3 EPISODES LEFT FANS! OUR LOVABLE HEROES ALMIGHTY STRUGGLE TO QUALIFY FOR THE END OF SEASON CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT CONTINUED, AS OUR HEROES WERE DEFEATED BY THE LEGION IN PINK FROM THE SWAMPLANDS TO THE SOUTH. THOUGH STILL IN CONTROL OF THEIR OWN DESTINY, THE YELLOW CLAD CREW HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO CLAIM GLORY JUST YET. THE NEXT OPPONENT TO ENTER THE FORTRESS OF OUR HEROES HAS MANY TIES TO THEM. THIS IS THE GROUP FROM THE NORTHWEST THAT DEFEATED US IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL A FEW YEARS PRIOR, LED BY THE FORMER COACHBOT. THEY WOULD ENJOY ENDING OUR HOPES AND DREAMS AGAIN. WITH 3 EPISODES LEFT, EVERYTHING IS STILL UP FOR STAKE.OUR LOVABLE HEROES HAVE STRUGGLED ALL YEAR. CAN THEY FINALLY OVERCOME THE STRUGGLES THAT THEY HAVE FACED ALL YEAR?
I think this is one we finally get. We’re coming off of a rare loss, so we’ll be motivated. Diaz returns. And we’re at home, playing against a team that’s flying across the country and playing a 1PM Eastern game. That’s a tough task. Haven’t heard much about Mensah; hopefully he’s good.
There are four games left, we need at least two wins and a draw to get in. I would hope they can win the Charlotte game. The Bulls will be rested off an international break and the Crew have sucked playing in Orlando, so this game on Sunday imo is a must win. Failing to get three points leaves no margin for error since we'd need to upset NY, beat Charlotte and draw against a surging Orlando to get the seven points needed.
Normally, looking at the schedule, I'd say this was the LEAST important of the four remaining matches, because Portland's the only one from the opposite conference. But frankly, the two matches after that aren't all that important either in terms of who the opponent is. We're not going to catch the Red Bulls, and Charlotte isn't going to catch us. So they're not really six-pointers the way they would normally be. Only the points we take matter; not the points the opponent gets. The only match left against an opponent that we're realistically in competition with is Orlando. So yeah -- a home game against a team that only has four more points than us? Probably our best matchup. Although it should be pointed out: Portland has 12 draws this season.
I said in my post... the points we get from these matches are important. I just said they're not all that important (except for Orlando) in terms of points we take away from THEM. If we lose to Portland, the three points dropped hurt. The three points Portland pick up don't matter us because they're not in our conference. If we lose to the Red Bulls, the three points dropped hurt. The three points they pick up don't matter to us, because they're so far ahead we're never going to catch them. If we lose to Charlotte, the three points dropped hurt. The three points they pick up don't matter to us, because they're so far behind they're never going to catch us. (And if they do, things have gone so wrong that we'll have bigger things to worry about.) Reading is fundamental.
And all of that was a roundabout way of agreeing with @ColumbusFTW 's statement that this is a must win game. Remaining four matches: Location/Opp Points H, 45. H, 50. A, 35. A, 42. We only have two home games left, and this is the "easier" of the two. The road matches are against teams with fewer points, but they're still road games. The one against Charlotte is the continuation game, which could get weird if the players who were on the field are for some reason unavailable by the time we get there, so who knows.
The points we take from these games are important. Points for us matter more than points for other teams. I’ve been enlightened.
Guys, it's fine if we lose against NYRB or Charlotte because we can't catch the one and the other can't catch us! No other teams exist! Brilliant stuff.
At least it's going to be a colorful game. Will any casuals be able to tell it's an MLS game without a white v black matchup?
From the team e-mail: "We can’t wait to welcome you back to Lower.com Field on Sunday, September 18th when the Crew takes on the Portland Timbers at 1:00pm for Hispanic Heritage Night!" Must have gotten lost in translation.... nothing says La Noche de Herencia Hispana quite like a 1 PM kickoff. ¡Vamos Columbus!
Numbers (Our home record vs their away record) all point to a tie I think we're due and I will continue to pound my spoon on my highchair that timezones matter. 2-1 good guys