Rapids' Strategy
With Nyassi on fire, it was easy for Gary Smith to maintain his dynamic strike partnership with Omar Cummings. The home side employed their usual 4-4-2 lineup with Mastroeni and Larentowicz in central midfield and Mullan and Thompson on the flanks. The first half strategy was to switch the ball across the field to Mullan who was in acres of space because the Crew kept a narrow defensive shell.
Colorado's back five of Pickens, Moor, Marshall, Wynne and Kimura have been preferred lately, and they have started to forge a cohesive unit. The back four kept a high back line to close down space in midfield. This strategy worked better against the Crew than in Seattle because Columbus started two target forwards who did not try to get in behind the offside trap.
Crew's Strategy
Robert Warzycha had to make a change in his starting lineup in the fifth minute. Eddie Gaven suffered a right leg contusion and was replaced by rookie Bernardo Anor. The early loss of Gaven was critical as he is their most creative player and the most comfortable at keeping the ball.
Columbus started in a 4-4-2 with Heinemann and Mendoza up top. The two strikers are big and physical but lacked movement which made the Crew attack predictable. Also, Columbus’ wide players like to tuck inside to get the ball. As a result, Rogers and Anor made the Crew attack narrow and were not in positions on the flanks to cross the ball to their strikers who have a formidable aerial presence.
Defensively, the Crew dropped deep into a 4-4-2 shell. They swarmed the middle of the field to cut off supply to Nyassi and Cummings. Colorado responded by finding Mullan out wide, who had space though the first half.
With Nyassi on fire, it was easy for Gary Smith to maintain his dynamic strike partnership with Omar Cummings. The home side employed their usual 4-4-2 lineup with Mastroeni and Larentowicz in central midfield and Mullan and Thompson on the flanks. The first half strategy was to switch the ball across the field to Mullan who was in acres of space because the Crew kept a narrow defensive shell.
Colorado's back five of Pickens, Moor, Marshall, Wynne and Kimura have been preferred lately, and they have started to forge a cohesive unit. The back four kept a high back line to close down space in midfield. This strategy worked better against the Crew than in Seattle because Columbus started two target forwards who did not try to get in behind the offside trap.
Crew's Strategy
Robert Warzycha had to make a change in his starting lineup in the fifth minute. Eddie Gaven suffered a right leg contusion and was replaced by rookie Bernardo Anor. The early loss of Gaven was critical as he is their most creative player and the most comfortable at keeping the ball.
Columbus started in a 4-4-2 with Heinemann and Mendoza up top. The two strikers are big and physical but lacked movement which made the Crew attack predictable. Also, Columbus’ wide players like to tuck inside to get the ball. As a result, Rogers and Anor made the Crew attack narrow and were not in positions on the flanks to cross the ball to their strikers who have a formidable aerial presence.
Defensively, the Crew dropped deep into a 4-4-2 shell. They swarmed the middle of the field to cut off supply to Nyassi and Cummings. Colorado responded by finding Mullan out wide, who had space though the first half.
First Half Stalemate
Columbus’ ability to funnel everything out wide allowed Mullan to fire in a multitude of crosses in the first half. However, the Columbus defense was able to comfortably clear each and every one of these passes. When the Rapids played through the middle, Larentowicz would look for Cummings who would drop back into midfield. The striker had room to turn but often he or Nyassi would shoot the ball early or from a poor position, instead of working harder for an easier chance to finish.
The Crew tried a more direct style towards goal. They would win the ball back from Colorado and look to find Rogers or Anor to start the break. The wide players failed at engineering a chance for a forward because the Crew strikers lacked movement and the central midfield did not support the flanks in possession. As a result, Columbus was easy to dispossess and Pickens was not required to do any work in the first half.
Mullan Golazo Opens up Game
Nine minutes into the second half, the Crew's resistance was broken. Mullan received a ball on the right after Columbus tried to clear a corner kick. He took a touch a launched a speculative effort from thirty yards since the Columbus midfield did not close him down. The right footed rocket screeched into the top left comer giving Colorado the 1-nil lead.
After going behind a goal, Columbus’ attack momentarily woke up partly due to the substitutions of Meram and Gehrig. The Crews best chance came in the 74th minute when the substitutes Meram and Gehrig combined in midfield. Gehrig found Mendoza through on goal as Colorado's shape had been disfigured. Mendoza's weak left footed shot was saved by Pickens, as the Peruvian knew he should have leveled the match.
Five minutes later, the Rapids sealed the three points. Gehrig's slack pass for Ekpo was picked off by Nyassi. The striker was in space running towards goal. He slid a perfectly weighted ball to his right to Cummings who finished past a helpless Hesmer.
Conclusions
With the Union dropping two points on Saturday, the Crew remains in first place in the weak Eastern Conference. This is unexpected and warrants praise of Warzycha and the front office because they have revamped their squad from last year to a younger unit. However, the Crew will have no prayer to advance to the MLS Cup if they cannot find ways to score goals. Warzycha needs to experiment with the side: whether that is a new formation, a shift in tactics or using the young attackers more, something needs to be done to try and improve their attack. Defensively, the Crew has been rock solid all year starting with Hesmer, Marshall and James. This will make the squad tough to beat come playoff time, but ultimately an inability to score will be their downfall.
Hats off to Gary Smith for tweaking his tactics on the fly after the season ending injury to Connor Casey. The Rapids are now based on speed up top with Nyassi and Cummings. The two work well together as Cummings likes to move off the shoulder or go wide to pick up the ball while Nyassi stays in the middle looking to run with the ball at the defense. This change has resulted in a resurgence for the defending champions and has them looking like a contender to defend their crown.
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