MLS reschedules Columbus Crew regular season matchup against Philadelphia Union

The Columbus Crew announced on Sunday afternoon that their regular season matchup against the Philadelphia Union has been rescheduled for August 28, from their August 24 original date. This comes on the back of both Clubs reaching the Leagues Cup semifinals where the two teams will meet Wednesday, August 21 at Lower.com Field.

Both of the Crew matches, final or third-place match, will be held at Lower.com Field on Sunday, August 25.

The Black & Gold had seen this happen before when two of their matches were rescheduled for later in the season after advancing through the Concacaf Champions Cup. Their matchups against the New England Revolution and Seattle Sounders which were originally scheduled for earlier in the season are now scheduled for later in the season.

"I don't complain. I don't complain because if we have many games, it's because we play well and we win games. This is the reward also of our season. Now, I hope that we're going to have a bit of help to postpone the Philadelphia game next week that we were supposed to have because we still have two games behind [due to making the Concacaf Champions Cup Final]. It is going to be the third one. It's going to be tough"

- Wilfried Nancy, Columbus Crew head coach

Match congestion can cause wear and tear on the body, especially those players like Cucho Hernandez, Diego Rossi, and Darlington Nagbe who consistently play 90 minutes every match. This was most notable in the second half of the Crew's penalty kick shootout win against New York City FC on Saturday, where neither team looked to threaten the oppositions goal.

"“Yes, for sure. It's not easy to play every three or four days. This is not easy for sure. I think it was a good game in terms of quality. We had a both teams down moment, and it was the moment for us to stay together because like I said, New York City they are able to keep the ball also and they have really good players and a good team also. This is the way it is. It’s going to be the same next year. We have to find a way to have more freshness. It's normal. Every team is going to be like this now. It's normal.”"

- Wilfried Nancy, Columbus Crew head coach

The Club has done great to add depth to the team, adding Andres Herrera on loan from River Plate and DeJuan Jones who joined the Club in a trade with the Revolution that saw Will Sands and $600k in General Allocation Money (GAM) be the return for the other MLS original Club.

"Yeah, there are a lot of things that are different from what I'm used to. But again, I'm just trying to take it all in, and, you know, do the best I can."

- DeJuan Jones, Columbus Crew defender

In the next few months, the Crew play a total of seven matches (including Leagues Cup semifinal), with heavy eastern conference and MLS Supporters Shield implications, most notably the away leg of the Hell Is Real Derby against FC Cincinnati (09/14).

The Leagues Cup semifinal against the Philadelphia Union can be seen on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. Kickoff from Lower.com Field is set for 7:30 p.m. EDT.