The Black & Gold knew what they were up against heading into Stade Saputo Sunday night. They had faced Montreal’s dangerous counterattack twice before in the regular season, but this time, former Chelsea FC star Didier Drogba was at the helm with Ignacio Piatti on his left.
Drogba caused commotion for Crew SC, but he wasn’t the one to find the back of the net. Marco Donadel whipped in a corner for Patrice Bernier to finish with his head, just four minutes after Columbus celebrated the lead. To secure the win for Montreal in the First Leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, substitute Johan Venegas robbed defender Michael Parkhurst of the ball and finished his one-v-one chance.
As fullback Harrison Afful put it, “Things happen in football. You just have to take it and move forward and do your best.”
Despite the final 2-1 score, Crew SC was pleased with its performance and the result after a 90-minute battle with the Impact.
“It was a hard-fought game, a high-intensity game and I think, in the end, we’re satisfied with the result,” Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter said. “There were a couple moments where I felt we could’ve handled it better, and that’s still the process, that’s what this team is working through—stay calm, stay collected, and not let a mistake faze you, but it got to us a little bit. Overall, we’re pleased with the performance. It was a hard-fought game and we did well.”
The Black & Gold accomplished their main goal in Canada, which was to score a road goal. In the postseason, goals away from home are given more weight should the aggregrate score be even. That makes Federico Higuain's tally all the more important for Crew SC. In the 33rd minute, midfielder Justin Meram lofted a cross back post, which was headed down by Drogba on the six-yard line, and favorably met by the ensuing Higuain.
“We represent a style of play and we stick to that, no matter where we are,” Berhalter said. “You saw that tonight, we’re very offensive-oriented, we want to focus on our ball movement and put Montreal on their heels, even though they’re home, so I’m pleased.”
In front of an enthusiastic sea of blue and white, the Black & Gold managed to stick to their style of play and for the most part, shut down Montreal’s aggressive pressure.
“For the most part, I thought we neutralized their counterattack,” Parkhurst said. “They had a couple chances here and there, but that’s their main way of attacking, and I thought for the most part, we were pretty organized and the outside backs did a great job one-on-one on the wings. Yeah, Drogba’s a handful for us in the middle, but overall I thought the performance was excellent.”
Things are looking up for Columbus as they prepare to host the Second Leg on Sunday, November 8. Like Berhalter said, they’ve put themselves in a position to win, but it’s not an easy road to the Conference Finals.
“They’re going to sit back, even further than they did tonight and counterattack, there’s no doubt about that,” Parkhurst said. “So it’s going to take a big effort from the team to overcome it, but we’ll be up for the task. We feel positive going into it.”
Kickoff for the Second Leg between Crew SC and the Montreal Impact is set for 5 p.m. at MAPFRE Stadium this Sunday. Get your tickets here.
