Playoff spot to require solid finish
Crew SC needed points during a threegame week to stay in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race.
It got seven, a total that Crew SC had not reached in 10 previous instances of playing three games in seven, eight or nine days under coach Gregg Berhalter.
Back-to-back home wins over the Los Angeles Galaxy and FC Dallas place the Crew at 42 points with six games to play. The Philadelphia Union grabbed the sixth and final playoff spot last season with the same total.
This year, that probably won’t be close to enough to qualify for the playoffs, and there’s a recognition with Crew SC that it will need to draw points from its remaining games — particularly its three remaining home
games — to return to the playoffs.
“I think it was important,” Berhalter said Saturday of winning back-to-back games after the Crew’s 2-1 win over FC Dallas. “I think in the end it’s going to be really important, but there’s points still there that we need to get because 42 points isn’t making the playoffs, not in the East.”
Crew SC (13-12-3) has more wins than losses for the first time since May and is riding a season-high four-game unbeaten steak. Now the challenge will be sustaining that momentum over a two-week break.
The Crew won’t complete its three-game homestand until Sept. 10, when Sporting Kansas City visits Mapfre Stadium for a game that will be nationally broadcast on ESPN.
“I think, after this week, the guys need to relax. They need to get away from soccer and exhale a little bit,” Berhalter said. “It’s been a tough week, and we’ll get back together and plan for the Kansas City game.”
A stretch without a game will be a break for some players and continued intensity for others. Midfielder Justin Meram (Iraq) and defenders Harrison Afful and Jonathan Mensah (Ghana) will head out to represent their respective countries in a pair of World Cup qualifiers before returning in time for the Sporting Kansas City game.
“With me, I don’t get rest because I’m going back to the national team, but I’m pretty sure the guys will get some rest, have some good family time,” Mensah said. “We will come back fresh and continue where we left off.”
Crew SC went 3-1-1 in August, its first winning month since March. It will need a successful September as well to stay afloat while teams nearby in the standings — Chicago, New York Red Bulls, Atlanta and Montreal — play out their games in hand.
“I think winning against Dallas and LA at home is kind of a statement that you can count on us,” forward Ola Kamara said. “We’re going to continue that against Sporting Kansas City.”