Bird’s Eye Preview: Columbus Crew at CF Montreal

Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Momentum is at stake when the Columbus Crew battles CF Montreal north of the border Saturday night. The Crew have not fared well on the road this season, gathering just nine points through 12 games. The Crew were defeated 2-0 by the Houston Dynamo in Houston on Wednesday night, a lackluster performance that can be attributed to the team not being accustomed to the late summer Texas heat. Nevertheless, the team has a quick turnaround to play another road game on three days’ rest before taking a two-week break for international play. After the break, the Crew play ANOTHER road match against Orlando City before returning home to play the Chicago Fire on Wednesday, September 20^th.

The Crew are right in the thick of things in the Eastern Conference. Prior to Wednesday’s matchday, the Crew were sitting in fifth place with 42 points but were only one point behind second place New England (who now has 46 points). Orlando City is two points ahead of the Crew with 44 points, so looking ahead, the road match on September 16^th against Orlando City is pivotal, especially if they Crew can’t earn at least one point tomorrow. The Crew need to finish in fourth position or higher to guarantee a home playoff game and possibly bring Lionel Messi to Columbus to play in a raucous atmosphere at a sold-out Lower.com Field. One can dream!

The Crew should have more firepower to begin the match Saturday than they did against Houston on Wednesday. I expect to see forwards Christian Ramirez and new Designated Player Diego Rossi getting the start alongside superstar Cucho Hernandez after coming in as substitutes on Wednesday. Ramirez only logged 14 minutes. With a cooler climate and fresh legs and precise crosses by winger and specialist Julian Gressel who recently joined the squad, I expect the Crew to get back to their attacking style and create a lot of chances. The question is, can they put a final touch on the ball to get it past the goalkeeper and into the back of the net?

The Crew’s forward attacking style leaves vulnerability on the defensive back line, and the back line was poor at the beginning of the season after the departure of two aging veterans (Pedro Santos and Jonathan Mensah). Improving the back line has been a primary focus of Coach Wilfried Nancy since he joined the Columbus Crew organization in the offseason from CF Montreal. There’s now depth and leadership from players who have played internationally in Malte Amundsen and Yevhen Cheberko.

Goalkeeper Patrick Schulte has had a solid rookie season thus far and had two consecutive clean sheets (shutouts) before the 2-0 loss on Wednesday. Schulte took over the starting job from last year’s starter Eloy Room to begin the season and never gave it back. It helps to play behind a prolific offense.

Given the team’s struggles on the road this year, it’s hard to predict a Crew victory. I expect to see a lot of shots, but momentum is funny, and the game often doesn’t play out how you expect. The Crew has struggled protecting a lead late, and that might bite them again on Saturday. CF Montreal 1, Columbus Crew 1.