OBETZ, Ohio – At the beginning of last week, Columbus Crew SC were riding high. The club was coming off of two blowout victories and seemingly ready to make a challenge for the top of the standings in the Eastern Conference.
Players were all smiles in training, brimming with confidence. Coaches even took the players to a local go-kart track rather than training on Wednesday.
But a 2-0 loss at D.C. United on Saturday derailed that momentum. And after the first two trainings of the week ahead of another difficult match against the Seattle Sounders, at home on Saturday (7:30 pm ET; MLS LIVE), a healthy amount of bite has returned to Crew SC training.
“It was pretty competitive today, and I think it’s going to be competitive throughout this week,” midfielder Ethan Finlay said on Tuesday. “It’s disappointing coming off of that loss because we know we’re a better team than that. Then you turn around and you have a tougher opponent and maybe the best team in the league right now. So it’s another tough test for us, and we’re up for it and excited for it.”
Head coach Gregg Berhalter wasn’t too fazed by the defeat after the match Saturday. He said the plan had been followed all along and would continue.
“Last week was purposely an offload week, so we stuck to the plan,” he said. “And we’re going to stick to the plan this week. Obviously we’re not going go-karting, but it’s going to be a normal week of training.”
And at Tuesday’s training session, Berhalter emphasized the even-keel attitude that’s become one of his calling cards as a head coach.
“It’s business as usual,” he said. “There’s no need to get carried away losing to the Eastern Conference leaders in their place. It was a game we analyzed; we made some mistakes. We want to learn from the mistakes and move forward.”
Despite Finlay’s appreciation of the intensity in training, Berhalter said he doesn’t look too much into it.
“I learned a long time ago that you can’t tell based on the week of training,” he said. “Last year we had one week where it was amazing, and then we went out and lost to Montreal. You can’t tell. What you want to do is stay balanced and continue to improve.”
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But behind the scenes, it seems that Berhalter and his coaching staff have lit a fire under Crew SC players. Finlay said the coaches “woke us up a little bit,” and made it clear that the competition day-in and day-out is important.
“Gregg is always very up front about the fact that the best guys are going to play and pushing each other in these positions,” he said. “Wide positions, up top, in the midfield. We’ve been hurt with some injuries obviously, but we’ve got guys coming back that are healthy. It’s good.”
For Berhalter, seeing improvement is the key. And while he knows his players don’t like losing, he’s focused on the big picture.
“Disappointment is part of it; everyone is disappointed,” he said. “I would expect that. But again, you want to stay focused on your task. It’s a long season, and as long as we’re focusing on improving, we’re going to be fine.”
