Kei Kamara carries the ball past a Portland defender during a September 2015 match at MAPFRE Stadium. After a week off, Crew SC returns to action as the club travels to Montreal for their first match in the 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs. Andrew Maniskas/The Pit
[dropcap]I[/dropcap]f this year’s MLB Playoffs have told us anything, it’s that sometimes money can’t buy the love of victory. L.A. Galaxy supporters will nod and silently, solemnly agree.
But sometimes isn’t always, and Didier Drogba isn’t just a somebody.
Playing the anonymity game and taking the name away, would the national spotlight and attention being given to the MLS Eastern Conference semifinal matchup between Columbus Crew SC and Montreal Impact be cast differently? Of course, but that’s something of a tired argument. Surely, no one can forget that it was Jack McInerney scoring goals to get the Impact to the CONCACAF Champions League final before the Ivory Coast striker touched down in Quebec.
The “Drogba Effect” is real, in many ways. No one can ignore the belief that his presence at the national and club level brings to a side. Ultimately, though, a striker is only as good as his scoring ability, and that’s the only statistic that matters: 1.14 goals per 90 minutes. That’s something no one has done in the league since 1998, that year by the Crew’s own Stern John.
And it’s a fitting parallel, because 12 months ago both clubs had voids at the striker position, albeit a larger one for the Black & Gold. All the talk of Golden Boots and Designated Players and “Drogba Effects” are just a part of what’s turned out to be two successful blueprints.
With no Bernardo Añor — he scored a brace for each team when they played each other in the past two years — the plot will be different at Saputo Stadium. Columbus will need to make sure the results are more reminiscent of 2014’s games against Montreal, not this season.
Crew SC enters the MLS Cup Playoffs as a No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. Andrew Maniskas/The Pit
What Crew SC need to do
1. Worry about slowing, not stopping Didier Drogba. What, did you think this was going to be a 12-step guide to silencing one of the game’s best forwards in the past decade? Gregg Berhalter admitted recently “I’m not sure there’s an answer” to stopping September and October’s MLS Player of the Month, but he was right in saying that the better chance is to mute his impact. Gaston Sauro and Michael Parkhurst must be wary of the multi-faceted Drogba in the air, but awareness is the key. He’s so adept at lulling his marker to sleep, then darting away and using a quick touch to get a shot off.
2. Win the set piece battle. Columbus is clearly the better offensive team from open play, where they scored a league-high 44 goals in the regular season, 17 more than their opponents. That advantage is blunted in the category of set pieces, where the Impact actually scored 13 to Crew SC’s 10. To slant that even further, 11 of Montreal’s 13 came at home. Drogba and playmaker Ignacio Piatti are both adept at setting up opportunities in dangerous positions, and you certainly don’t want the former to put you on a highlight reel in the playoffs. And hey, that Federico Higuain is pretty good, too. Of course, Columbus must also do a collective job marking on corner kicks and the like.
3. Control the match with positioning and passing. Berhalter’s strategy is well-known, and executing it without mistakes in their own side will limit the amount of chances Montreal can capitalize. The Impact won’t be able to utilize their strengths in Patrice Bernier and Nigel Reo-Coker (and Droba, too) if Columbus are running the overlap on the flanks or playing long diagonal balls and forcing Montreal’s offensive-minded weapons to defend. Crew SC could lose it elsewhere, but it seems likely they’ll earn the pay-off on the wings from players like Ethan Finlay and Harrison Afful.
What Montreal need to do
1. Don’t be wasteful. The Impact can’t expect to win possession against a Columbus team that will cycle and stay on the ball at a more effective rate. That gameplan worked just fine in Montreal’s two victories in as many meetings against Columbus earlier this season, when they had just a collective 17 shots. Drogba has lent to more of a “Plan B” going forward, but he or whoever else gets the ball in advantageous spots must know they have to convert efficiently.
2. Don’t lose it. Level-headed play hasn’t been a calling card for Montreal this season, recipients of 71 yellow cards (T-1st) and nine reds (2nd) in 2015. Since Mauro Biello took over for Frank Klopas, he’s won 8 of 12 matches, but his side also has had five red cards in that time. Laurent Ciman and midfield shield Marco Donadel have been critical to the club’s success, but also two of the biggest liabilities in a disciplinary sense. No player for each side is on a warning, but Montreal will want to be at full strength heading into U.S. borders next weekend.
3. Get the best from Ignacio Piatti. With such attention placed on Drogba, it’s quite easy to forget about one of the more underrated midfielders in MLS over the past two seasons. The 30-year-old was generally deployed on the left side with San Lorenzo before arriving in August 2014, but has remained exceptional in moving centrally for nearly all of his time with the Impact. With eight assists this season, Crew SC’s interior defenders must close his passing lanes without bringing down the crafty Argentinian. The question now: Piatti played at left midfield on Thursday in the win over Toronto FC, so where will Biello use him on Sunday?
Prediction
It seems a little too much to expect Columbus to just snuff out the Impact’s fire of late, and it’s probably ambitious to keep Drogba off the board, too. In 2014, Crew SC let it all get away from themselves in the first leg against New England. Losing in Montreal shouldn’t be too big of a worry, but keeping any sort of deficit limited to a single goal should still present a manageable scenario for Columbus to advance in front of their own fans at MAPFRE Stadium next Sunday.
Montreal Impact 2, Columbus Crew SC 1
