OBETZ, Ohio – Just three days ago, the Columbus Crew were perhaps at the peak of their season.
The club had won three matches in a row to vault into the third seed in the Eastern Conference, were set to host their first game in the MLS Cup Playoffs, presented by AT&T, since 2010 and were tossing around phrases like “everyone in this locker room believes we can win MLS Cup.”
But after a devastating 4-2 loss to the New England Revolution put them in a deep hole heading into the second leg of the conference semifinal matchup Sunday in New England (5 pm ET; ESPN2, get tickets here), the Crew have a much different attitude in the midst of a string of bad news.
“I think guys are still feeling sorry for themselves, which is the wrong attitude,” head coach and sporting director Gregg Berhalter said Tuesday after the first Crew training session of the week. “We stress this all year long, not being the victim and taking responsibility. We’re going to need a day to get over that, and the guys are still reeling pretty hard from that game.”
Berhalter said it was “absolutely” a priority to remove those doubts by the end of the week and was even more disappointed in his team’s play after watching game tape, calling the performance “odd.”
“We got stunned,” he said. “It’s one of those games where you look back and – not taking anything away from New England – you can’t believe that scoreline. … Collectively, it wasn’t a good performance from our group. We know that, and you move on.”
Disappointment isn’t the only distraction swirling around Columbus, however. Berhalter addressed the potential of added punishment for defender Waylon Francis for what appeared to be an intentional elbow thrown at Revs midfielder Jermaine Jones in the closing minutes of Saturday’s loss.
No ruling has come from the MLS Disciplinary Committee, but Berhalter admitted that he’s uncertain about what the outcome will be.
“I think it’s a play that’s under review, that’s what I would say,” he said. “I don’t know much more about it.”
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Meanwhile, reports from Norway suggested that the Crew were still scouting Rosenborg and US international midfielder Mix Diskerud despite missing out on signing him during the summer transfer window.
And while Berhalter said he doesn’t want to comment on “guys that are on other teams’ rosters,” he didn’t shut down the idea.
“We talk about our scouting network; you know they’re out there watching games and stuff,” he said. “So I wouldn’t be surprised if they had seen some [of Diskerud’s] games.”
