Wizards v. Crew Preview

By: Jeff | May 4th, 2007

I’ll assume all y’all have studied today’s text (it’s MLSnet.com’s preview, y’all) and just proceed with the proceedings.

Isn’t it nice to go into a game without the phrase “must-win” hovering over it? Thank last weekend’s win over DC United for that, if not more. With the Columbus Crew’s next game coming on the road against the Kansas City Wizards, (yet) another draw would be fine this Saturday and a win would be pure gravy (delicious gravy, free of lumps). A loss, which seems well within the realm of possibility, could go either way: a hard-fought, close loss should prompt little more than disappointment at the loss of the “unbeaten” adjective; a bad loss, though, holds the awful potential for quashed momentum.

All that said, I like the Crew’s odds for picking up points as proven by my predictions for this game in two (count ‘em, two) places.

To begin, Week 4’s performance against DC restored some credibility to the Crew defense; none of the bungling (Andy Dorman’s goal) or inexplicable retreating (Taylor Twellman’s goal) repeated against DC. On the other end of the field, the Crew’s ability to make chances, while not great, probably rank close to the Chicago Fire’s, who knocked two past the Wizards. And it’s surely better than Toronto FC’s.

On top of that, the midfield, even as it struggles to score, does provide something that will go some distance in picking up points: it possesses the ball fairly well and puts decent pressure on the opposition defense; put another way, the culprits for the scoring problems reside in the forward line, not the midfield. The debut of Guillermo Barros Schelotto adds a little sweetener of hope here - though it’s probably wise to keep expectations of some kind of Second Coming straight for Buenos Aires in check.

Now, let’s take some time to…

Scout the Opposition
Obviously, it’s time to be concerned about Eddie Johnson once again. Even if he’s knocking them in against this early season’s weaker teams (Toronto, DC United), an air of sharpness and swagger has returned to EJ’s game. On the plus side - at least for Crew fans - Carlos Marinelli won’t be so sharp, and that assumes he plays; in the Wizards’ home game against Toronto, he set up some positively glorious chances for Johnson and others.

Other players to watch include Sasha Victorine, who has respectable production on the season; there’s also Davy Arnaud, an opportunist with a powerful shot who can heat up when given time and space. Scott Sealy’s possible inclusion bears watching, as do Jose Burciaga’s free kicks and forays out of the back.

The Wizards’ defense…I don’t know what to say. Hartman definitely constitutes an improvement, but there’s something suspect about this bunch that I can’t put my finger on; the gaps definitely appear, though I’ll be hanged if I can say how to exploit them. Still, I’m sure Sigi has something in mind.

Well, that’s I’ve got. I’m not seeing previews in places like the Hunt Park Insider (I can’t knock ‘em as they’ve got real reporting to do) and I only checked the Columbus Dispatch to satisfy some perverse sense of responsibility.

I’m looking forward to this one. It’s statement time, Columbus. Give ‘em hell.