COLUMBUS -- It was a hypothetical question but the answer from Crew veteran defender Chad Marshall reveals an attitude that nothing can be taken for granted.
Neither last week's clinching of the team's first playoff spot in four seasons, nor moving a giant step closer to earning the Supporters' Shield by going on the road to down New England 1-0 on Saturday is going to change that.
The victory enabled the Crew, now with 50 points, to surpass by one their previous best point total set in 2004 when they finished the season with an 18-game unbeaten streak. Marshall was a rookie back then and he, defender Frankie Hejduk and midfielder Duncan Oughton are the lone remnants of that squad still with the Crew.
So, Chad, in a match between the 2004 and '08 teams, who would win?
"That would be a good game. They had a lot of good guys on that team. There's some good players on this one. It's a tough call," he said. "I'll play on this one now because I know how the other one in '04 finished up."
Four years later it still burns. The Crew went into the 2004 postseason riding high after winning their first Supporters' Shield but were knocked off in the opening round by New England.
That's why Marshall and his teammates are not about to take the gas off the pedal despite an eight-point lead over the Revolution with four matches left.
"We understand the importance of each game and what it means to us as we move forward," goalkeeper Will Hesmer said. "I'm not sure we ever want to say we're comfortable."
There are major differences in the way this year's squad and the 2004 team approached matches. Back then, the Crew were content not to lose. They had 10 ties and only eight wins in setting the league unbeaten mark and did not play particularly appealing soccer. The Crew had three scoreless draws and four 1-1 games during the streak.
This season's team can play smothering defense yet produce at the other end. It is second in the league with 45 goals (1.73 per game) and has allowed the third fewest, 31 (1.19).
Columbus could have gone into the match at New England hoping for a tie without the service of leading scorer Guillermo Barros Schelotto, who missed his third consecutive match because of a strained hamstring. The artificial turf was wet and unpredictable and the Crew lost Hejduk in the 65th minute to his second yellow card but the Crew preserved Marshall's 35th-minute goal for the win.
"This team finds a way to win," Hesmer said. "A road win, especially 1-0 against the second-place team in the league, that's huge for us. It says a lot about the character and the focus of this team right now."
Instead of trying to maintain maintaining status quo in the Eastern Conference, the Crew now have a cushion with six wins and a draw in the past seven games.
"We're not going into any game right now looking for a tie. We want to win every game and get that Supporters' Shield," Marshall said. "It was tough the last half hour being down a man on the road. We kept numbers behind the ball and limited their chances. I don't think they had any super great chances."
Defender Danny O'Rourke could sense the desire the Crew have to dispel any notions that the former ragtag team is a fluke.
"More than anything it was a statement to ourselves. After not making the playoffs for a couple of years we were real hungry," he said. "We knew we were in (the playoffs) but we want to be as good as we can. We'll take every game very seriously from here on it just as we have done all year."
After Hejduk exited coach Sigi Schmid substituted defender Andy Iro for ex-Revolution forward Pat Noonan for a more defensive posture. He later replaced Eddie Gaven with the speedier Emmanuel Ekpo on the right flank in hopes of taking advantage of a counter then added defender Ezra Hendrickson late for central midfielder Brad Evans.
"They're a great attacking team 11 vs. 11 but being down a man we knew we had to bunker in a bit," O'Rourke said. "It was a great defensive effort. We made a good move bringing in Ezra and Andy to get those balls. It was a great team effort. It doesn't matter who's out there we're battling and playing for each other."
Unfortunately, not everything turned out positive for the Crew. Hejduk and Schmid, who was ejected in stoppage time for arguing with the officials after Hesmer was undercut by Taylor Twellman off a corner kick, will miss Saturday's match against Los Angeles in a sold-out Crew Stadium.
It will be the first Columbus appearance for David Beckham, who did not play before last year's overflow crowd of more than 24,000 because he was injured.
"It's going to be awesome. I missed the game last year when the LA Galaxy came in and we had the big crowd," said Marshall, who had a concussion. "It will be a good atmosphere and hopefully we can get three points."
A year ago fans bought tickets far in advance in anticipation of Beckham's arrival and were disappointed by his absence. There will be some people coming Saturday to Crew Stadium only because of him but the vast majority will be cheering the Crew's resurgent season.
The vaunted supporters' section in the northeast corner will no doubt not let Beckham forget the dive he took late in the first meeting this year that set up a penalty to help the Galaxy to a 3-3 tie June 21 in The Home Depot Center.
Losing those potential two points might not hurt the Crew after all, but the team would like to wrap up the Supporters' Shield and home-field advantage in the first two rounds as quickly as possible. It could happen this weekend. A Crew win coupled with a loss or tie by New England and Chicago plus a Houston loss would clinch the overall standings.
Although LA has one win in 14 matches the Crew will not be taking the top-scoring team in MLS lightly.
"LA is struggling right now. We're on a roll. Anytime you're going up against a team that has its back against the wall and is fighting for its life you know it's going to be a dogfight," Hesmer said. "They're an attacking team. On any given day they can be really, really dangerous. We definitely need to be prepared."
No comments:
Post a Comment