COLUMBUS, Ohio – Columbus Crew SC controlled most of the match in their season opener against the Chicago Fire, but one period of “chaos” led to a “fluky” goal that left coach Gregg Berhalter and his team frustrated and disappointed with a 1-1 draw.
In a postgame television interview, midfielder Justin Meram said the team “lost our minds” during the sloppy period of the second half that led to the 73rd minute equalizer by Chicago’s David Accam.
“By losing our minds, I mean losing the focus of how we play,” Meram said. “We’re built a certain way. Everyone is a link in the chain, and we got away from our system a little bit. They put a little bit of pressure on us, and we didn’t have the desire to get on the ball and go forward.”
Berhalter was no happier about the breakdown in his team’s style. He said “the period hit us and we didn’t recover,” and admitted he was frustrated by his team’s inability to maintain their shape and focus for 90 minutes.
“I felt like we should have been up by more than one goal, especially after the first half and the beginning of the second half,” he said. “It was disappointing to see that spiral a little bit.”
The Crew SC boss said he thought his team suffered from heavy early-season legs and praised their first-half performance, but ultimately said he expected more.
“We’re disappointed to tie a game at home,” he said, “simple as that.”
And for a team that spent much of 2016 dropping points by giving up late goals due to lapses of concentration, Columbus players know the trend needs fixing.
Meram, who assisted Ethan Finlay for the team’s lone goal on the day, said the squad has to be hungrier and more focused, with three points expected from next week’s trip to Houston. And Meram made it clear that the excuse of early-season hiccups wouldn’t work for the team’s leaders.
“I’m not going to say, ‘it’s early, don’t worry about it,’” he said. “That’s going to be the mindset this year: there’s no more waiting around.”
