Fifteen shots, 32 crosses, 67.7 percent possession, and more than twice as many passes as their opponents (553) - on paper Columbus Crew SC dominated FC Dallas at MAPFRE Stadium on Sunday night. Yet, after the final whistle the Black & Gold found themselves empty handed having been shutout at home for the first time this season.
En route to a 3-0 loss, Crew SC controlled much of the action, but could not break down the visitors who exhibited their strength on defense and took full advantage of their opportunities.
“Soccer is a game of moments, and that’s what defined this game,” Crew SC Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter said. “Give them a lot of credit. That was the best defensive performance we’ve seen all year.”
Two moments defined the match on Sunday. First, FC Dallas took the lead in the 27th minute on a header by Atiba Harris, only three minutes after Federico Higuain missed a penalty for the Black & Gold. Then, the visitors ended Crew SC's hopes for a comeback within a span of two minutes when Michael Barrios (69th) and David Texeira (71st) found the back of the net.
For the rest of the match, Crew SC was in charge. But the Black & Gold had a difficult time breaking through the FC Dallas backline.
“Coming into the second half, they went five in the back, so it was definitely a lot harder to break them down,” defender Chris Klute said. “But I still think that we outplayed them.”
Midfielder Mohammed Saeid, who entered the match in the 58th minute and created a spark for Crew SC in the midfield, agreed with Klute on the challenge of the Hoops’ increased numbers in the box.
“They played with five defenders and they were hardly on our side of the field,” he said. “It’s a difficult game where you try to do something out of nothing, really, and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t work.”
Midfielder Ethan Finlay acknowledged his team’s offensive efforts and expressed frustration about the first loss at home in three months.
“A loss is a loss," he said. "What I think [stinks] about this one is the fact that we felt like we played well, like we created enough opportunities. I felt like we did everything right except score.”
Crew SC kept pushing for a goal even after being three goals down and Berhalter credited his team’s persistent, never-die attitude, saying that spirit makes it easier for the Black & Gold to regroup and prepare for Saturday's match at the Philadelphia Union.
“It’s easy to come together because the guys didn’t give up, and that’s the thing – they kept going,” Berhalter said. “I’m extremely disappointed with the result but I’m not disappointed in the effort and it’s a good lesson for us, it really is.”
Berhalter’s players shared that mentality. Klute said he and his teammates take it one game at a time and will bounce back quickly.
“Everyone loses, you’re not going to win every game, and I think the best teams overcome these kinds of results,” he said. “You lose one, and this is how you define the kind of team you are, how you bounce back from these kinds of games. We’ve been through this situation before and we’ve bounced back, and I think we know it’s crunch time. It’s coming toward the end of the season, and we just kind of look past this match and look forward to Philadelphia, our next game.”
The leftback said the Black & Gold's team spirit and competitive drive allows them to bounce back quickly from a disappointing result.
“I think we know how good we are, and I think that’s what gets us through," he said. “When teams beat us, we know it was our fault, the teams didn’t really outplay us, it was just little mistakes that we know we can fix in the future. I honestly think we’re one of the top teams in the League and I think we play better soccer than most of the teams out here. I think that’s what sets us apart. We’re a team, we stick together through all these tough times.”
