MINNEAPOLIS – Talk about a response. Talk about progress.
Columbus Crew SC were able to keep their first clean sheet since late May on Tuesday, beating Minnesota United, 1-0, at TCF Bank Stadium. For Crew SC coach Gregg Berhalter, the close affair followed his desired script.
“We had an objective to make it difficult for Minnesota,” Berhalter said. “In the first half, we had a goal to get to 0-0 at the half, and we did that. We weren’t pleased with our counterattacking in the first half. We had an opportunity to score two or three goals.”
With each team starting with a variation of a five-man back line, midfield possession was scarce. This left the two teams to focus on building through quick transitions. Columbus were able to capitalize on one such chance in the second half, as Kekuta Manneh struck in the 58th minute on a well-taken low shot from distance.
Manneh's contributions and those of the other Crew SC attackers were not simply in the attack. They also chipped in to the overall solid defensive effort on the day by pressuring Minnesota.
“Kekuta, Ola [Kamara], and Ethan [Finlay] did well to close down,” Berhalter said. “They worked to make it hard on defenders. You can understand why there were times that they didn’t have energy for the counterattack.”
The focus on the wings and counters made for an interesting development in Columbus' midfield, which did not allow much up the middle against Minnesota en route to surrendering just one shot on target on the day.
“Today was a great testament to our collective work,” said Columbus captain Wil Trapp. “We had a new lineup, a lot of guys who didn’t start. We stayed as cohesive as possible, and that’s a lot of work that we put in the training field. It’s a mentality, to communicate and have the guy next to your’s back.”
Among the new pieces in the lineup were Lalas Abubakar, who made his MLS debut. The rookie was alongside Nicolai Naess and Alex Crognale, and they all did well to keep the clean sheet despite not having veteran presence Jonathan Mensah to lead the way.
“I think it’s good,” Berhalter said of holding Minnesota scoreless. “The thing about us is that we play a certain way that will concede some chances at times. We don’t want to give up silly goals. A lot of the times we’re the aggressor, looking to stretch the opponent, and sometimes that leaves you vulnerable.
"Tonight, the effort from guys like Abubakar, Crognale, and [Josh] Williams made it a collective effort.”
