RECAP: Crew Beat Red Bulls in Regular Season Final, 3-2, Will Clash Again in Playoffs
Columbus Crew scored at both ends of the game to beat the New York Red Bulls, 3-2, on a Decision Day with moot implications.
The two teams were more than likely set to face one another at least two more times in the MLS Cup Playoffs first round.
A number of results brought that about; however, the home side has gained some momentum against one of Major League Soccer’s best teams.
“Yeah, it’s clear, we will analyze very seriously — the whole coaching staff — this game, all situations, all phases, and for sure we will use this game, and we will use other games,” said head coach Sandro Schwarz after the game.
“It depends on the structure which we will play next week, and then we will analyze and we will prepare. But for me, it’s not only tactical. It’s for me more with our supporters to be ready for these playoffs because we qualified for the playoffs, and we deserve it, for sure.”
In a game with little impact, two opposing players earned their first goals of the season in the final regular-season match.
New York looked poor against a shuffled-up starting XI for Columbus, yet looked strong in defeat as more of the Crew’s starters came onto the field.
This was a confusing end, both tactically and emotionally, to a disappointing 2024 regular season.
Collapsed Start
New York, without Dylan Nealis due to a red card, came out with a modified formation. The back four had Ronald Donkor playing the right wing, with Cameron Harper starting on the bench rather than in the back. In the middle of the field, there was a composed diamond, and Lewis Morgan and Dante Vanzeir played up top.
PHOTO: Brad Penner/Imagn Images
It took Columbus under 120 seconds to play through this. The visitors played up the left side before Cucho Hernández sent a long cross into the box. Former New York Red Bulls academy player Aziel Jackson headed a shot on target past Carlos Coronel. Realistically, it’s a ball Coronel should have saved as it required him to move very little to his left. However, the open Jackson left him little room for error from close range.
Jackson stepped up again in the 14th minute and earned an assist on his team’s next goal. He passed up into the box towards Ukrainian defender Yevhen Cheberko. The low shot hit Coronel, but momentum allowed the ball to bounce into the back netting for the 2-0 lead. It was Cheberko’s first goal of the 2024 MLS season.
The New York formation was not working, and in the 19th minute, head coach Sandro Schwarz made a change. He motioned to keeper Coronel to go down with an injury, the coach visibly hitting his own thigh to signal Carlos to go to the ground. While the keeper was being looked at, the coach essentially had a time-out with his players.
The diamond soon disappeared, and the attacking midfielders were back to their usual positions.
“The goals which we concede were more individual behavior, it was not more tactical,” Schwarz said after the game.
“We have to defend better, especially when we play against Columbus.”
In the 17th minute, the Crew nearly tripled the lead when a corner kick was headed by Cherberko to Jackson at the left post. He touched it into the back of the net but was called back for offside. Overall, Donkor and Felipe Carballo looked like vulnerabilities, as both played key roles in the visitors scoring. Still, the change in formation had some positive results, with more attacks forming. However, the mood in the arena was dark.
Following the second goal, most of Red Bull Arena went silent, with the occasional boo breaking through. The South Ward was either silent, minus Torcida 96, or chanting “Sell The Team.” There was not even enough care to raise the “Not Good Enough” Banner for a second straight game.
Comeback Falls Short
The Second half is where New York truly began to come back. Despite a hostile crowd and more Columbus starters entering the fray, the Red Bulls got more dangerous chances on keeper Nicholas Hagen.
A poor defensive play by Hagan in the 50th minute set up Vanzeir for a cross into the box, where Morgan struck a shot off the keeper’s knees for a corner kick. That subsequent kick saw the ball fall to Morgan outside of the box. His long pass fell to Harper, who headed the ball before colliding with Andres Reyes and Hagan. The shot hit off the left post.
A VAR check confirmed no penalty, but it added a lot of time to stoppage later in the game.
New York nearly cut into the deficit in the 61st minute when Harper and Vanzeir played the ball through traffic near the middle of the field. Emil Forsberg broke free on the left side and was fed the ball. His shot hit off the left post, the second time the woodwork blocked a New York goal.
The Swedish international player would not be denied. In the 78th minute, Morgan drove down the left side of the field and slipped a pass through to Forsberg. The midfielder faked a right-footed shot, carried the ball onto his left foot as a defender slid past him, and curled a shot into the top left corner.
Seven minutes later, Forsberg and Morgan played the ball down the field before a high pass was blocked by a Crew defender. The high ball was battled for in the box, and Elias Manoel was pulled down by Columbus’ Rudy Camacho. Forsberg stepped up to the spot and scored his ninth goal of the season.
With the game locked at 2-2, Red Bull Arena was firmly back in the action. The crowd was louder, the boos toward the home team were gone, and the dangerous prospect of hope rang around the venue. Nine minutes of stoppage time were announced, and that was enough for Columbus.
In the seventh minute of stoppage time, Malte Amundsen hit a long strike towards the right side of the net that got past a diving Coronel. That goal, his first of the season, would be the final nail as New York ends the season with a loss going into the playoffs. The Red Bulls finish the 2024 season as the seventh seed and will play second-seed Columbus in the best-of-three first round in the next few weeks.
Takeaways
The Red Bulls’ final game of the season left a lot of mixed emotions. A fan base that witnessed their team collapse from fourth place into seventh seemingly gave up hope in two minutes.
By the end, despite still losing New York proved they can punch up against the Crew.
Does that mean there is hope for the playoffs? Not exactly. But there is something.
“The atmosphere, especially in the second half, was very good. This is what we need in our home game against Columbus,” Schwarz said when NYCSN asked about the feeling around the arena.
“The second half – the reaction from the team, from the whole stadium, to create a lot of chances (and) a lot of moments… This is what we need.”
Forsberg reiterated how important that second half was for the team. Since Charlotte FC beat D.C. United, a win against the Crew would not move New York into sixth.
However, the team now feels as though it can play against Columbus, unlike when it lost 3-0 earlier in the season.
“The second half showed a lot of what we can do, and we have to be confident with that,” Forsberg said.
“We have to take that with us when we go to Columbus.”
MLS will announce the official playoff schedule in the coming days. New York will play away in Columbus for Game 1 in the First Round.
The second game will have the Crew return to Red Bull Arena. If needed, a third game would be back in Ohio.
PHOTO: Brad Penner/Imagn Images
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