Columbus striker Diego Rossi after scoring in the 27th minute. The Crew played to a draw against the Seattle Sounders Sunday night. Courtesy of: Columbus Crew
The Crew began their three-game road trip by earning one point in a cagey affair.
Columbus tied the Seattle Sounders FC 1-1 on Sunday evening at Lumen Field in a match that featured a forgettable offensive performance.
Veering from their traditional 4-4-2 formation, Columbus debuted a 3-4-2-1 formation to start their matchup against Seattle. Due to the change, the Crew’s offense was lackluster early on as they tried to navigate their new offensive tactics.
As for Seattle, they approached the game trying to beat Columbus with their own tactics—controlling possession of the ball.
Following a cautious stretch between the two clubs, including a near miss from Sounders forward Jesus Ferreira, the Crew generated a breakaway opportunity and capitalized on their first real scoring chance in the 27th minute.
Center forward Ibrahim Aliyu fed a ball to the center of the box, where striker Diego Rossi chipped a shot past Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei to take a 1-0 lead.
Crew head coach Wilfried Nancy was pleased to see Rossi be effective, given his injury struggles throughout the week.
“It was my plan to [play] him only 45 minutes, but he felt good,” Nancy said. “He was good as a 10, he was good as a nine. He was good between the line, around the line, and also defensive.”
Despite the lapse, Seattle did not give in, responding before the half was over.
In the 43rd minute, midfielder Paul Rothrock scored to the bottom left corner of the net past Crew goalkeeper Evan Bush, leveling the game at 1-1.
Through the first 45 minutes of play, Columbus had a slight edge in ball possession, at 51.3%, and had three more shot attempts than Seattle, at 7 to 4.
After a back-and-forth contest in the first half, the second half left much to be desired in the attacking department.
Seattle attempted five shots, with four occurring within the first 10 minutes of the half, but the veteran Bush was solid in the net.
Columbus, meanwhile, struggled to create any potential scoring chances, recording just three second-half shot attempts.
Coach Nancy attributed the offensive struggles to getting beaten to the ball.
“They had the ball, they had the momentum, and they were winning the battle of the ball,” Nancy said. “I think that this is the story of the game. We have to accept that sometimes it’s difficult, and when it’s difficult, the mindset has to be there and after that to regain confidence.”
Columbus finished with a slight edge in ball possession at 52.2% and barely outshot Seattle 10 to nine.
The Crew (10-3-8) will continue their road trip next Saturday with the second installment of the Hell is Real rivalry against Cincinnati FC (13-5-3) at TQL Stadium.
