Columbus Crew @ Josef Martínez & His Super Pals! | Match 25 - August 19, 2018 4:00 PM ET

Who again was the guy that made that sweet image?

 

Yes! Thank you.

I liked that kid. He did some great work.

 

1) We need Zach to stand on his head.
2) We need ATLs finishing to a be a smidge off.
3) We need to be clinical.
4) We need Pipa to play better in his second game back.
5) We need JM9 to improve in his second game back.
6) If he starts again, we need Sauro to improve. But I would go with Abubakar.

--------------Steffen------------
Afful--Mensah--Abubakar--Valenzuela
--------Trapp-------Artur-----
Santos-----Pipa-----Meram
--------------Zardes-----------

Bench: Kempin; Jimenez, Sauro; Clark, Opoku, Grella; Mullins.

 

I think we get it. Win 2-1. Move within 6 pts of ATL.

 

Logically I should say lose by one or two but being a loyal follower of LaMar and his Crew Eleven I have to say,Win by One!!!

 

Not sure if Sauro or Grella should make the trip considering their knee issues. If we lose, we'll just beat them in the playoffs. Again.

 

We're going to win 4-3. Sauro will come off the bench when we're up 3-0 and just suck it up. We'll be tied in the 93rd minute. We get a free kick. Pipa (!) curls it into the area. Some Atlanta players heads it up, it floats down next to nobody.

Sauro charges in! He shoots! He scores! (well, technically a deflection)

The team carries Sauro off the pitch, chanting his name. The away fans charge the field.

Mike DeWine walks onto the field to announce that he is InsideMan, and that the State of Ohio has purchased the team, and can afford it thanks to oil found underneath a proposed Cincy FC stadium site - Cincinnati wants the rivalry so bad, they've given us the oil profits.

Then it goes nuts.

 

Bruh what are you on ?

 

If I'm right you'll feel silly won't you.

 

Good point. Is Pipa's back in the same category?

Williams for Sauro. Hansen for Grella.

 

I don't like how Gregg has handled Pipa this year. If you're not going to start the guy in a road game, leave him home. Bringing him to sit the bench and come in at 75mins does him no favors. He's a game orchestrator, not a game changer. He works in the ebb and flow of the entire game. He's not a spark to a late game. Let him rest.

He looked ok at home last week. Not great. He got that shot on frame from Meram's feed but he wasn't exactly creating a bunch of chances before that. If he's rounding into form, leave him home for this one. Let him sleep in his own bed, stay our of cramped (well not so cramped for his tiny frame) airline seats and have the week off and avoid the turf. Maybe consider the same for the trip to Portland.

Anyway, I'm hopeful we can continue to grind out wins. We are outclassed at just about every position against these guys. Hopefully our collective is better than their individuals. I dream of another 1-0 win and would be happy to come back with a 0-0 draw. If we need more than 1 goal to get anything from the game, I feel like it may be beyond us.

 

Take your pick:

 

Not really I will kidnap you and make you pick my lottery numbers and give you 10% and Crew Season tickets right next to mine!

 

If you add some Stone Cold Steve Austin entrance music and maybe fireworks or F-15 flyover you'd be spot on.

 

I’ll be happy with a draw but I do think we could catch them on a counter and if we score first it will help tremendously as they are such a aggressive attacking team and very potent even if they don’t push numbers forward

 

Red Bulls would still have a game in hand on us though.

A loss would leave us only 6 points ahead of a suddenly competent Philadelphia Union, who also have a game in hand on us.

 

#ATLUTD's Starting XI against @ColumbusCrewSC pic.twitter.com/0tD9plkgWT

— Atlanta United FC (@ATLUTD) August 19, 2018

Back at it with a 4️⃣-2️⃣-3️⃣-1️⃣

Tonight’s Starting XI 🆚 @ATLUTD.#CrewSC | #ATLvCLB pic.twitter.com/rWSC3NbvDi

— The Crew (@ColumbusCrew) August 19, 2018

 

Ready to catch the game on the drive back from Cedar Point. Hope ESPN+ (the service I pay for) wants to work today!