It’s crunch time in Major League Soccer. With only six regular-season matches left, the playoff picture is beginning to take shape and Columbus Crew SC can take a big step toward being in that picture on Saturday.
The Black & Gold visit Eastern Conference opponent Philadelphia Union, a team that currently sits just below the final playoff spot in seventh. Crew SC is 11 points clear of Philly and can further distance itself from a direct competitor with a win at PPL Park this weekend.
“They are fighting for the playoffs, we are fighting for the playoffs. We’re not taking anything for granted,” Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter says. “Until playoffs are clinched we keep working and we keep fighting.”
With 41 points in 28 matches, Crew SC ranks third in the Eastern Conference behind D.C. United (44 points, 28 games) and the New York Red Bulls (42 points, 25 games). Columbus missed the opportunity to draw level with D.C. last weekend when it lost 3-0 to FC Dallas. Still, the chase is very much on for the Black & Gold.
“We’re chasing the top teams – D.C. and the Red Bulls. We’re right in there,” midfielder Wil Trapp says. “It’s a three-point gap from us to the top, so any game we can get closer and even become level with D.C. is huge […] Yeah, the playoff push is there. It’s in our own destiny, so we’re taking advantage of it.”
While the Black & Gold have the playoff picture in mind, they stress they are not straying from their one-match-at-a-time mentality.
“We’re focused on Philadelphia and that’s it, not D.C., not Portland. Philadelphia is the word this week,” Berhalter says.
Crew SC has seen mixed results against the Union this season. A 4-1 victory at home on April 25 was followed by a 3-0 loss in Philadelphia on June 3. The Black & Gold expect a different outcome at PPL Park this time around, but acknowledge that Philly is entering the match with a lot of confidence, having lost only one of its last five matches.
“Philly is going to be a difficult team to break down,” Trapp says. “I think they are going to play on the counter, they are going to be dangerous in transition moments. We just have to be diligent and organized while we attack.”
The Black & Gold faced an opponent with a similar strategy this past Sunday when they hosted Dallas. Trapp says Crew SC has learned from that match and Berhalter stresses his team needs to have a better performance on Saturday.
“For us, it’s, ‘can we continue to do what we do well?’ And that’s good ball movement and movement behind their lines and crossing the ball accurately,” Berhalter says. “If we can do that, I am sure we will get some chances and it’s just about finishing them off.”
Finishing chances has been the primary job of Kei Kamara this season. The striker from Sierra Leone has returned from national team duty along with Crew SC’s seven other call-ups who missed Sunday’s match against Dallas.
Kickoff between the Philadelphia Union and Crew SC is at 7 p.m. Saturday. Catch the action on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel, CD 102.5 FM or La Mega 103.7.
