Crew showing growth at just the right time
Aidan Morris couldn’t lie.
Yes, he said, the Crew’s 2-1 road win against the New England Revolution felt good. But the Crew midfielder immediately put it into perspective.
“I think we’re a group where we’re just focused on ourselves and we’re putting one foot in front of the other all the time, keep our eyes on the details and the principles we like to follow. And the results will fall our way,” Morris said. “Sometimes they don’t, but we know we’re doing the right things and sticking true to ourselves.”
This mindset represents growth to coach Wilfried Nancy. The Crew won. But they did it in a way that didn’t sacrifice their style of play, something he said they had been building toward all season long.
And to Nancy, no player did it better Wednesday night than Cucho Hernandez.
Hernandez’s only score against the Revolution was waved off. He hit a cross from Malte Amundsen into the back of the net that was called back after he was ruled offside. And none of the reigning MLS Player of the Month’s other five shot attempts were on target.
But in the final two minutes, after Amundsen already hit his corner-kick goal to give the Crew a one-score lead, Nancy said he saw Hernandez’s maturity.
While there was an opportunity to attack the box, Hernandez backed off after he realized the five-player advantage the Revolution had defensively. Instead, he sat back and played possession soccer to help secure the victory.
“Cucho grew as a player and also as a person,” Nancy said.
And Hernandez wasn’t the only one.
“This is all the kind of details that is going to help us finish the game in a good way,” Nancy said. “For us, we played a very good game but we finished the game in a good way.”
Finishing well on Wednesday meant sitting back and killing off a Revolution team that came in as the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference.
It meant managing the game and keeping the ball in the final moments so as to not allow the Revolution one final scoring opportunity.
It’s growth, Morris said. “We’ve had a lot of history at this club of giving up late stuff,” Morris said. “Today, I hope you guys saw a difference.” cgay@dispatch.com @_Colingay