Takeaways: Columbus Crew ‘disappointed’ not to win after taking lead, Gyasi Zardes hurt at Nashville SC
Jacob MyersThere was more good than bad in the Crew’s 1-1 draw against Nashville SC at Nissan Stadium Wednesday night, and enough to make it seem the Crew are capable of winning the remaining four games in the regular season and giving themselves a shot at making the playoffs.
They just better hope the bad from this game doesn’t end up being the difference between finishing in the top seven teams in the East and staying home.
Attacking midfielder Lucas Zelarayan scored in the 75th minute to give the Crew (10-12-8, 38 points) a 1-0 lead and to put them on the brink of a season-defining win against the second-place team in the East. Nashville (11-3-16, 49 points) hasn’t lost at home this season. It was only the third time in 16 games this season — fifth time in 26 games since the start of the 2020 season — that the Crew scored the opening goal on the road.
But just as the Crew was finished celebrating and the game kicked off again, Nashville forward Hany Mukhtar tied the game in the 77th minute.
"To even be able to go up 1-0 was an accomplishment for us, but we definitely are disappointed that we didn't get that (three) points because right now we could be one point out of the playoffs rather than three,” assistant coach Ezra Hendrickson said.
The Crew hung with one of the toughest teams in Major League Soccer, and even outplayed Nashville at times — all without head coach Caleb Porter who had to miss the game and enter the league’s COVID-19 health and safety protocol.
The defense held strong, getting bailed out a couple of times with goalkeeper Eloy Room making stellar saves in the 13th and 82nd minutes. The offense had 11 shots and generated six shots on target to Nashville’s four, but those shots generally came from distance.
Still, Zelarayan scoring for the first time in nine games and the team not having a complete letdown on the road after a convincing win at home just four days earlier feels a bit like a win for the Crew — even if they need more than a draw and a single point right now.
That point and a D.C. United loss moved the Crew closer to tying the final playoff spot. That’s progress. Who knows right now if that step instead of a leaping bound forward is enough?
"I told the guys we shouldn't be hard on ourselves,” captain Jonathan Mensah said. “Of course we want to get three points every game from now on until the end of the regular season. We want to make the playoffs. … We know we can improve and do better than we did tonight.”
Here are some takeaways from the Crew’s 1-1 draw at Nashville.
Win escapes as Crew let guard down
At several points this season, the Crew have been disappointing defensively. These moments have particularly been the back line just being careless with the ball or allowing goals soon after scoring, deflating any momentum that could have been gained.
It’s goals like Mukhtar’s in the 77th minute — or two allowed against Seattle in August after taking the lead — that will be thought of most if the Crew miss the playoffs. And it distracts from the overall solid run that the defense has been on lately.
On a ball over the top from the Nashville back line, Nashville forward Ake Loba brought down the ball and left it for Daniel Rios. His pass to Mukhtar in the box from 10 yards from goal arrived quicker than Mensah could close ground on Mukhtar before he got the shot away.
"It was just unfortunate that we give up a goal right after we score a goal,” Mensah said. “We let our guard down and conceded that goal. Looking back, we might want to do something different, but game over. We go home Saturday. We need to get ready for that one and make sure we win it.”
Hendrickson, a former Crew defender himself, said the moments after scoring are crucial in defending, especially against quality opponents like Nashville on its home field.
"You see it all the time. Guys just let their guards down,” Hendrickson said. “We don't want to give up goals like that. I thought we defended throughout the night, well enough. All they had were on their set pieces and a couple counters from us making some unforced errors. Things happen. We just got to be positive and move on.”
Gyasi Zardes injures knee
One troubling storyline from Wednesday night’s game was forward Gyasi Zardes exited the game at halftime with an apparent left knee injury.
The injury occurred in the 39th minute when Zardes went to shoot at the top of the box at the same time his U.S. national team teammate, Nashville center back Walker Zimmerman, arrived and tackled the ball. Zardes’ leg appeared to take the brunt of the impact from Zimmerman’s attempted tackle.
Zardes was evaluated by the training staff on the field in the 43rd minute but stayed on until halftime when Miguel Berry entered the game. In the minutes he played after the incident, Zardes was running gingerly and clearly in discomfort.
Hendrickson said the training staff told him it could be an MCL injury, but the extent of which, or if that’s even accurate won’t be known or disclosed until Friday’s media session.
"I'm not sure yet. In speaking to the trainers, they think it might be an MCL, but I don't want to speculate on that,” he said. “Hopefully it's not anything too serious and he can rejoin us hopefully Saturday.”
Hendrickson’s first game as acting head coach
Mensah said he got a call from Porter before boarding their flight to Nashville Tuesday evening, telling him that his coach wouldn’t be with them due to testing positive for COVID-19 (Porter is vaccinated), and Hendrickson would be taking his place.
As a name that has consistently popped up for head coaching vacancies in the league, and someone who was an assistant under legendary coach Sigi Schmid, Hendrickson got his opportunity to be a head coach for at least one game.
"I thought it went well,” Hendrickson said. “The guys gave a good response. When things like this happen and the head coach has to miss a game for whatever reason, sometimes guys maybe let down their guard. I didn't see that tonight from our players.”
Hendrickson made clear that they were still acting in assistant roles because Porter had prepared the team through Tuesday’s training session and he spoke to the coaching staff before the game like usual.
“It's Caleb's team and just follow his instructions,” Hendrickson said. “Even though he's not able to be here with us physically, we still take his guidance and go based on the way he wants to play and how we have the team prepped. That doesn't change. We're going to continue that until he's able to rejoin us.”
When might Porter Return?
It seems improbable that Porter would have recovered in time to coach on Saturday against New York Red Bulls. Porter needs two negative PCR tests within 24 hours to be cleared to return. Assuming Porter has no worse than mild symptoms, it normally takes 7-10 days before a person tests negative again.
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