Caleb Porterknew health and fitness potholes would align the road throughout the MLS is Back Tournament, and with that, the team's readiness to adapt and trust each other would play an obvious but key role.
As it turns out, that preparation has played out like a pre-written script as the Crew secured its third straight regular-season victory over Atlanta United, a victory that did not feature starting goalkeeper Eloy Room nor centerback Vito Wormgoor, in addition to limited showings from leading goal-scorer Gyasi Zardes and No. 10 Lucas Zelarayan, as well as game-winning goal scorer Youness Mokhtar, who left right before halftime with a leg injury.
Of course, in the end, none of that seemed to matter because what the Crew have right now early in the season, Porter said, is confidence in each other, whether it's player-to-player, player-to-coach, or coach-to-player.
"We have a lot of confidence. We’ve played a lot of guys in these three games. Nearly every single guy on the team has factored-in at least for one minute or more for every game, So that’s a great thing, you need that in MLS, I’ve said it time and again. We’re going to continue to need it. We’re going to continue to need guys to come into games because in these conditions with the heat, a pretty short runway coming in, you’re seeing that we’re taking a few injuries which I think if you look at most every team it’s the same and that’s not surprising."
For the third straight match, 16 different players featured for the Black & Gold, this time including backup goalkeeper Andrew Tarbell, who subbed in for the injured Room.
Having only joined the team in February, Tarbell's perspective on the group is relatively fresh. Following a shutout in his Crew debut, the five-year MLS vet spoke on what he's seen out of the group that, as he described, has him feeling blessed.
"I’m new to the group this year, obviously, and all I can say is everybody’s ready to play. Day in and day out, everyone believes they’re going to play. So, just as a group, our mentality is so strong and we’re just ready, you know, from every man wants to step on the field and perform. And then when we get into games like this where we need to use everybody, everybody’s ready, and everybody supports everybody, and we’re just a good group like that."
So far this tournament, we've seen some key individual moments (think Zelarayan's Goal of the Week, or Zardes's brace vs. FCC, or Santos's run to set up Zardes vs. RBNY), but what Tuesday's win showed was two-fold; one being an ability to grind it out defensively against a team that had nothing to lose, and the other being the ability to produce a high-quality look on goal through ball movement and patience.
In the second half, the Crew dropped deeper than usual and conceded over 60 percent of possession in addition to 13 shots, six of which were on-frame. Meanwhile, Atlanta won the majority of second-half duels (33-28) and received four corner kicks to Columbus's zero.
Nevertheless, Porter said his guys "know how to win" and it showed with an at-times imperfect, albeit effective performance all things considered.
On the other hand, what wasn't ugly was Mokhtar's game-winner, which was simply the cherry on top of an ultimate team goal, one that as Porter explained, is indicative of the team's genome.
"It’s a great team goal. It’s something we talk about, we work on, it’s a part of our DNA. We want to dictate the ball in the front half but not just pass to pass, we want to pass with a purpose. We want to be very effective in breaking lines and creating chances on goal and getting in the final third and being effective with passing. And I thought we did that to start the game."
In line with Porter's comment about always playing with purpose, defender Harrison Afful, who played the full 90 minutes on Tuesday, said the Crew's recent run of form starts with respecting the overall process of preparation and evaluation.
"We listen to what the coaches have for us, then we deliver on the pitch. I think that is keeping us going. We learn and we improve. And Jonathan as our leader, as our captain, we always try to help each other and encourage each other. I think that is keeping us going."
Overall, it's still early in the season, so what's the ultimate takeaway from this Group Stage? Well, there certainly is not just one.
But what we do know going into July 28's Round of 16 match is that Porter knows this team has more than one way to win a match.
"The mark of a good team is, even on a day where maybe in the second half you’re not at your best, you still have to find a way to win, and I was very pleased with that."
