Did the Columbus Crew find their offense again vs Chicago Fire FC? 'We're just at the start'
Wilfried Nancy doesn’t believe too much in luck. And that's not just because luck wasn’t seemingly on the side of the Crew’s offense during the first three games of 2024.
“Because every game, we have clear chances,” Nancy said.
There were more chances Saturday against Chicago Fire FC, but finally, the coach saw his team convert more than one. The Crew’s 2-1 win marked Columbus' first multi-goal game of the season.
After an offensively stagnant first half, the Crew looked alive against the Fire in the second, recording 13 shots and nine shots-on-target including both of their goals, a Jacen Russell-Rowe dagger from outside of the box and a Mohamed Farsi tip-in 10 minutes into extra time.
Outside of the goals, there were other attacks that looked dangerous: a Diego Rossi header off a pass from Cucho Hernandez that landed squarely into the hands of Fire goalkeeper Chris Brady, two balls from Hernandez and Aidan Morris that sailed over the crossbar, a potential game-winning goal by Russell-Rowe in extra time that was called back on an offside penalty.
“We create a lot,” Farsi said. “Sometimes it happens that the ball (doesn't) want to go in.”
According to Nancy, the challenge is finding some consistency, even while he adapts and changes the game plan “depending (on) what I see.”
“There is a good tactical flexibility with my players,” Nancy said. “Knowing that sometimes you have to go around, sometimes you have to go through, sometimes you have to go in behind. And this is a good exercise for us to have different tools to find a way to have a good performance.”
In 2023, this mindset led the Crew to be the MLS’ No. 1 scoring offense with 67 goals in 34 matches – tied for the most in club history.
On Saturday, Russell-Rowe sensed the Crew was beginning to return to that high-scoring form.
“You got a feeling in the energy that we brought,” he said. “We can be the same team. We can be better than we were in our attacking output. And it’s a long season. We’re just at the start, and I think we’re going to get better as it goes on.”
Why the Crew substituted Darlington Nagbe vs. Chicago Fire FC
The Crew’s 1-1 tie against Minnesota United on March 2 began a stretch of five games in 15 days, including two meetings against the Houston Dynamo in the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
Nancy said he was keeping the Crew’s schedule in mind when he substituted out Darlington Nagbe for Steven Moreira in the 60th minute Saturday. Nagbe had played 269 of the team’s 270 minutes through the first three games.
“I thought about this moment knowing that, yes, the big picture with Houston and also the New York Red Bulls,” Nancy said, “but the idea is also freshness during this game.”
Nancy also replaced Marino Hinestroza with Russell-Rowe in the 59th minute. And Farsi, Yevhen Cheberko and Derrick Jones Jr. entered the game for Max Arfsten, Yaw Yeboah and Rudy Camacho, respectively.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Crew find offense again vs Chicago Fire FC
