When the Columbus Crew acquired midfielder Chris Henderson from the Colorado Rapids in late May, he was considered a certain solution to their problem of poor service.
In his second stint with the Rapids, Henderson was in the middle of another great season. The veteran midfielder had one goal and five assists, including two in the April 23 victory over the Crew, in only eight matches, a pace that would have him easily surpass his career high of 13.
However, it took Henderson 11 matches to get his first point with his new squad. His late tally against the Earthquakes last weekend cut the Crew's deficit in half, but it was unable to provide the springboard to level the match. Columbus eventaully lost 2-1.
"The system here puts me a lot deeper than where I played in the past so it's harder to get looks at goal," said Henderson. "Still, it is great to get the first goal out of the way."
Before Henderson joined the Black & Gold, they had only scored four goals in the seven matches. Of those four goals, two came from Frankie Hejduk when Real Salt Lake, a team that only has one point in 11 away matches, visited. RSL, along with Chivas USA and the Crew, are winless on the road. For the Crew to make a run at the playoffs they must start getting wins on the road and it must begin this weekend at the MetroStars.
Under the guidance of interim head coach Robert Warzycha, the Crew got things turned around at home with consecutive wins before the break, but last weekend's loss at Western Conference leading San Jose Earthquakes coupled with back-to-back wins by D.C. United and the Kansas City Wizards has put the Crew 14 points behind the last playoff spot.
The Crew are well aware of the importance of Sunday's match as they must gain eight points on the MetroStars to get out of the Eastern Conference basement.
"There are no games that aren't really important to us," Henderson said. "They are big points against the Metros."
The Crew have allowed four goals in the first 13 minutes of a match during their road losses. Additionally, the Crew have twice given up leads in road matches only to get a draw. In their previous visit to the Meadowlands this season, Henderson missed an early penalty kick and the MetroStars rapidly followed with two goals.
The Crew believe they must push forward early to keep their opponents from getting an early lead.
"We must play to win by trying to attack early and linking up in numbers," said Henderson. "We need to play like we have nothing to lose."
John Kuhn is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
