Monday, September 27, 2004
Big Cat's revenge
In his first match against the club which brought him to MLS and a place on the US National Team, Tony Sanneh said "thank you" by burying a header off a Simon Elliot free kick past Nick Rimando on the ten minute mark. That goal would stand up as the Crew defeated Adunited 1-0 and stayed four points ahead of the Metrostars with just three weeks remaining in the regular season. The win also secured home-field advantage for the first round of the playoffs and kept the Crew one point behind Kansas City in the fight for the Supporters' Shield. The recap, based upon my observations from the upper deck of Estadio Crew (thanks again for the tickets, Chelsey):
* The scoreline was proper. This match was definitely a one-goal win for the Crew. For all the opportunities that existed for Columbus to make it 2-0 or 3-0, there was about as many for DC to level the match and deny us two points. DC gets credit for being both aggressive and resilient after losing Jaime Moreno to injury in the 25th minute and Ryan Nelsen to a second yellow at the end of the first half, but Columbus did not press enough coming out of the locker room to get a second goal and salt away the match before Big Greg was forced to fiddle with the mix due to Frankie Hejduk's mishap of the schnozz.
* Selfishness, thy name is Jeffro. Last week against the Metro, Jeff Cunningham was the epitome of a key player, making creative runs and then putting the ball into scoring position for Edson Buddle. On Saturday, the real Jeffro returned to Crew Stadium. In his half-hour on the pitch, I counted four or five clear opportunites that he just blew by trying to be the hero instead of being "one of the guys". From shooting from terrible angles instead of putting the ball into the mix to trying to take on Rimando when a square pass would have brought the insurance marker, Cunningham's tendency to need attention and prove his usefulness bore its ugly head in a game that could have easily been drawn.
* Substitutions were less-than-stellar. Jeffro found the pitch around the hour mark for Hejduk, which brought the KMart-Jeff-Buddle threesome together again, a combination that has not worked much at all this season. The final two subs were made very late in the match, with Akwari spelling Oughton and Testo replacing Martino. The final 30 minutes or so were played at break-neck speed, with both teams alternating chances, some dangerous and some not so.
In the end, we Crewfans were treated to a win over the only team in our division we had not beaten (0-1-2 against DC heading into the match) and another step closer to home field for the Eastern Conference final and the Shield with a game in hand on our nearest challengers for both (Metro and KC).
* The scoreline was proper. This match was definitely a one-goal win for the Crew. For all the opportunities that existed for Columbus to make it 2-0 or 3-0, there was about as many for DC to level the match and deny us two points. DC gets credit for being both aggressive and resilient after losing Jaime Moreno to injury in the 25th minute and Ryan Nelsen to a second yellow at the end of the first half, but Columbus did not press enough coming out of the locker room to get a second goal and salt away the match before Big Greg was forced to fiddle with the mix due to Frankie Hejduk's mishap of the schnozz.
* Selfishness, thy name is Jeffro. Last week against the Metro, Jeff Cunningham was the epitome of a key player, making creative runs and then putting the ball into scoring position for Edson Buddle. On Saturday, the real Jeffro returned to Crew Stadium. In his half-hour on the pitch, I counted four or five clear opportunites that he just blew by trying to be the hero instead of being "one of the guys". From shooting from terrible angles instead of putting the ball into the mix to trying to take on Rimando when a square pass would have brought the insurance marker, Cunningham's tendency to need attention and prove his usefulness bore its ugly head in a game that could have easily been drawn.
* Substitutions were less-than-stellar. Jeffro found the pitch around the hour mark for Hejduk, which brought the KMart-Jeff-Buddle threesome together again, a combination that has not worked much at all this season. The final two subs were made very late in the match, with Akwari spelling Oughton and Testo replacing Martino. The final 30 minutes or so were played at break-neck speed, with both teams alternating chances, some dangerous and some not so.
In the end, we Crewfans were treated to a win over the only team in our division we had not beaten (0-1-2 against DC heading into the match) and another step closer to home field for the Eastern Conference final and the Shield with a game in hand on our nearest challengers for both (Metro and KC).
Monday, September 20, 2004
Playoff bound!
Edson Buddle scored four goals in providing all the offense for the Crew in a 4-2 victory over the Metrostars. With the win, Columbus takes a four-point lead on the Meadowlands outfit and clinch a spot in the MLS playoffs.
Now that the perfunctory "five W's" are out of the way, onto the wrap-up. This week's installment is not going to be normal, because the Crew that has taken the pitch this season has been anything BUT that. Instead, I will put up a list of things which are true about this team but which no one in their right mind would believe. The result of the match and heroes/zeroes are on the front page, if you are interested in that sort of thing.
* 1st place in the Eastern Conference. Who would have believed this with the Crew starting off the campaign 0-3 and looking quite bad in doing so? Even during the roller-coaster of the the first-half of the season (which ended 5-5-5), there was no sound reason to think this team could be a force in the league and just one point off the Supporters' Shield with a game in hand.
