Crew tactical review: Columbus steals a point in San Diego

The Columbus Crew took an inaugural trip out west to San Diego to take on expansion side San Diego FC last weekend. Columbus pounced out to an early 1-0 courtesy of a Max Arfsten goal, but a Malte Amundsen red card in the second half changed the game for the Black & Gold. San Diego found a foothold and began chipping away at the Crew. After Yevhen Cheberko had to exit momentarily to be checked for a head injury, the hosts capitalized on the short-manned Columbus side off a corner to level the game. Patrick Schulte kept the Black & Gold in the game from there, stopping chance after chance to secure a point for the Crew.

It was a game of momentum swings for Columbus and San Diego. San Diego FC started off in control, but the Black & Gold had a spell of dominance that resulted in a goal, and another called back for a suspicious foul. After the 40th minute though, it was mostly San Diego dominance and the Crew hanging on for a point. In a game of swings, let’s dive into all the tactics that dictated this draw.

Columbus’ wingback brigade

The early surprise of the night was three wingbacks being named in the starting team sheet. Arfsten, Mo Farsi and DeJuan Jones were all included in the starting XI for a new look to Wilfried Nancy’s team.

Instantly Crew fans could see the vision. Arfsten joined the fluid front three with Jones in the left wingback spot. Dylan Chambost moved back deeper into the midfield with Darlington Nagbe, and Sean Zawadzki was the anchor of the backline.

This was an attack-minded lineup with emphasis on ball possession and width dominance. When Columbus was at its best in this game, it was stellar wingback play that propelled it to those heights.

The early consensus was that Nancy wanted to spread San Diego’s four-back defensive line and overload the wings. Arfsten and Jones often operated as a double wingback tandem, interchanging often. When Jones was in the wingback position, Arfsten could go inside to drag a defender and create space or stay high and wide to combine with Jones.

On the other side, Farsi had a completely different assignment. Arfsten rarely went over to his half of the field due to the buildup primarily being on the left, so Farsi played the role of an inverted wingback. The Algerian international waited for San Diego’s backline to shift and then exploited the space in between and behind the center back and outside back. He had a good look at goal on a ball over the top early on but whiffed on the finish.

When the Black & Gold had a give and go game with Jones, Arfsten and the fluid attack on one side, with Farsi as a long switch and inverted runner on the other side, San Diego FC did not know what to do. Part of that was due to how the Crew wanted to attack the hosts, but the other factor was how San Diego was set up early in the first half.

San Diego played a 4-3-3 with an extremely narrow midfield and backline. With Columbus committing three fluid forwards, two midfielders, and sometimes two outside center backs into the attack, the defense tried to plug up the middle. That was fine until the entire defensive line had to shift to mark on the wing, leaving the backside wide open.

Throughout the first half there were giant pockets between San Diego’s wingers and outside backs. This space was routinely exploited by the Black & Gold and helped with the buildup and overloads. It was eventually San Diego’s adjustments that got them back into the game.

Around the 40-minute mark, the hosts made a change. They allowed the backline to get more horizontal to mark the wide areas and the wingers dropped a bit deeper on defense. This left them a bit undermanned in the immediate attack, but they became a much better countering team.

The structural change was a minute detail that the San Diego coaching staff tried and saw it give them a foothold in the game, but bigger and more impactful changes came in the second half.

San Diego’s philosophy change

Right off the bat in the second half you could tell San Diego made a tactical philosophy shift that changed the game. Typically, a team that enjoys a draw out buildup, San Diego resorted to going direct.

Clever runs from the front three paired with a high Crew backline resulted in chance after chance for the hosts, and then their luck got better when Amundsen pulled down an attacker and got sent off.

Seeing the opposition go down to 10 men, San Diego doubled down and committed more men forward. After equalizing off a corner when Columbus had nine players on the field, the aerial assault continued. San Diego sent three to four attackers probing the backline and making runs in behind which led to a ton of changes, but also a number of offsides calls.

That was the gamble San Diego was willing to take. Going long in the air is always daunting because it feels out of control and sometimes needs luck, but against a high backline like the Black & Gold, a perfect pass can spell doom.

The other tweak that San Diego made was on the defensive side with their press. In the first half, the hosts employed a resisted pressure with four players that was broken by the Crew routinely. It was simple math, San Diego pressed with four and Columbus had five to six players in that area at all times for a game-like version of rondo.

In the second half (and especially after the red card), San Diego began pressing higher with five players and one “rover” on the backside. The five attackers went after the Black & Gold backline, with the sitting player marking the backside wingback. San Diego wanted to put the Crew under siege while taking away the backside release valve.

Obviously, this was made easier by the lack of a player on the field for Columbus, but the Black & Gold got some chances off of San Diego mistakes. Diego Rossi came so close to taking the lead back for the Crew off a breakaway where it was just him and two defenders, but the shot sailed high.

This was one of those games for Columbus that did not go remotely to plan, but they will take a point on the road and move on. San Diego showed they belong in this league and will be a force this season, but the Black & Gold held their own in adverse circumstances. There is still a lot of work for this Crew team to do, but a draw away from home against one of the better teams in the West while playing down a man during the match is nothing to be ashamed of.