Columbus grabs important point on the road against Western conference contender

An important result for the Crew was downplayed in the end by the devastating head injury to Seattle goalkeeper Stephen Frei. In the last minute of the game during a scramble in the box as Columbus was desperately trying to steal three points on the road Amar Sejdic could not get out of the way of Frei as he leaped for the ball and as he landed his temple collided with Sejdic's knee. Frei immediately went into the "fencing posture" signifying a significant brain injury occurred. It was a scary moment which led to the termination of the game itself. By all accounts Frei is at home resting after being taken to the hospital after the game. It was a scary visual in a hotly contested game as Columbus pressed for the last few minutes trying to take advantage of a Seattle red card in the 91st minute. Now that we know Frei seems to be ok, although surely nursing a concussion of some grade, let's break down the game.

First Half

Columbus looked in control early as they were ball dominant and seemed to be on the front foot. It was a much cleaner performance than what we witnessed the prior home game. It took about the first 10 or so minutes for the attacking players to figure out positionally where to be as coach Nancy elected for a 3-4-1-2 approach, with two forwards sitting up top instead of the usual lone target striker. It seemed to have them a little confused on who should be where for the first stretch of the game, but I'd say the team settled in fairly nicely. Jacen Russell-Rowe had a couple moments early on where his touch failed him, or his passes didn't come off the way he wanted, but as the half went on he looked much more impressive. In the 15th minute he was able to flick on a header from a goal kick that sprung Rossi on a semi-break putting the Crew's best striker in a 1-on-1 spot going at the defender with speed. Unfortunately he made a mess of it and instead of choosing to cut it back for an open look his shot was easily deflected out for a corner. A little over 10 minutes later was a moment of brilliance from Russell-Rowe however as he received a ball from Darlington Nagbe just before entering the attacking third he was able to turn and play a brilliant ball with his weak foot breaking the line of Seattle with a perfectly weighted pass to put Aliyu in position to make a play, Aliyu then took a moment to pick out his pass to the back post to find Rossi to tuck it away for a breakthrough goal. It was a great build-up play and was exemplary of how quickly the Crew can go from defense to danger in the blink of an eye, all set-up with the vision and execution by Russell-Rowe.

After the goal there was a clear let down defensively for Columbus as Seattle finished the half with the run of play creating more chances and finally breaking through in the 43rd minute. A Cheberko missed tackle on the wing led to the Sounders having more attackers coming at the goal than Crew had defenders. From there the home team made no mistake about it and finished the chance to square the game going into the half.

Second Half

Coming out of the locker room it was Seattle who took the game to Columbus, who found themselves defending for much of the entire half. There were a couple chances exchanged but the Crew were really no threat for almost the entirety of the second half. Rothrock had a good look in front of goal again, but Bush was able to position himself well to keep the shot out. Outside of those couple of looks it was Seattle on the ball mostly with Columbus having spells of possession here and there, but proving to be no real threat. Then extra time came. In the 92nd minute of stopping time (a total of seven minutes was given) Seattle found themselves down a man after Kossa-Rienzi picked up his second yellow of the match. From then on Columbus was in control searching for a steal. Again it was a spell of possession with little threat out of the Crew with their best chance coming on a AZ Jackson curler that was saved by Frei. On a set piece in the 97th minute is when the collision between Frei and Sejdic effectively ended the game. In the end a good point on the road for Columbus in a tough environment against a good Western conference team. Definitely something to hang their hat on as they grinded through the second half.

Daniel Gazdag remains lost

One important storyline from the game is the continued absence of Daniel Gazdag in the attack. On the broadcast commentator Taylor Twellman said it perfectly when he made the comparison of fitting a square peg into a round hole. That's kind of what it's feeling like for the Crew and Gazdag at this point. He's still searching for his first goal in the black and gold kit 13 games into his tenure, and his expected goals number sits at 3.3 goals. This tells me he's just not finishing with any level of proficiency given his stature as Philadelphia's record holder for goals. It's becoming a concern for fans as I'm sure for Nancy and general manager Issa Tall alike, especially after giving Gazdag an extension to stay in Columbus through the 2027 season. Groans are starting to get louder and at some point soon if he doesn't make his presence known the calls for change may be coming. Now, Gazdag is still a very talented player that I believe can work his way out of this funk, but at this point to endear himself to the fans once again he'll need to score a big goal. Perhaps an upcoming away game in Cincinnati would be the perfect time for such a goal to come. Stay tuned!