The Columbus Crew had their season come to a premature end on Sunday, falling in penalty kicks to the New York Red Bulls. After losing the opening game in Columbus, the Black & Gold travelled to New Jersey to try and even the best-of-three series. Substitute Max Arfsten opened the scoring for the crew, but RBNY was able to equalize when a defensive lapse led to a New York counter where they scored. A poor challenge by Rudy Camacho in the box gifted New York their second goal of the night from the spot, but Christian Ramirez would even the game deep into stoppage time to send the game to penalty kicks. Columbus had a chance to win on penalties but went on to miss their last three chances from the spot. RBNY capitalized, knocking the 2023 champions off their perch and out of the playoffs.
It was another hard-fought tactical battle for both sides, but this game was yet again a combination of New York’s defensive discipline and the Black & Gold’s mental shortcomings. Let’s dive into all the tactics that went into this final Crew game of 2024.
The tactics
For what it is worth, Columbus played much better attacking soccer in this game compared to the first match back home. A change in mentality and tactics gave the Black & Gold an attacking edge.
RBNY decided to employ the same pressure they used in the first game to try and get after the Crew’s backline. New York’s double block of five pressers and five sitting defenders looked to force Columbus into turnovers in their defensive half so the home side could counter quickly.
The Black & Gold went back at RBNY in two different ways. The first way was by overloading the wide areas and combining with quick one-twos to get around the pressing defenders. Mo Farsi often pinched inside to quickly link up with Steven Moreira and Darlington Nagbe to advance the ball into the attacking phase.
The second avenue was by playing a long ball into the feet of an attacker, relying on holdup play and then catching New York out with secondary runners. RBNY was trying to thwart this by having their centerbacks man-mark the dropping Crew attackers. This was a dangerous game because while they were applying pressure on the attackers receiving the ball, they were also being dragged out of position. Columbus exploited those open spaces at times and generated real attacking chances because of it.
This tactic by New York was simple: they were banking on the Black & Gold to make mistakes. They saw what happened in the first game where the Crew played poorly, and they wanted to try their luck again. That did not mean they let Columbus play however they wanted to, but RBNY did not go out of their way to beat the Black & Gold. They made the Crew uncomfortable and waited for Columbus to make a mistake so they could pounce.
In the second half, tactics changed. New York scaled back their press and it became more of a resisted pressure. They would jump at any poor touches or passes the Black & Gold made, but they were not applying the constant pressure like they were in the first half.
This could have been for a number of reasons. One possibility is that RBNY might have been getting tired having to chase the Crew’s defense all over the pitch. The other and more logical reason is that New York’s pressure made them look exposed on the back end and Columbus was not making as many mistakes as before. RBNY coach Sandro Schwartz made the choice to call off his all-out pressure for more defensive stability.
This gave the Black & Gold a foothold in the game. They were able to shift New York from side-to-side, ultimately finding the opener on a overshift. One other tactical nugget Wilfried Nancy threw in was pushing Nagbe higher up the field. The Crew kept Sean Zawadzki deeper and allowed Nagbe to make attacking runs into the box and support the attack.
RBNY got back into their 5-5 press later in the match and it caused Columbus fits yet again like it did in the first game. From there the Black & Gold’s sloppiness reared its ugly head, allowing New York to grab two goals and get back into the game. If it wasn’t for a Ramirez leveler, the Crew would have gone home earlier than they did. In typical Columbus fashion they gave fans hope until the very end, but a string of poor penalties sealed their fate on the 2024 season.
Beyond the tactics
The Black & Gold lost this game more on the mental side than the physical side. The beginning of the end began when Moreira gave up on a play when he thought the ball went out of bounds, allowing RBNY to go down the field and equalize. It was the 2015 MLS Cup all over again except this time the fault was on the defender, not the referee.
Nancy has been praised for his man-management and ability to take ordinary players and make them extraordinary. His beautiful, bold and brash style of play captivated the league and delivered the Crew a championship. Over the past few weeks though, Columbus’ mental resolve has diminished drastically.
Players make mistakes. That is just the true facts of sports. Another fact is that every single goal New York scored in this series was a result of laziness or sloppy play. Those are mental mistakes, which have typically been weeded out since the days of Caleb Porter.
Let’s start with the corner in the first game. The Black & Gold are beat on two headers where the defenders barely jump and RBNY is allowed to pull ahead on the road. From there the Crew could not get back into the game because their poor decisions, touches and passes allowed New York to keep them at bay.
Now onto the second game, a clean slate. A chance for the defending champions to show what they are made of and the mentality to dominate inferior competition. They went up a goal, but laziness on a routine play where all Moreira had to do was either shield or pass the ball gave New York renewed life.
To make matters worse, Camacho continued his uncharacteristic run of bad form by making a shambolic challenge on Emil Forsberg in the box. It was an intervention that needed to happen, but not by the Frenchman recklessly diving at Forsberg’s legs. Camacho is a better defender than that, but he looked mentally tired.
There are several explanations to Columbus’ historic collapse. The most compelling is the fixture congestion the Black & Gold have endured over the past year. After playing in MLS, CONCACAF Champions Cup, Leagues Cup and Campeones Cup, it looks like the Crew were tired. Many thought it would catch up with Columbus eventually, but no one expected the mental collapse that ended up unfolding.
This loss will sting, but there are bright spots to take from this season. This was a historic year for the Columbus Crew. They set countless club records and went the distance in several competitions. Most importantly, they did it all playing their brand of breathtaking soccer that fans of the Black & Gold have grown accustomed to.
This playoff loss is a reminder that it is hard to repeat as champions, but it is also a reminder that fans need to be grateful. This squad is one for the history books, and in a league like MLS where there is rampant turnover, these stories do not last forever.
So, despite the collapse and frustration the year ended with, there are more good times ahead. With Nancy at the helm and the core of this squad intact, MLS will have to watch the Crew go deep into competitions. All focus now turns to next season, where impossible will continue to be an opinion.
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