Crew doesn’t want repeat of last year’s start
Among the regrets Gregg Berhalter carried from a disastrous 2016 season was being too patient with Crew SC’s sluggish start.
It was a veteran group that had delivered back-to-back playoff appearances, and the coach and sporting director thought it deserved the chance to work its way out of an 0-3-2 hole. But the sense of urgency didn’t arrive until the season was almost lost.
Berhalter isn’t waiting around this year. The new approach was evident at halftime of last week’s 3-1 loss to the Houston Dynamo when the coach benched Harrison Afful, one of his most consistent players from a season ago.
“It’s not that we aren’t supporting guys,” Berhalter said. “We support every single one of them. But there’s a moment where guys need to be in form. They need to be performing well to be on the field, and that’s normal in professional sports. Last year, we made the mistake of giving guys too much leeway on that end.”
Afful is expected to return to the starting lineup tonight as the Crew (0-1-1) travels to Washington to face D.C. United (0-1-1). His halftime substitution against the Dyanmo, however, should send a message that Berhalter demands accountability and won’t allow the first five games to be treated as an extended preseason.
The Crew already has failed to beat last season’s worst teams in the Eastern and Western conferences in the opening weeks. Major League Soccer is notoriously forgiving of slow starters — the Seattle Sounders were 6-12-2 before firing Sigi Schmid on the way to last year’s title — but Berhalter doesn’t want to spend another year chasing the season. Winger Justin Meram
Winger Justin Meram said complacency isn’t the issue.
“We’re hungry,” Meram said. “We’re taking every game and we’re not saying, ‘It’s early,’ or ‘It will be fine.’ We need to get to work. But I think we are still confident in our ability and we’re doing good things. Now, it’s about sharpening our tools.”
The Crew will need a better start than the one in Houston, where it found itself trailing 2-0 after 35 minutes. A giveaway from goalkeeper Zack Steffen led to the first goal, and poor coverage on a corner kick helped produce a second goal.
The club will be without center back Jonathan Mensah against United because of a one-game suspension for the red card he received against the Dynamo. Veteran Josh Williams is the likely replacement, but Berhalter might also use a three center-back alignment — the Crew tinkered with it during the preseason and in the exhibition against the University of Akron. If that’s the case, Gahanna native Alex Crognale might debut.
D.C. is yet to score a goal but figures to get a boost from Argentine playmaker Luciano Acosta, who missed the first two games with an ankle injury. Acosta, listed as probable on the
— GK Steffen; D Afful, Naess, Williams, Raitala; MF Trapp, Artur, Meram, Higuain, Finlay; F Kamara;
— GK Hamid; D Kemp, Franklin, Birnbaum, DeLeon; MF Sarvas, Acosta, Jeffrey, Nyarko, Sam; F Mullins.
The hosts haven’t scored a goal in two games but are expected to get Luciano Acosta back from injury.
injury report, led United with 11 assists last season in 31 matches, helping it reach the postseason.
“This next game will be a good test for us,” Meram said. “We’re going to stick to how we Last year’s midseason additions of Lloyd Sam and Patrick Mullins are a dangerous duo.
Look for Josh Williams to replace Jonathan Mensah (red card suspension). But would Gregg Berhalter consider going to a three centerback formation at some point in the match? Williams has played in that system with Toronto.
The Crew needs to start burying early chances, which it did not do the first two weeks. That won’t be an easy task against United goalkeeper Bill Hamid. The Crew would will do well to get a road point with a draw. play and believe we can get a result.”
Otherwise, Berhalter might be ready with more changes.