Only a team meeting on Thursday separates the Columbus Crew from the 2007 season. On Wednesday evening, the Crew had their eyes on the future in a 2-0 win over Municipal of Guatemala at Crew Stadium.
"It is nice to end on a win," said head coach Sigi Schmid. "It is the end of 2006, but it is really the beginning of 2007."
Midfielders Ned Grabavoy and Danny Szetela, two players that the Crew could have used more of during the season, played a half each in the win. Szetela was limited to just four matches for the Black & Gold in 2006.
"I was happy with [Szetela's] performance because his possession was pretty good. He hit a couple of good balls where he opened the game up. He had one good saving play in the back defensively," said Schmid. "It is different for him coming off an injury. He was off a little bit with his timing."
Grabavoy put the Crew ahead of Municipal with a stunning strike in the first half.
"Ned scored a good a goal with hitting it the first time," said Schmid. "It has been good for Ned because of his injury. It has been a good solid two weeks of training for him."
In addition to the match, the Crew has been training for the last two weeks. It has given the Crew a head start towards getting to know each other better, especially those returning from injury.
"What I am excited about is getting the guys like Ned, Joseph [Ngwenya], [Jason] Garey, and Jacob Thomas and working full a preseason together," said Schmid. "In the terms of looking at it as a starting point for next year, I thought it was good."
Thomas, who joined the Crew after finishing the season in Germany, is one player who is looking towards a break.
"In two years, I have four weeks total in breaks," said Thomas. "I am going to take a week to 10 days and do nothing before I start up again."
Thomas entered the match against Municipal at halftime and assisted Kei Kamara just two minutes later for the Crew's second goal.
"It was good to start off like that," said Thomas. "It took a little pressure [away] from the game."
Looking towards 2007, Thomas would like to get up and down the flank even more while also putting a few more points on the board.
"I would like to go up and down the line a little bit more," said Schmid. "Hopefully, [I can bring] some more goals and more assists."
John Kuhn is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
