OBETZ, Ohio – Columbus Crew SC was back at work Monday at the EAS Training Center at Obetz with no time to rest after an invigorating 2-0 victory over the New England Revolution on Saturday. The Black & Gold play Toronto FC on three days’ rest Wednesday, May 10 in the second match of the 2017 Trillium Cup.
Columbus has a chance to hoist the cup at MAPFRE Stadium following the primetime match after winning earlier this season by a margin of 2-1. Members of Crew SC are taking a multi-faceted approach to the match against Toronto.
Ready for more
Crew SC Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter understands the daunting task of playing Toronto in the upcoming match on short rest, the first of its kind this season for the Black & Gold.
“We know they’re going to be confident, they had a good game in Seattle, they were able to rest some players and they’re going to come in here fired up,” Berhalter said. “I think games against Toronto are extremely difficult, extremely hard games and I expect the same thing in this case.”
Forward Ola Kamara appeared ready to continue his attacking success at MAPFRE Stadium after recording an assist and a goal in Saturday’s match — the goal being his third straight at home and his fourth in five games at home.
“Right now, I’m feeling good,” Kamara said. “I think the game on Saturday wasn’t too exhausting so I’m feeling good and I’m already excited for Wednesday.”
The striker hopes that the second Trillium Cup match will be even better than the first in front of the fans in Columbus.
“Hopefully we can produce a little bit more and play even better than last time,” Kamara said. “For us, it’s just focusing on ourselves and being ready for that battle first and also giving the crowd something to cheer about.”
Full speed ahead
With the Major League Soccer season now in full swing, scheduling becomes more complicated for members of the league such as Crew SC. This week’s quick turnaround is just the beginning for the Black & Gold in the 2017 campaign.
Midfielder Ethan Finlay applied the scheduling obstacle idea to Wednesday night’s match.
“What you really can do is try to game plan as much as possible for the type of style that they’re going to play,” Finlay said. “Maybe not necessarily personnel-wise as much but just having the understanding that there’s certain guys like the [Sebastian] Giovinco’s and the [Jozy] Altidore’s and [Michael] Bradley’s who are probably going to be running their offense. Having good shape and good balance for those kinds of guys I think is extremely important.”
The veteran Finlay, who recently recorded his 30th assist for Crew SC, chooses to focus on what can be controlled in preparation for Columbus.
“Just not playing too much into what another team is going to do, really trying to focus on how we can hurt teams,” Finlay said. “I think defensively we’ve been pretty solid throughout this year and we have an idea here that if we keep the ball for a good amount of the game that we won’t have to defend for obviously nearly as much and hurting them more than them hurting us.”
In-house competition
Nine members of Crew SC have seen defensive action on the back line so far this season. Defender Josh Williams spoke about the competitive culture on defense for Columbus on Monday at the EAS Training Center at Obetz.
“You need that, I think that’s part of a good team,” Williams said. “In order to play at your peak, you need competition in training, you need guys pushing you. I think Gregg [Berhalter] and the rest of the staff have done a great job of bringing in guys with a ton of talent.”
Both sides of the fence
Williams also has a unique perspective on the upcoming match and the Trillium Cup. After playing for Toronto FC in 2016, he returned to Crew SC this season.
“I still have some really good friends over there,” Williams said. “Last year I was on the other side and I was in the same situation talking about Justin [Meram] and Ethan [Finlay] and other guys so to be back on this side and to be facing my other set of friends up north, it’s always a little extra something when friends are in town.”
They said it…
Wednesday’s match will not be the first of the week between major professional sports teams from Ohio and Toronto. The NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers completed their second-round playoff sweep of the Toronto Raptors on Sunday in what may have been a good omen for the Black & Gold. Did Williams’ former Toronto teammates reach out to the Northeast Ohio-native during the series?
“It’s funny, they were awfully quiet on their end. I was waiting for it, I had my phone out every game waiting for it but no, there wasn’t much talk this year.
►Crew SC defender Josh Williams
Crew SC continues its jam-packed month of May by hosting Toronto FC on May 10 in the second 2017 Trillium Cup match of the year. A Black & Gold win at MAPFRE Stadium would see them raise their seventh Trillium Cup in the 10 competitions.