Columbus Crew SC striker Kei Kamara found the back of the net twice in Vancouver on Wednesday night, leading the Black & Gold to a hard-fought 2-2 draw with Whitecaps FC. Yet, despite scoring his first brace of the season and ending Vancouver’s four-game winning streak, Kamara wasn't entirely satisfied with himself or the result.
“I still could have been better," he said. "I felt like we could have been a lot better today against Vancouver. They’re a good team, but you know getting two goals on the road should definitely give us three points.”
Kamara's words capture the ambition of a Crew SC team that is not content playing for a draw, no matter where it visits.
“We try to take our game to every team, whether we’re home or away,” Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter said recently.
That includes Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., where the Black & Gold will face the New England Revolution at 3 p.m. Saturday.
The match promises to be an intense one as both teams have developed somewhat of a rivalry over the years. In all-time regular season play the Black & Gold are 31-21-11 against New England, including a mark of 14-13-5 in Foxborough. Last season alone Crew SC and the Revs faced off five times, including two playoff matches that ended in tough losses for the Black & Gold.
When asked whether his players are drawing extra motivation for Saturday's clash from those defeats, Berhalter said, “I hope so. It’s on my mind.”
The Revs meanwhile are counting on it.
“I don’t think you forget anything like that," defender Darrius Barnes said. "When you go out the playoffs that way it stings and burns a little bit. I am sure they will come out with a little extra chip on their shoulder […] We know Columbus is a quality side. They have great players all over the pitch.”
One of those players is Kamara who has scored three goals in four regular-season matches since his return to Columbus.
“He’s a very good player and he got some good chances and finished them,” Berhalter said following the Vancouver match. “When we can get him in positions like that, we know he’s going to score. Overall we’re pleased with his performance.”
Getting Kamara in positions to score might be one key to a successful match in New England. Another is stopping the Revolution’s offense.
“They have some talent in their group,” Berhalter said. “We know they are dangerous with guys like Lee Ngyuen and Kelyn Rowe. They have a whole host of attacking players that are strong.”
A third factor will be how quickly the Black & Gold can recover from Wednesday’s match and the intense travel from Columbus to Canada’s West Coast to the East Coast of the United States.
“It is what it is. It’s our schedule and we have to deal with it,” Berhalter said. “I think it’s obviously not the easiest, but we’re up for the challenge.”
Crew SC took the 2014 regular-season series against the Revolution with a 2-1-0 record. One of the Black & Gold’s key figures in those matches was Federico Higuain who scored a goal each in the wins at Gillette Stadium and MAPFRE Stadium. The midfielder is available again for selection on Saturday, following a red-card suspension served in Vancouver.
Leading Crew SC in both goals and assists since he joined the club on July 27, 2012, Higuain has proven to be a key piece in the Black & Gold’s offense that now also features a striker in Kamara who is finding his stride.
“We can score goals. We have already seen that. We are really dangerous when we get forward,” Kamara said. “We need to keep playing the game and keep believing that we can definitely get some points on the road.”
Crew SC and the Revolution kick off at 3 p.m. ET on Saturday. Catch the action on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel, CD102.5 FM or La Mega 103.1 FM. Also don’t miss Friday’s match between FC Dallas and the Colorado Rapids at 7 p.m. ET on UniMas, and Soccer Sunday clashes between the Portland Timbers and Orlando City SC (5 p.m. ET, ESPN2) as well as the LA Galaxy and Seattle Sounders FC (7 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1).
