The Columbus Crew traveled south to take on Nashville SC a week after suffering its first loss of the season against Charlotte FC. Sean Zawadzki opened the scoring for the Black & Gold in the first half with a thundering header off a corner. Nashville struck back, scoring twice in first half stoppage time to grab the lead heading into the intermission. Early in the second half Columbus had a chance to tie the game, but Diego Rossi’s penalty clattered off the woodwork. Marino Hinestroza was the hero to even the score later in the second half, sending a looping header into the side netting. The game ended 2-2, with the Crew taking a point home.
With Wilfried Nancy returning to the sideline, the Black & Gold coaching staff returned to full strength. Nancy switched tactics and formations up in the first half but adjusted again in the second half after Nashville’s two goals. Let’s dive into those adjustments.
First half setup
When the Crew released the starting lineup, there were two irregularities that fans noticed. The first was the absence of star striker Cucho Hernandez. While no real details were provided about his absence other than a “team decision”, he was not available to play against Nashville. The second was the incorporation of three central midfielders, Zawadzki, Aidan Morris, and Darlington Nagbe.
Some thought that Zawadzki would play along the backline and Yaw Yeboah would push up into attack like an extra winger. Others thought the same but on the other side with Mo Farsi possibly pushing into the attack as a winger.
Both thoughts ended up being wrong though. Columbus’ backline remained the same as always, with Yevhen Cheberko, Malte Amundsen, and Steven Moreira anchoring the center. Farsi and Yeboah remained outside as wingbacks, setting the stage for Nagbe, Morris, and Zawadzki to run the midfield.
Both Rossi and Jacen Russell-Rowe stayed high up top as strikers, so the Black & Gold essentially played with three holding midfielders on the pitch.
On defense, the Crew set up in a 5-3-2. That formation remained consistent with what Columbus had done in games prior. Offense though was a different story.
On the offensive side, the Black & Gold opted to play in a 3-3-4. The three central defenders stayed in their natural positions while the wingbacks pushed high up the field next to Rossi and Russell-Rowe. Nagbe was the conductor in the center of midfield while Zawadzki and Morris had differing roles from their midfield partner.
Both Zawadzki and Morris tended to drift outside and act as half-pivots for the wingbacks. They could also be considered as covering wingbacks because they often played defense in the wingback position if there was a turnover and needed to recover.
Both midfielders playing as pivots bridged the gap between the wingbacks and outside center backs. The downside was that Nagbe was all alone in the center of the pitch and the wide areas were vulnerable in a counterattack if Morris and Zawadzki did not recover correctly.
This formational and tactical tweak worked initially, generating offensive chances and lots of possession. In the long run though, Nashville scored two goals and took a lead into halftime.
Second half return to normalcy
At halftime, Nancy opted to sub Zawadzki out in favor of Hinestroza. This turned out to not be because of Zawadzki’s play, but because he had suffered a concussion in the first half.
Hinestroza for Zawadzki is not a like-for-like switch by any stretch of the imagination. This change put Columbus back in their usual formation, with two central midfielders instead of three.
The Black & Gold do not play with a natural no. 10, they often have a fluid front three that is positionless in the final third. Hinestroza slid into that position-less attack alongside Rossi and Russell-Rowe, setting Columbus back in a 5-2-3.
With this formation change came a few tactical tweaks. The wingbacks got up the field as usual, but with two midfielders now in the center, the outside center backs were free to push up. Moreira and Amundsen ventured forward much more in the second half with the formation change.
The other change was not a concerted tactical change. Columbus struggled in the first half when they tried to go forward too fast and turned the ball over. This gave Nashville more rhythm in the game and allowed them to have more attacking chances. The Black & Gold dominated the second half by controlling the ball, settling down, and keeping possession.
By keeping possession, they put constant pressure on Nashville’s defense to remain stout in the face of a potent attacking team. After trying again and again, the Crew finally found the breakthrough courtesy of Hinestroza.
Simple reminders to calm down and keep the ball changed the game for Columbus in the second half. The formational changes played their part, but simply reminding an elite team to play their game is powerful.
That’s exactly what happened for the Black & Gold, and it allowed them to salvage a point on the road against a stingy Nashville team.
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