The 2007 season for the Columbus Crew was filled with streaks and stumbles. In many ways, their season absolutely mirrored that old soccer cliche: it was truly a tale of two halves.
After a 1-4-5 start that left them in last place in the Eastern Conference, the Crew's success increased with the temperature and by the end of July, they were the fastest rising club in the league. However, when the second half came the Crew reverted back to past form, going winless in seven consecutive games and losing six in all over a 10-game stretch, culminating with a 3-1 defeat to FC Dallas on Oct. 6 that officially eliminated them from postseason contention.
"Some of those are games we should have won," said defender Duncan Oughton. "Maybe we needed more concentration and things like that in last 10 minutes of games. We gave away a lot of points."
In each of the past two seasons Columbus have increased their win total incrementally, but have still now gone three consecutive seasons without a postseason berth. In 2007, the Crew finished three points out of the final spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs, in ninth place overall with 37 points.
With just one victory in the first 10 games of the season, the 2007 campaign seemed to be a replay of the last two years when the Crew followed up winning the Supporters' Shield in 2004 with failure to reach the MLS Cup Playoffs. Then on June 16, the club was thrown a lifeline. Down 3-1 shortly before halftime to the New England Revolution in Foxborough, Columbus' midfielder Guillermo Barros Schelotto cut the deficit to one goal, and forward Alejandro Moreno capped the two-goal comeback with a late equalizer.
"That was one of those games where we had gone through a tough early season spell," said Crew head coach Sigi Schmid. "Being able to go into New England and come back in a game like that against a quality team helped the guys start to believe in themselves."
The result against the Revolution signaled the beginning of brighter times for Columbus. During the months of June and July the Crew went 5-3-2. As the club warmed up they climbed out of the league's basement and aimed for a postseason position, winning four of those five games at Crew Stadium.
Unfortunately for the Crew faithful, the hot summer winning streak was dispelled into a cold seven-game winless streak that stretched until the end of September, finally coming to an end with a 2-1 road victory against Toronto FC.
Another pair of losses followed however, the second a 3-1 loss to FC Dallas before 19,517 fans at Crew Stadium, who were forced to recognize that their blazing playoff hopes had flamed out.
"I felt like we actually played pretty good soccer," said Eddie Gaven, the Crew's lone goalscorer, following that match. "But we only finished one chance and gave up three. It doesn't matter how many chances you create if you lose."
That game, much like the Crew's season, was a tale of two halves. In the first 32 minutes of the match the Crew tallied 10 shots, putting a season-high eight of them on goal. But FC Dallas scored three unanswered goals in the second half to wrap up the win.
Still, the Columbus season ended with two wins against the league's top two teams: D.C. United and New England Revolution. The club's strong finish to the campaign signaled a bright future with up and coming stars like forward Robbie Rogers.
"When you look at our last two games, Robbie was a very vital part of our attack," Schmid said. "If he can continue to grow like that it'll be a big plus for us."
The 2008 season for the Columbus Crew should be heavy with optimism. Schelotto should again team up with Venezuelan international Alejandro Moreno as the team's offensive leaders, along with Eddie Gaven. Head coach Sigi Schmid will keep hold of the Crew's reins, hoping to increase the club's win total as he has over each of the last two seasons.
"Overall we have a young nucleus of players who are all under 26 years old who are now ready to emerge and come out on the positive end of those tough games," Schmid said.
Columbus fans hope that in 2008 their club will dominate both halves of the game instead of only one.
Andrew Shaffer is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
