The Columbus Crew finally picked up a win in Atlanta on Saturday with a 2-1 score line. After a quick goal from Jonathan Mensah, Erik Hurtado doubled the Black & Gold lead before halftime. From there Columbus held on, only conceding a bicycle kick goal by Dom Dwyer in stoppage time. Heroics from Eloy Room along with some changes in play from the coaching box led the Crew to a much-needed road win. Let’s dive in.
Darlington Nagbe playing deeper
I think it can be said that Darlington Nagbe has had his fair share of bad press in the past few weeks relating to his performance on the pitch, but he bounced back with a nice performance on Saturday evening. His positional placement is what I want to focus on here. At the beginning of the season, Darlington Nagbe and Artur were given a freedom to roam the midfield to keep possession of the ball and make plays. That changed this past weekend, as Nagbe was placed in front of the defense in a defensive midfielder role, while Artur was pushed a little bit higher up the pitch. This allowed Nagbe to see the play happening in front of him clearer, and then he could make interceptions and organize the team from his defensive midfield spot. By pushing Artur higher, it also gave him more space to find passing lanes instead of restricting him to one side of the field, which is what tends to happen when Artur is playing alongside him. This openness gave Nagbe creative freedom and also put one of Columbus’ more dangerous players in a favorable situation
More emphasis on playing the ball through the middle of the pitch
Caleb Porter in the preseason said that he needed more production from his wingers this year, meaning the ball would have to be put at their feet out wide to allow them to create. This has been mostly what the Crew have done this year, attacking down the sides of the pitch. The difference on Saturday was that we didn’t see that as much, and most of the play was making its way through the middle. With the players Columbus had in midfield I think this was a good move, because Artur, Darlington Nagbe, and Aidan Morris are highly technical quality players on a consistent basis. By putting the ball at their feet, they then could feed Erik Hurtado down the middle, while also still having the option to swing the ball out wide to the Black & Gold wingers. When you only are attacking down the sides of the field, there aren’t many options once you get in an attacking area. Usually you can either cross the ball into the middle of the box or drop it back to a trailing wingback or midfielder. When a team attacks down the middle, they have the whole field to work with. Another element of this style of play is the wingbacks can stay a little bit more back than before. Because the ball is not being isolated on the side of the field, there is no need for the wingbacks to get super high and support, because the midfielders have enough support already in the middle of the pitch.
Where the Crew need to improve
The quality of play and lack of mistakes was much better on Saturday compared to past games, but there is still areas of improvement that the Black & Gold can take to get better results. The main thing they need to fix is their passing. Columbus prides itself on a style of play that emphasizes passing the ball, lots and lots of times. They want to break down an opposing team and then capitalize on their chances they create. The passing has not been good enough in the past few weeks. Many times, there are chances to pass out of an opposing team’s press, but the Crew just blast the ball down the field. Nagbe and Artur are finding good splits, but the defense is just electing to play long instead. They need to pass the ball better and more efficient. They also have to get the ball off of their foot quicker. Too many times the players try to dribble their opponents when there is an easy pass that can be played that is a much better option. These are juvenile mistakes that can be fixed, but that is up to Caleb Porter and his coaching staff.
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