Heading into the first leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinal series last weekend, it looked like the New England Revolution and Columbus Crew were evenly matched. They'd split their last two games, both in September, and were, by all measures, the two hottest teams heading into the 2014 MLS Cup Playoffs, presented by AT&T. In most ways, it felt too close to call.
Then the Revs disabused us.
Columbus were taken to the woodshed in New England's 4-2 win. Yeah, there were plenty of moments when the Crew looked dangerous, but there were many more when the Revs looked like they knew exactly how to exploit any endeavor the home team showed.
And so New England must protect what is essentially a 2.5-goal lead in the second leg on Sunday (5 pm ET; ESPN2, WatchESPN, ESPN Deportes):
Protect, but don't be reactive
The Revs won the first leg because they blitzed Columbus with high pressure of the sort that's rarely seen in MLS. That's how they've worked all season, and as the year has gone on they've become better, and better, and better at it:
That chart illustrates how quickly New England have forced their opponents to play, and the Crew were, for some reason, unprepared. Tony Tchani was particularly victimized, as the Revs dragged him out of the central channel and forced him into his worst passing numbers of the year (watch the video above for further details and analysis).
I wouldn't, however, expect to see such frenetic pressing from the home side in this one. Once his men had blitzed their way to a two-goal lead, Jay Heaps had them sit back and play for transition goals. That strategy obviously paid handsomely, and they'll probably do more of that on Sunday as well.
- ANALYST: Revs set the tone with high pressure
But they can't do it from too deep a position. Teams like LA, D.C. and Seattle have shown the ability to turtle up and still get results, a tried-and-true tactic when protecting a lead in a big game. The Revs, on the other hand, don't defend particularly well in their own defensive third, and the last thing they want to do is give the likes of Tchani, Federico Higuain, Justin Meram and Ethan Finlay enough time and space to create a rhythm.
Tactical Outlook: 4-2-3-1 sitting deeper than normal
X-factor: Game states. New England are dominant when protecting a lead, so Heaps has to remind his guys that even if they go down a goal in this one, they're still winning. If they start feeling like they're chasing the game, though? That's when the Revs have been incredibly vulnerable all year.
Chase, but stay connected
Look, any time you go into a game needing at the least, a 3-0 win, you're probably cooked.
But the Crew's current troubles didn't arise because of either of the first two goals Revs goals; they arose because of the immature way Columbus spread themselves out once they'd brought it back to 2-1. They were so damn focused on finding the equalizer that they allowed tons of space between the lines for New England attackers.
And, well, here's what happens with that:
If you let any good attacking player - let alone an MVP candidate in Lee Nguyen - get the ball there, and then don't put any pressure on him until he's 18 yards from goal... well, you get what you deserve. Tyson Wahl's gotten the lion's share of the blame this week, but that goal was a team failure from the Crew.
And then they did it again. This is Charlie Davies getting the icer:
There is no good reason for there to be that much space between the Columbus central midfield and central defense.
And there will be no good reason for it in Leg 2, either. Columbus will have to come out and push in this one, and will surely expose themselves to the occasional counter. That's part of the deal when you need goals.
But "aggressive attacking play" is not mutually exclusive from "positionally sound defensive play", a truism this young team couldn't embrace last weekend. If they're able to do so on Sunday, they'll at least give themselves a fighting chance at arguably the greatest comeback in MLS history.
Tactical Outlook: 4-2-3-1 with all guns blazing for early goals
X-factor:Jairo Arrieta. His movement in the final third is excellent, and the way to get the Revs in trouble is to force their backline to scramble. The Costa Rican international needs to start
One more reason to watch: I said "arguably the greatest comeback" above. Here's the other half of that argument:
