THEY MEAN BUSINESS
Crew ready for next postseason test after eliminating the Red Bulls
“In this locker room, we just beat a tough opponent, and yet guys are not jumping around celebrating. Like you said, it’s all businesslike, and we’re focusing on our next opponent already.” Gyasi Zardes Crew forward
After the final whistle, Crew coach Caleb Porter and his players went through the sportsmanlike formalities of every match. Handshakes, hugs and fist bumps near midfield officially concluded the New York Red Bulls' season and marked the beginning of the next challenge for the Crew.
There were no excessive celebrations or unchecked emotions after a 3-2 win that was one of the more well-executed games of the year.
The Crew had reason to celebrate but chose not to because this win was far from the end goal. By their telling, no one forgot it was just a first step.
“In this locker room, we just beat a tough opponent, and yet guys are not jumping around celebrating,” forward Gyasi Zardes said. “Like you said, it's all businesslike, and we're focusing on our next opponent already.”
Holding a comfortable 3-1 lead with a little more than 20 minutes plus stoppage time left to play, the No. 3 seed Crew continued to push for another goal in the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs on Saturday at Mapfre Stadium to put the game firmly out of reach.
A late goal by Red Bulls forward Brian White injected tension into a match that had been one-sided in the second half. In the end, the Crew defended its penalty area well enough and got a stellar kick-save by goalkeeper Eloy Room to avoid potential disaster and advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The Crew had 11 shots on goal to the Red Bulls' four. Its 17 shots were the fourth-most it generated in a game this season.
Porter called the game the most “comprehensive” performance of the
season. Midfielders Darlington Nagbe, Lucas Zelarayan and Artur were the catalysts to an offense that exhibited more life than it had in just about any of the past 10 games entering the playoffs.
Less than 30 seconds into the second half, Nagbe finished off a fierce attack led by Zelarayan with wingers Pedro Santos and Derrick Etienne Jr. in stunning the Red Bulls for the go-ahead goal.
Nagbe has been a part of two MLS Cup championships — one with Porter — so he knows how to win at that stage of the season. He and Zelarayan were at the top of their games and made the Crew look like a dangerous team capable of a playoff run. But none of that was the focus after the match.
"We're happy with the win but not over the top. I think it's just the first step in the direction that we want to go, that we want to achieve," Nagbe said. “The two goals we gave up we could've done better on those, but I thought we created a lot of chances and played their game a little bit and played well.”
The Crew's next game is Sunday. It will find out its opponent Tuesday when expansion club Nashville SC takes on Toronto FC, a team that beat the Crew 3-1 in late September.
Even if the Crew is considered the underdog, the team isn't acting like it.
"I've been in locker rooms a lot of years and the teams that win championships, they're very businesslike,” Porter said. “That's what they looked like after the game. It was almost like they were on to the next, immediately."