* 1st team to clinch a playoff spot. Another oddity, especially when it looked like Andrulis was trying to save his job by massaging this team to a playoff berth through draws and "sticking around the pack" to the detriment of getting full points on a few occasions.
* Owners of the longest in-season unbeaten streak in league history. SAY WHAT?!?!?!?! You HAVE to be kidding, because this team does not seem to scare ANYONE in the league and has a coach who couldn't find his way out of Crew Cat's costume. The truth, however, is that the Crew has not lost since June 26th, a span of 13 matches, which tops the Galaxy's twelve-game run to open the 1996 season.
* Club of CHOICE for two national-team defenders. The "normal" world of MLS grants Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago unlimited license when it comes to new talent, while shafting Columbus time-and-again. So to believe that we would have on our roster two-thirds of the United States National Team's backline from the last World Cup is a downright alien concept. But it's true, as Frankie Hejduk and Tony Sanneh are members of the Black-and-Gold and came to Soccer Mecca despite opportunities to go elsewhere.
* Only MLS team with multiple hat-tricks. Another mind-stumper, from a team that until this past weekend sat second-from-last in goals scored. Ross Paule's triple against LA on September 4th and Edson Buddle's four-spot on the Metro on Saturday put the Crew in that elite class of teams with just four weeks remaining in the season (the league has had six tricks TOTAL this year).
Amazing, isn't it, that a team which most of us would say is fair-to-middlin' is actually odds-on to take the Shield when the regular season ends on October 16th and could very well lift the Alan I. Rothenberg trophy on November 14th at the Home Depot Center. Talk about a crazy season!
Now that the perfunctory "five W's" are out of the way, onto the wrap-up. This week's installment is not going to be normal, because the Crew that has taken the pitch this season has been anything BUT that. Instead, I will put up a list of things which are true about this team but which no one in their right mind would believe. The result of the match and heroes/zeroes are on the front page, if you are interested in that sort of thing.
* 1st place in the Eastern Conference. Who would have believed this with the Crew starting off the campaign 0-3 and looking quite bad in doing so? Even during the roller-coaster of the the first-half of the season (which ended 5-5-5), there was no sound reason to think this team could be a force in the league and just one point off the Supporters' Shield with a game in hand.
* 1st team to clinch a playoff spot. Another oddity, especially when it looked like Andrulis was trying to save his job by massaging this team to a playoff berth through draws and "sticking around the pack" to the detriment of getting full points on a few occasions.
* Owners of the longest in-season unbeaten streak in league history. SAY WHAT?!?!?!?! You HAVE to be kidding, because this team does not seem to scare ANYONE in the league and has a coach who couldn't find his way out of Crew Cat's costume. The truth, however, is that the Crew has not lost since June 26th, a span of 13 matches, which tops the Galaxy's twelve-game run to open the 1996 season.
* Club of CHOICE for two national-team defenders. The "normal" world of MLS grants Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago unlimited license when it comes to new talent, while shafting Columbus time-and-again. So to believe that we would have on our roster two-thirds of the United States National Team's backline from the last World Cup is a downright alien concept. But it's true, as Frankie Hejduk and Tony Sanneh are members of the Black-and-Gold and came to Soccer Mecca despite opportunities to go elsewhere.
* Only MLS team with multiple hat-tricks. Another mind-stumper, from a team that until this past weekend sat second-from-last in goals scored. Ross Paule's triple against LA on September 4th and Edson Buddle's four-spot on the Metro on Saturday put the Crew in that elite class of teams with just four weeks remaining in the season (the league has had six tricks TOTAL this year).
Amazing, isn't it, that a team which most of us would say is fair-to-middlin' is actually odds-on to take the Shield when the regular season ends on October 16th and could very well lift the Alan I. Rothenberg trophy on November 14th at the Home Depot Center. Talk about a crazy season!
