Crew tactical review: Miami spoils Columbus' northern party

On Saturday up in gloomy Cleveland, the Columbus Crew had their unbeaten streak ended by MLS’ other unbeaten team, Inter Miami. The Black & Gold began the game with the bulks share of possession but could not convert any meaningful chances into goals. Miami struck first, with Benjamin Cremaschi throwing his body on the line to head the ball past Patrick Schulte and into the back of the net. After what was a promising start, the Crew became incredibly slopped and lethargic in the last 20 minutes of the first half. After halftime, Columbus started biting back, keeping possession and getting multiple sure-fire chances on offense, but they squandered them all. The game would end in a 1-0 loss and Miami moved on as the only unbeaten team remaining in MLS.

This game was one of those frustrating outcomes where one simple cool head could have bailed the Black & Gold out. Unfortunately for all the Crew faithful up in Cleveland, a bail out never came. Let’s dive into all the tactics that landed Columbus with their first loss of the season.

Differing philosophies

This particular matchup featured two great teams in their own rights, but both sides had differing philosophies on offense to take control of the game.

Let’s start off with the Crew. Columbus is known throughout the league to play possession-dominant soccer that installs a re-press after the ball is lost. The Black & Gold like to have the ball but will not wait to attack if the moment arises.

This hybrid approach of playing controlled with the ball but bold with the re-press and numbers in attack has caught the league by storm. Wilfried Nancy came into the Black & Gold and instantly put his mark on the team, and it was incredibly evident on Saturday afternoon.

For much of the opening 20 minutes of the first half, the Crew dominated the ball. Miami struggled to keep possession, but Columbus’ possession numbers did not yield them many scoring chances.

On the other side, Inter Miami came in with more of an emphasis on counter attacking the Black & Gold’s recovering backline. Miami was content to defend with eight players while Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi sat up top, waiting to spring a counter chance.

Much of the Black & Gold’s possession in the early part of the first half was due to the fact the Miami’s defenders could not find Messi or Suarez, or the former Barcelona teammates could not retain the ball while they were hounded by the Crew’s defenders. Sean Zawadzki nicked the ball off Messi several times before Inter Miami finally figured out how to spring the two attackers.

Once Miami started getting the ball to Messi and Suarez though, the gameplan opened up for them. With Messi on the ball holding up play, Miami could get secondary runners screaming down the flanks in spaces that the Columbus wingbacks and outside center backs have not recovered in.

Part of the problem for the Black & Gold on offense was actually the layout of the field. The playing surface at Huntington Bank Field was narrower than the pitch at Lower.com Field, limiting the amount of space the wingbacks had on the flanks.

This meant that Miami had an easier time plugging up the middle and did not have to worry about the wide players doing any real damage that they usually could have. To account for this, Nancy pushed up the outside centerbacks into midfield roles to try and keep Miami’s defenders honest inside.

Despite the scoreline, the Crew’s offensive approach worked for the most part. Columbus had a few really good chances in the first half to take the lead, and in the second half it was almost a miracle they did not score. Jacen Russell-Rowe stared down a few chances that he did not take, Diego Rossi skied a sitter and newcomer Daniel Gazdag had three bites at the apple, whiffing on them all.

Saturday was simply a case of having an off game at a bad time. The Black & Gold could have scored three or four goals, but squandering every chance gave Miami the opening they needed. As always, it was a bad day to have a bad day.

The “we miss Cucho” game

The Crew’s news cycle has been dominated by one central question since the winter: what will Columbus do without Cucho Hernandez?

For the most part, the Black & Gold have done alright. Unbeaten in the league up until this matchup with Miami, and a few missed chances away from moving past LAFC in the CONCACAF Champions Cup is not a horrible way to start the year after selling arguably the best player in club history.

Saturday was a reminder that there is still a hole though. For as good as the Crew have been this season, there is a feeling around this team that their play could be kicked into another gear.

On the offensive side against Miami, Columbus was lacking a greedy, goalscoring killer like Hernandez is. Too often the Black & Gold get a good look on goal but make one too many passes, disrupting the movement and squandering a goal-scoring chance. Ultimately, that job falls to Russell-Rowe to become that killer up top.

Many fans want that role to be Rossi’s, but the simple fact of the matter is that the Uruguayan operates better as a playmaker who can be a secondary option than a true goal scorer. Gazdag will likely begin to fill that scoring role, but even then, he still is more of a playmaker like Rossi than a finisher like the Crew needs.

To fix this problem, Columbus has two options. The first is relatively simple and will likely happen, and that is to sign a striker this summer.

The Black & Gold historically like to do their big business in the summer transfer window. More teams from around the globe are willing to sell in the summer due to their seasons being over. If the Crew can get a hybrid no. 9 with a killer instinct to pair with Gazdag and Rossi, Columbus will become instantly dangerous.

The other option is more immediate, and that is to simply tell the attacking players they need to be greedier. Greed as a word has a negative connotation, but in soccer sometimes you have to be greedy to win.

Again, look at the case of Hernandez. He took shot after shot in every single game regardless of where he was at. Sure, at times it was arrogant and did not pan out, but he made it work more often than not. Right now, the Black & Gold’s offense is too unselfish. Too many passes in and around the area break down promising attacks that could have resulted in goals if someone had just pulled the trigger.

This is where Russell-Rowe and Rossi can both improve their games. Both players have incredible talent but look to pass first too often. If Nancy can get through to his striker or his team’s no. 10 and tell them to let it rip, the goals just might start coming for the Crew.

For now, Columbus is nine games into the season and only have one loss. The Black & Gold have a long way to go, but the season is off to a promising start.