Columbus Crew 'know what's at stake' facing possible elimination from MLS Cup playoffs
One loss would end The Crew's run in the MLS playoffs after they dropped the first game of the first-round, best-of-three series against the New York Red Bulls.
"This is November now," Crew striker Cucho Hernandez said. "Basically, we have to be ready for everything. The guys know how we have to play to win this, and we are 0-0 right now. It’s a new game."
The Crew lost 1-0 on Tuesday, making them the only higher seed in the Eastern Conference to drop their first game. Columbus went into the postseason as the second-ranked team. New York is seventh.
According to goalkeeper Patrick Schulte, the Crew are still frustrated by the fact that Red Bulls midfielder Felipe Carballo scored following a corner kick, especially given Columbus has improved in set-piece defense this season.
"Everyone can see the goal and just off set pieces, I think that’s something that you can, as a team, control," Schulte said. "You have 10 guys kind of back, especially just how that kind of all played out. I think, as a team, as myself, we could do better.”
With the goal occurring in the 25th minute, the Crew had ample time to counter, but they failed to finish on any of their final 16 shots.
The Crew were prepared for the Red Bulls' defense-first playing style and had defeated New York twice in the regular season. They just failed to execute.
"It was just kind of a weird game," Crew midfielder Max Arfsten said. "They stuck to their game plan pretty well, and after they got the goal, they were comfortable with sitting back and defending. We obviously have to make better adjustments, maybe sometimes we could be in better areas in the box, occupy better areas in the buildup."
The Crew's offense is expected to get a boost with the return of forward Diego Rossi.
Rossi missed Game 1 with a back injury, marking his first absence of the season.
Columbus has been given the gift of a second chance. The first round is the only round of the MLS Cup playoffs that is a best-of-three series, rather than a single elimination game. That means the Crew have to be perfect the rest of the postseason if they want to defend their 2023 MLS Cup title.
"We know what’s at stake," Schulte said. "We get another opportunity to go extend the series. So, I think that’s our mindset. It’s one game, one-game elimination games for the rest of the year, and that’s our mindset.”
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: MLS Playoffs: Columbus Crew face possible elimination vs NY Red Bulls
