The Columbus Crew are about to play one of the biggest games of the regular season without two of their most influential players.
Both Designated Player Federico Higuain and fullback Waylon Francis picked up yellow cards for unsportsmanlike behavior in the team’s 2-1 loss to New England, forcing both of them out of the lineup for the Crew’s matchup against the Philadelphia Union this week.
Francis received a yellow card in the 39th minute for a foul before he was sent off for the second yellow in the 70th, while Higuain's yellow card during stoppage time means he'll be forced to sit with accumulation against the Union.
“I just wasn’t happy with our reactions,” Crew head coach Gregg Berhalter told MLSsoccer.com after the loss. “The referee has a job to do and we have a job to do. Our job isn’t to worry about his decisions, it’s to play soccer. I thought we got caught up in that a little too much.”
The lack of discipline was nothing new for Higuain, who has built something of a reputation for picking up unnecessary cards on the way to earning eight cautions this season, tops on the team. Six of his cards have come from things like encroachment, time-wasting or dissent.
Despite those cards, Berhalter said Higuain’s fiery attitude comes as part of the playmaker’s total package.
“He’s a competitor,” Berhalter said. “You see how he tracked down Jermaine Jones on that play and won the tackle, he competes. He’s not willing to give anything up. That’s his nature. So I think you live with it a little bit.”
Higuain has appeared in 28 games this season for the Crew, notching 11 goals and six assists, and Francis has six assists in his first season with the club. But Berhalter insisted he’s not panicking, despite missing two of the team’s most vital players.
“These are things that happen in the game,” he said. “With three games left, it’s obviously crucial to have our guys on the field. But it also gives our other guys a chance to step up. We’re going to get some guys in there who are ready to play.
“The next guy has to step up, and we’ll be ready.”
