Crew Coverage pres. by Medical Mutual | Rydström: ‘Margins will bounce our way’

Wednesday night was another evening of growth for the Columbus Crew. 

Days removed from a loss at Yankee Stadium, the Crew returned to the New York area and were on the cusp of a solid road point before a late goal produced a 3-2 loss to Red Bull New York. 

However, the growth was in the team’s response. Conceding after seven minutes, the visitors leveled in the 22nd minutes when Max Arfsten produced his fourth goal of the campaign.

Red Bulls took the lead before halftime, but Diego Rossi’s penalty in the 64th minute evened the clubs once more.

RBNY’s Julian Hall produced a third goal in the 79th minute that cemented the Columbus defeat.

“It's always frustrating you don't win a game, and if we look at the positive side of things, it's how we played on Sunday? This was a step up in terms of how we played with the ball,” captain Sean Zawadzki said. “I think we saw how good we can be with the ball, how free flowing we are. And I think you saw that for 90 minutes today, albeit the result, obviously, was the result. 

“But I think that the way we played through the lines created some good chance, got the wide crosses and posed some really dangerous opportunities for ourselves, but at the end of the day, it's still frustrating, no matter what. To play as good as we did, and then still lose. It's frustrating.”

Head coach Henrik Rydström also noted his frustration, but he was encouraged by the Crew’s response to Sunday night’s setback at NYCFC. 

“The goals we conceded, it's too easy for them to get access to our penalty box,” Rydström said of RBNY. “We know it, we work on it. I can't say so much more than sometimes you get punished for some silly mistakes or small mistakes. We get punished quite easily. I don't think the opponents really play in a way so they deserve it, but they push us down and in so many situations in our penalty box, I think overall almost every game we have played so far this season, we are more often in our opponents’ penalty box, but still, they can hurt us.” 

“The only way is to keep on having the awareness and believing that the margins will bounce our way. We will soon probably win two games in a row without deserving it, and then I will be happy and irritated at the same time.” 

The Crew’s busy schedule continues Saturday night, when the Black & Gold play at the Philadelphia Union. Columbus beat Philadelphia, 2-0, when the sides met April 25 at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field.