On June 10, what now seems like an eternity ago, the Columbus Crew hosted the Kansas City Wizards in a battle for second place in the Eastern Conference. The Crew had seemed to turn the corner the previous week with a win against Western Conference-leading FC Dallas.
However, the Crew lost to the Wizards that night and have been sinking towards the bottom of the standings ever since. The Crew finally reached the Eastern basement Wednesday with their 2-0 home loss to the New York Red Bulls that stretched the club-record winless streak to eight games.
"It is the same old song and I am tired of singing it," said Crew coach Sigi Schmid. "We are inventing ways to lose."
The Crew controlled possession throughout the first half. Except for one Amado Guevara set piece that nearly set up Mike Magee, and one counterattack led by Marvell Wynne, the Crew dictated the play.
"I thought a lot of things looked positive coming into halftime. We showed a lot more patience with the ball," said Schmid. "We were much better at possessing the ball. We got wide. We created chances."
Added Crew captain Ritchie Kotschau: "In the first half, there wasn't much pressure from their top forwards. We were able to move the ball around with ease."
However, one turning point occurred on each side of halftime to doom the Black & Gold. Marc Burch, making his Crew debut, made a wonderful pass to spring Eddie Gaven in alone on Jon Conway. Conway, replacing an injured Tony Meola, denied Gaven with a kick save, but didn't clear the ball from danger. The ball found Ryan Coiner, who wasn't quite able to celebrate his MLS debut with a goal.
"It was disappointing from top to bottom for the team and for myself. Individually, I showed some good things but also blundered a good chance," said Coiner. "I think I had a chance to really help the team with the goal, but unfortunately it didn't go in."
Added Schmid: "We had a great chance at the end of the first half. If we finish that chance, the whole game goes differently."
While Coiner didn't use it as an excuse, the striker said fitness was an issue and that he began cramping up towards the end of the first half.
The other game-changing moment occurred just five minutes into the second half. Edson Buddle fed Chris Henderson - both played for the Crew last season - for a goal that eventually condemned the Crew to defeat.
"There is nobody on the field that says we can get this back," said Schmid. "Even down 1-0, we had plenty of time to get the game back."
Despite nearly 40 minutes, the goal devastated the Crew and the teamwork and attacking nature shown during the first half was nearly nonexistent.
"To win games, you have to take care of your job. When we go down a goal, guys start thinking that they need to do someone else's job and they forget doing their job," said Schmid. "When you go down, it means that you have to do your job even better."
As an example, Schmid said Jose Retiz began wandering forward in an attempt help play make rather than limiting the space of Guevara.
The Crew's play deflated once down a goal, and they weren't able to muster a comeback. The loss extended the Crew's winless streak to a club-record eight games and the Crew's camp remains frustrated.
"It is frustrating. It is a test of character," said goalkeeper Noah Palmer. "I haven't been good by any stretch, but it is hard to win games 1-0 or tie 0-0."
John Kuhn is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
