[dropcap]C[/dropcap]olumbus Crew SC are one step closer to the prize.
In front of a sold out crowd, the Black and Gold did what no team in MLS had managed to do since May 24th; keep New York Red Bulls off of the scoresheet. Managing to weather the storm of the ferocious NYRB press, Crew SC will head to Harrison, NJ next week with a 2-0 lead on aggregate.
It took all of nine seconds for the fireworks to get started. Michael Parkhurst took the open pass of the match and sent it long to Kamara, who headed it down to Finlay. The winger then played it to Meram, who side kicked it into the corner of the net past Robles to make it 1-0 and to claim the record for fastest goal ever in MLS Cup Playoff history.
With the opening goal, it seemed that someone turned the pace of the match up to 11 and ripped the knob off because the entire first half was back and forth. Both teams covered and insane amount of ground with multiple chances. An incredible 16 corners were taken between the two sides, with NYRB having the advantage at 9-7.
About 10 minutes after the opening goal, Harrison Afful was cut down by NYRB Captain Dax McCarty for what should have been an obvious yellow card, but McCarty somehow avoided a booking and was only given a foul. Tony Tchani a few minutes later would take down McCarty from behind and also avoid a booking that could have easily been yellow. This did nothing to temper the pace of the match however as both teams continued their frantic counters back and forth. 15 chances were created overall in the first half, yet somehow the match remained just 1-0 in favor of Columbus Crew SC.
The atmosphere was electric the entire time as a sold-out crowd of 21,924, a club record for the playoffs, continued to chant even after the half time whistle.
“It’s really special here.” said Steve Clark, who enjoyed his usual “Yes!” chant with the crowd after the match. If this is the last match at Mapfre Stadium, then it was a special one.
The second half would show that neither team were interested in letting the pace drop. The first big chance in the second half went to NYRB as a long pass found Bradley Wright-Phillips who calmly collected it and found a cutting Sasha Kjlestan in the box, but the attempt went just wide of the post.
Crew SC would counter almost immediately as Federico Higuain would attempt to finish off a build up with a chip into the box to find Kei Kamara, but a header attempt would go over the box and end the chance.
New York would get another chance on a wild cross into the box into BWP, who somehow managed to flick it up into the air and get an overhead attempt off that just missed the net.
In the 85th minute, Crew SC would put the icing on the cake for the night as Cedrick dribbled around three defenders and put a shot on Robles. The keeper had no choice but to parry the shot, but the ball fell right to Kamara who tapped it in to give us the final scoreline of 2-0.
Berhalter opted to sub out Finlay for Cedrick instead of the usual swap for Meram, and the move paid dividends.
“We noticed that Miazga and Lawrence were fatigued.” Said the Sporting Director when he discussed the substitute. “Cedrick is an exciting player and brings pace.”
Berhalter has been coming up aces with his decisions this playoffs. After an extra time win against Montreal in which Crew SC managed to keep Didier Drogba off the scoresheet, the momentum has reached a new level. It wasn’t easy, as NYRB has numerous chances to get that crucial away goal, and in all honesty, they probably should have scored at least one. For now, Crew SC remain focused and know they are just 90 minutes away from getting into the MLS Cup finals.
Thoughts on the match:
- Grella has been a scary player to face all season, but credit the midfield and defense of Crew SC. Grella did next to nothing this match.
- Steve Clark was outstanding tonight. Every decision he made was the right one in cutting off crosses, corners, and passes.
- NYRB’s press was incredible, but they have absolutely nothing to show for it other than a 2-0 loss and a bunch of chances that didn’t get converted.
- Tyson Wahl has had an up and down season, but credit where its due: He and Parkhurst were magnificent in defense tonight. Sauro will return to the lineup next week, but Wahl can hold his head up high because BWP had little opportunity to score.
- Cedrick is showing just how important he has been as an impact sub. The moves he made leading up to the second goal were world class.
- Kamara’s goal is the 25th of the season for him and he shows no signs of slowing down.
- Federico Higuain was all over the pitch tonight. His role has changed a bit this year and he is thriving in it. Jesse Marsch even said after the match just how hard it is to prepare for a guy who can turn up anywhere.
- NYRB have no away goals. A single goal in Harrison next week by Crew SC all but salts this series away.
- Cheer like hell for Portland if your a Crew SC fan. A Portland conference championship means the MLS Cup is in Columbus.
