Columbus Crew SC coach Caleb Porter declared himself "proud" after his team made it three wins out of three at the MLS is Back Tournament on Tuesday night. A 1-0 win over Atlanta United confirmed the Crew as Group E winners and left them as the only team thus far to take maximum points from the group stage.
"We're the only team that to date was able to come into this tournament and get three wins," Porter said in his post-match press conference. "That says a lot about our group after being off for nearly four months, and so I'm really proud of the guys. That was the mission coming in for the first three games and we're very pleased being 4-0-1 in the regular season."
The Crew's success has come despite Porter making multiple changes to the lineup through each of their games to date. While some of that rotation has been down to Porter's efforts to keep everyone sharp, other changes have been enforced through injury.
Defender Vito Wormgoor was ruled out of the tournament early on in the Crew's stay in Orlando, while goalkeeper Eloy Room missed the win over Atlanta and, according to Porter, is set to miss several games. The team's goalscorer on Tuesday, Youness Mokhtar, was also forced off with an injury with Porter declaring him doubtful for the team's next game on July 28 against the runner-up from Group D. Star No.10 Lucas Zelarayan has also been carrying an ankle knock and was only fit enough for a second-half cameo against Atlanta.
Highlights: Atlanta United vs. Columbus Crew SC
Despite those challenges, the Crew continue to look one of the most impressive teams in Orlando.
"We have a lot of confidence," Porter said. "We've played a lot of guys in these three games, nearly every guy in the team has factored in, at least for one minute or more, in every game. That's a great thing, you need that in MLS, I've said it time and again. We're going to continue to need guys to come into games, because in these conditions, in the heat, pretty short runway coming, in, you're seeing that we're taking a few injuries.
"We're not missing a beat and it's great to see. It's why we have a squad and it's why we have depth."
While Porter called the game on Tuesday "ugly" and admitted his team weren't at their best, outside the opening 25 minutes, he commended his players for surviving late pressure from an Atlanta team that needed a win in order to have a chance of progressing to the knockout stage. And, despite the challenges his depleted team faced, Porter wasn't about to start making excuses.
"We’re not going to make excuses ever, this team are too good to have excuses," he declared. "Our guys know how to win they know how to find a way to get the job done and that’s great to see."
