COLUMBUS, Ohio – Columbus Crew SC have plenty of injuries of their own to deal with. But after earning only a point at home against a heavily depleted Toronto FC side on Wednesday night, the Black-and-Gold are still wondering how to turn their season around.
TFC visited Crew SC without stars Sebastian Giovinco, Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore as well as several others from their usual supporting cast. But the makeshift Toronto lineup bunkered down to earn a 1-1 draw in what Columbus head coach Gregg Berhalter called a challenging game.
“Those are always tricky situations to be in,” he said. “You know the guys they have are extremely motivated. You know they have an extremely conservative game plan. So we knew we had our work cut out for us.”
As has often been the case, Berhalter said it was difficult to play against such a defensive-minded approach, but he admitted that his team’s performance wasn’t good enough.
“We need more, no question,” he said. “The guys dig in and they give a good effort, but we need to get more and then you win that game. But Toronto was very focused on getting the shutout, very focused on being very defensive. And I’m more upset with us giving up that goal.”
The Crew SC boss was optimistic as always, however.
“As tough as this seems … we’re five points back,” he said. “There’s a lot of soccer to be played. Our objective right now is on the next game, on D.C. That’s all we’re focused on.”
Defender Tyson Wahl said the players know the turnaround has to happen sooner rather than later.
“We know we can turn things around and have a successful season, but we just can’t keep saying the next game is the game when we’re going to turn it around,” he said. “We have to put it into action. All of us have to be a little bit better and give a little bit more. That’s what it’s going to take to get out of this hole.”
The always-stoic Berhalter said he understands the frustration surrounding the team, saying the season hasn’t “been a smooth ride.”
“I think there’s a combination of factors that have led to us not playing our best and not getting the results we feel we should get,” he said. “For us, we think we’re a better team than where we are right now, but the table doesn’t lie. It really doesn’t.”
Captain Michael Parkhurst agreed.
“Let’s make no mistake, guys are frustrated and guys are upset,” he said. “We’re not happy where we are in the standings; we’re not happy with the results we’ve been getting lately. There’s frustration in the locker room, but we’re sticking together. That’s the only way that we’re going to come out of it.”
