Gregg Berhalter’s Columbus Crew were already facing an uphill battle in New England on Sunday, down 4-2 on aggregate and without three starters entering the second leg.
But when winger Ethan Finlay was shown a red card after a collision with Revolution goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth in the 61st minute with New England leading 1-0 in the second leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, it virtually sealed the defeat for the Crew, who were eventually outscored 7-3 on aggregate in the series (WATCH THE VIDEO HERE). From the Columbus manager's point of view, the decision was the wrong one, and he felt it was precipitated by Shuttleworth's reaction to the play.
“We all know Ethan Finlay … and he is not an ill-natured type of person,” Berhalter told MLSsoccer.com after the 3-1 defeat. “He competes hard but is never, ever dirty. That's not his game. So in my mind, it's a harsh red card, and there was no intent to injure the goalkeeper.
“The way in which the goalkeeper was lying on the turf, it appeared that something was seriously wrong,” Berhalter continued. “If something was seriously wrong, it's odd to me that he could then continue on. I don't know where the communication was with the doctors, but I know that with head injuries being so serious, it seems strange that a player who's still on the turf is able to continue on and gets cleared to play.”
The Finlay red card was not the only thing that irked the first-year Crew coach. Berhalter made it clear he was not pleased with the “simulation on behalf of the [Revolution]," referencing an incident involving Waylon Francis and Charlie Davies on October 4, which resulted in a fine for embellishment by Davies, and another between Francis and Jermaine Jones in the first playoff leg at Crew Stadium. That one led to a Disciplinary Committee fine issued to Jones for simulation.
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“New England is a very good team, and you can't take that away from them,” he said. “But we played them … the last two games, and they got fined for embellishment in those two games. I would be willing to bet there's going to be a fine for this game, as well, for embellishment.”
Back to Sunday, Columbus were issued a second red card in the 85th minute, when Crew winger Justin Meram saw his second yellow of the day for a challenge on Kevin Alston. But there was no finger-pointing at New England on that one, as Berhalter placed the blame squarely on Meram (WATCH THE VIDEO HERE).
“I'm disappointed; [Meram] lost his head a little, and by doing so he put us even further in a hole with personnel,” Berhalter said. “He had a great year and he's a quality player, and I'm telling him to be smarter on plays like that. His performance was good enough during that game that we didn't need something like that taking away from it.”
Andrew King covers the Columbus Crew for MLSsoccer.com.
