL injury shortly after being signed to Columbus has to be one of the most unfortunate things the Crew have had happen in recent years. Molino was coming off of a good stretch in Minnesota and fans hoped that he could put the Black & Gold over the top in terms of attacking power. Unfortunately, injury struck, as it often does, but we are now seeing the Kevin Molino that we hoped would show up from the beginning for Columbus.
Molino is a different kind of winger that Caleb Porter has tried to utilize over the past few games. While he does have some pace, the Trinidad and Tobago international does his best work in the pockets. This means he often likes to find half spaces where he can receive the ball and play make from there, much like Lucas Zelarayan does centrally.
In this certain game, Molino was all over the pitch. Slated as a winger, he often times would instead dive towards the middle of the field and play almost as a second attacking midfielder with Zelarayan being allowed to roam freely.
This meant that Pedro Santos had more room down the wing to attack and get higher to use that talented left foot to whip in crosses. Molino would occasionally hold up the play angled toward the center of the pitch, and then give Santos a through ball on the overlap to set up those crossing chances.
Molino plays a completely different role as a winger than Luis Diaz on the opposite side because they have different strengths. Diaz is a more of a pacey, tricky, flash winger who will take multiple defenders on before dishing a pass or drawing a foul. Molino on the other hand, prefers to slow play down and the facilitate the ball to other playmakers while running off the ball and getting in scoring positions, like we saw on his goal.
In the two back to back games he has started, Molino has looked pretty good and comfortable in the role he is playing. The position battle between Molino, Derrick Etienne, and Yaw Yeboah will be interesting to watch going forward.
Attacking Portland’s Three Center Backs
One small adjustment to Caleb Porter’s style of play this week was the way Columbus went about attacking Portland’s back three. Portland decided to go into this game in a 3-4-3 that can easily become a 5-4-1 if the outside midfielders need to drop in. For the most part though, Portland would stick with the three center backs with the midfielders helping, but not technically as defenders.
The change that the Crew made was to attack the away side by using overlapping and diagonal runs in behind the defenders. Recently, the Black & Gold have typically attacked via Steven Moreira and Pedro Santos/Will Sands down the wing putting crosses and cutbacks into the box.
On Sunday, Columbus looked more dangerous when the buildup players would play those slip through balls behind the Portland defense. Cucho Hernandez had a great chance in the 2nd minute off of one of these balls that he ended up chipping over the bar by a fractional margin.
These runs create problems for defenses with a back three because it requires a lot of communication. When these runners go in behind center backs, they are essentially running in the defender’s blind spot, so the only way to know where the player will be is by checking with a look over the shoulder or communication from another teammate.
These runs came to bite Portland on Columbus’ goal in the first half. The point of attack was switched from the right wing to the left, and Lucas Zelarayan received the ball in a holdup position while Kevin Molino made an overlapping run in behind. None of Portland’s defenders communicated or checked their shoulders to see where Molino was, and he tucked the ball away for a well-earned goal.
These runs can be incredibly dangerous, but also run a higher risk of getting called for offside like we saw on the disallowed goal by Derrick Etienne in the second half. Nevertheless, the change helped the Black & Gold take the lead and ended up helping them earn a point.
A Tale of Two Halves
When Columbus went into the dressing room at halftime all the Crew fans were feeling pretty good. The squad had controlled the game, created good chances, defended well, and went in after 45 minutes up a goal.
In the second half, the Black & Gold looked incredibly flat, lazy, and unambitious going forward. Caleb Porter could be heard every time his team cleared the ball, urging his players to get up and press so they could get out of their own half. This lack of enthusiasm gave Portland a foothold back into the game and a fighting chance to equalize.
I wish there was a certain tactic I could point to that caused Columbus’ downfall in the second half, but I can’t. There were no blatant coaching errors by Porter or his staff that caused the Crew to be off, this time it’s on the players.
To be fair to the team, they did have attacking chances in the second period, but it wasn’t the domination that we had seen in the first half. Heavy legs or complacency could be possible excuses, but the Black & Gold were outplayed in the second half.
One example of the difference is the position of the Columbus center backs. In the first half, they almost always were close to halfway up the field as Portland tried to clear their lines. In the second half, they were dropped back further, which could be a coaching change, but it doesn’t make sense to have your defenders drop that far back when your team is playing so well.
It all comes down to desire and energy, and Columbus in the second half was lacking. That’s why they didn’t get a second goal, why they couldn’t clear their lines, and why Portland equalized off of poor defensive clearances from the Crew. Unfortunately for the home fans, it was the same old story.
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