It has been no secret so far this that the struggles for Columbus have been the defense and at that that issue has come at the center back position. In the two league loses for Columbus recently, those concerns have been widely displayed. With a heavily congested schedule here recently the Crew look to get back on track tonight against the Rapids.
While on paper these two struggling teams seem to be a good matchup, the favor of the two teams leans more in favor of the Crew. While the Rapids have been a streaky team so far this season and a little uncanny, Columbus has seemed to be a tactically organized than Colorado.
The main weakness for the Black & Gold could be on display tonight if the Rapids attack it. With all the injuries to the back line defense and center back position, it is still up in the air how coach Nancy will address those issues right before the summer transfer window opens.
Columbus has an opportunity tonight to halt the 2-game skid they are on and get back on track. To get back on track to the form that has been shown earlier in the season, the Crew will need to get back to having fun but be precise.
The key to having fun is when Cucho is more involved. Yes, Cucho has not produced many goals this season, but he has contributed with 6 assist. To get back to having fun, the Crew need to have Cucho play more in the middle and not have him go too wide. It has been proven that when He comes out the middle, he has been far more effective with shots on goal, assist, and has opposing defense marking him more and allowing others to slip in the box for chances.
Second key to getting back on track is, know and understand the roots and get back to basics. When i say roots, I'm not talking about family roots, I'm talking more along the lines of the roots of soccer and the roots of the club. When you can under the history of soccer and what it was meant to do in bringing people together for fun and entertainment and you can fully comprehend that then you can apply that to training and performance during games. Now getting back to basics is not always a bad thing. If the Crew can get back to the basics, this will help relax them on the field and start having fun again and everyone will be able to contribute in some way.
The final key to winning tonight and getting back on track is, belief. To steal a line from Ted Lasso, "all you have to do is believe". With players like Cucho struggling to score or players like Phillip Quinton struggling to hold the back line down while injuried players such as Milos Degenek and Gustavo Vallecilla are injured, the Crew just need to have the sense of belief, believing in themselves and belief in their teammates next to them on the field.
If Columbus can utilize these three keys, then the Crew will surely turn around and take the league by fire. With Colorado coming into tonight's game having lost the last 5 games, this goal is very achievable and can start to the change the out look on the season for Columbus.
Can the Crew break the slump against Colorado or will the Rapids rush through Columbus and snap their own slump? Find out tonight at 7:30pm on MLS season pass from Apple TV.