Friday, September 10, 2004
MLS World Cup Qualifying Update
The tally after CONCACAF semifinal matchdays two and three:
* 37 goals by 14 current or former MLS players (yes, I'm counting former Crew draft pick and current Toronto Lynx striker John Barry Nusum in that total) representing 12 countries OTHER than the United States in 3 confederations. (# = country is eliminated from qualifying)
* 37 goals by 14 current or former MLS players (yes, I'm counting former Crew draft pick and current Toronto Lynx striker John Barry Nusum in that total) representing 12 countries OTHER than the United States in 3 confederations. (# = country is eliminated from qualifying)
#John Barry Nusum (Bermuda) 7
Carlos Ruiz (Guatemala) 5
Amado Guevara (Honduras) 4
Stern John (Trinidad/Tobago) 4
Dipsy Selolwane (Botswana) 4
Dwayne DeRosario (Canada) 2
#Duncan Oughton (New Zealand) 2
#Ryan Nelsen (New Zealand) 2
#Jean-Philippe Peguero (Haiti) 2
Zizi Roberts (Liberia) 1
Shaun Bartlett (South Africa) 1
Saul Martinez (Honduras) 1
Damani Ralph (Jamaica) 1
Jorge "Zarco" Rodriguez (El Salvador) 1
Monday, September 06, 2004
Beast of the East
The Crew FINALLY climb the last rung on the mountain and take over possession of the top spot in the East with a 3-1 victory over a Galaxy side that has clearly hit the wall in the league schedule. Columbus has now moved its unbeaten streak to 11 games and head out to San Jose for a mid-week tilt against an Earthquakes side missing its top three strikers (Landon Donovan, Brian Ching, and Dwayne DeRosario) and backstop (Pat Onstad) to national team duty. The recap:
* Textbook work by Paule. Ross Paule's three-goal outburst came as a result of playing his position to perfection and padding the total from the spot (hey, if Guevara and Ruiz can boast of their strike rate through PKs, so can Paule). Both goals from the run of play came with Paule trailing the strikers and cleaning up deflections or poor clearances. This is what has been lacking out of Kyle Martino in his three years with the Crew, the tenacity and ambition to get in the box and score the easy goals that come when the ball doesn't get to McBride or Buddle or Cunningham. Donovan can get away with running at people and scoring with his shooting because he has that talent. Guevara can score via the free kick, the PK, and the bomb and brings a different dimension to the position. Paule has been rejuvenated with the addition of playmaking responsibilities and set-piece opportunities. KMart should watch the tape of this game and focus on Ross' workrate and his ability to be unobtrusive yet deadly.
* We are gelling. Our team has become a very powerful force in the league by sticking to a system that all have bought into and and by being a set of replaceable parts. The defense was set early in the season. The midfield came around about the middle of July, when Martino was moved up top to partner with Buddle. The forwards are still a work-in-progress, but...
* Fozzie is working on it! The substitutions last night show me that Andrulis now believes enough in his back nine to begin work on developing a strike pair that will be dangerous as the playoffs begin, for we will NOT win the Cup without getting some contribution out of our forwards. With a 2-1 lead, Greg brought on Cunningham for Martino and later Ritch for Buddle in an effort to get a third goal and to see what combinations might work to perk up a sluggish frontline. I wouldn't be surprised to see another forward pairing on Wednesday in San Jose, where the narrow field benefit strikers who can attack with the ball.
So the monkey is off our back and we at last control our playoff destiny. Three points on Wednesday will give us a LITTLE breathing room heading in to the final month (a four-point lead as opposed to one or two) and would bring Supporters' Shield talk to Crew Stadium. But for now, let's enjoy this one, for we have come a LONG way since our first game against LA (a 2-0 thrashing that wasn't even THAT close and sent us to 0-3 to start the season) and are on the upswing while the glamour clubs (the Metrostars and Galaxy) are sliding away from the top of the table.
* Textbook work by Paule. Ross Paule's three-goal outburst came as a result of playing his position to perfection and padding the total from the spot (hey, if Guevara and Ruiz can boast of their strike rate through PKs, so can Paule). Both goals from the run of play came with Paule trailing the strikers and cleaning up deflections or poor clearances. This is what has been lacking out of Kyle Martino in his three years with the Crew, the tenacity and ambition to get in the box and score the easy goals that come when the ball doesn't get to McBride or Buddle or Cunningham. Donovan can get away with running at people and scoring with his shooting because he has that talent. Guevara can score via the free kick, the PK, and the bomb and brings a different dimension to the position. Paule has been rejuvenated with the addition of playmaking responsibilities and set-piece opportunities. KMart should watch the tape of this game and focus on Ross' workrate and his ability to be unobtrusive yet deadly.
* We are gelling. Our team has become a very powerful force in the league by sticking to a system that all have bought into and and by being a set of replaceable parts. The defense was set early in the season. The midfield came around about the middle of July, when Martino was moved up top to partner with Buddle. The forwards are still a work-in-progress, but...
* Fozzie is working on it! The substitutions last night show me that Andrulis now believes enough in his back nine to begin work on developing a strike pair that will be dangerous as the playoffs begin, for we will NOT win the Cup without getting some contribution out of our forwards. With a 2-1 lead, Greg brought on Cunningham for Martino and later Ritch for Buddle in an effort to get a third goal and to see what combinations might work to perk up a sluggish frontline. I wouldn't be surprised to see another forward pairing on Wednesday in San Jose, where the narrow field benefit strikers who can attack with the ball.
So the monkey is off our back and we at last control our playoff destiny. Three points on Wednesday will give us a LITTLE breathing room heading in to the final month (a four-point lead as opposed to one or two) and would bring Supporters' Shield talk to Crew Stadium. But for now, let's enjoy this one, for we have come a LONG way since our first game against LA (a 2-0 thrashing that wasn't even THAT close and sent us to 0-3 to start the season) and are on the upswing while the glamour clubs (the Metrostars and Galaxy) are sliding away from the top of the table.
