A bizarre result and a quizzical feeling for the Black & Gold and its supporters. Frustration and furrowed brows were present Saturday night at MAPFRE Stadium as Columbus let a three-goal lead turn into a 4-4 draw with the Montreal Impact.
But there’s more than a point to take away from that match.
“There’s a lot of lessons to be learned,” Vice Captain Wil Trapp said. “I think that each and every one of us has to look at ourselves and take accountability for what happened, but at the end of the day, we’re a team and you gotta stick [together] collectively. It’s about relying on each other and believing in each other.”
Heading into Saturday, scoring goals was a point of emphasis for Crew SC as the team was tied for last in the category in MLS. And score, they did—four goals in 37 minutes to be exact. Kei Kamara got on the scoreboard first, smashing in a bouncing header on a cross from Justin Meram. His service from the left wing was assisted by Corey Ashe, who was making his Crew SC debut at left back.
“He did well,” Meram said. “He’s been an All-Star; he’s been around this League a long time so it’s been an easy transition for him.”
Trapp also mentioned Crew SC’s finishing and Ashe’s first 69 minutes in Black & Gold among the positives of the match.
“I think we’d been struggling to score goals and we scored four tonight. That’s important for us to get off the mark,” Trapp said. “Some of the movements were great, new guys coming into the lineup—I thought Corey Ashe had a great game as well—so continuing to build the group will be important.”
Ashe wasn’t the only defender to get his name on the scoresheet. Captain Michael Parkhurst floated a ball over the top for Kamara to run onto, finish for a brace and give Crew SC the 2-1 lead just before half.
The goal-scoring continued for Columbus shortly after the break with two more goals in five minutes, both by Federico Higuaín. The first was a follow-up finish on Harrison Afful’s defended shot inside the box and the second was a penalty kick drawn by Meram.
“I think you look at the team chemistry on all four of our goals and it was excellent,” Trapp said.
Crew SC looked dominant, commanding the flanks, moving the ball well and making Montreal noticeably uncomfortable. The Black & Gold controlled almost 58 percent of the possession and forced the Impact to make 17 clearances. But the momentum began to shift after Crew SC's fourth goal.
Another PK just four minutes later turned the tides in Montreal's favor. The attacking trio of Didier Drogba, Ignacio Piatti and Dominic Oduro chipped away at Crew SC’s lead until Oduro brought the score level against his former club in the 93rd minute.
“After a game like that, the way it ended, it’s easy to be frustrated. It’s easy to be angry,” Trapp said. “I just think we have to move forward, we have to continue to buy into the group, continue to buy into the style of play and the coaching staff, and humble ourselves in a lot of ways, each and every one of us.”
The team will have to regroup quickly with an international friendly against Veracruz on Wednesday and another match at home against the Colorado Rapids on Saturday. But the guys are ready to learn from the Montreal match and look forward.
“This one’s going to sting—sting from the fans, from us,” Meram said. “We just gotta put it behind us, take the point and move on. You can’t win every game in this League and let’s get on a run.”
