Film from the Fortress: CLTFC vs Columbus Crew Match Review

How CLT could not outrun its weaknesses against one of the best teams in the MLS

I was so excited for Saturday’s match, where I expected two top teams in the east to go at each strength on strength. Columbus loves having the ball and pushing players forward to make intricate passing sequences. And Charlotte is comfortable relying on its talented defense and attacking quickly in transition. Unfortunately, this game was not determined by strengths, but by Charlotte’s biggest weakness, its midfield. CLT’s inability to buildup through the midfield and seal off key passes defensively took away our chances to attack and made it too easy for Columbus to get their goals. We’ve got a lot to dive into, and the midfield will be a part of all of it.

Prologue: How Columbus Crew Plays

Before jumping into the game, we need to talk about the unique play style that Columbus has compared to every other MLS team. Columbus is a possession heavy team but how they attack in possession is unique. They like to bring multiple players into a small space and use quick “rondo-like” passing combinations to get past defenders. From there they’ve drawn multiple defenders into a tight space, get past them and then can attack open space. The other big thing to note is they attack in a 3-2-5 structure but it is incredibly fluid. Each player can interchange positions meaning centerbacks may push to right winger, central midfielders become strikers, and forwards drop to attacking midfielders.

Here’s one passage as an example of what CLT faced this game. This starts in slow buildup with a centerback playing into their midfielder Nagbe (#6).

Nagbe cannot turn but he draw pressure from Abada out wide. Nagbe plays it back and the center back plays it up the sideline for Arfsten.

Notice above how congested Columbus has made the left side of the field. I have complained about CLT doing this but it is different for Columbus. By bringing basically our entire defense onto the far half of the pitch they are going to try to keep possession in the small space and then escape it for a numbers advantage.

Anyway, Arfsten uses the space given by Abada having to recover to make a feint and dribble up the touchline.

And with this small opening Columbus now picks up the pace. Arfsten dribbles forward and then finds Aziel Jackson inside.

Now its about rapidly changing the field. Jackson finds Rossi (#10) who immediately plays it out to Farsi (#23). Farsi is 1v1 with Ream and Columbus looks to quickly create another numbers advantage. Their right center back (think Malanda’s position) Moreira (#31) sprints forward on an overlapping run.

Ream is helpless to stop a cutback cross that their striker Russel-Rowe puts off target.

I bring this up because this systems Wilfred Nancy runs in Columbus produces some beautiful soccer. But also just to highlight for maybe the first time this season CLT faced a team that is just a better team talent wise and has a uniquely difficult system to play against that no other team in the MLS can replicate.

Topic 1: Our left side defensive weakness

Despite the unique challenge Columbus faced, they attacked some common weaknesses in our team, they just did it better than most teams. I discussed last week how Carols Gil of the Revolution started playing off our left side defense to progress into an attack. Similarly, Columbus Crew’s main playmaker, Diego Rossi (#10), found himself and his team playing through our left side defense for most of their attacks this week. Now, there is no issue when a team attacks down a sideline for Charlotte. The issue is when they are able to make a pass from the sideline into the center or half-space and can run directly at our centerbacks. Unfortunately, the combination of Zaha, Diani, and Ream struggled to prevent these passes.

Let’s take a look at an early example of this issue. Columbus earns a throw in and immediately throw is back to their center back who is on the ball below. We’re pushing out and you can see Diani in the midfield line and Zaha running forward to get into position.

Their center back passes it up the sideline to their right sided center back (Moreira #31), who has pushed up in this fluid system. And in the image below there is no danger as the ball is out wide.

But here is where the issues starts. Columbus has created a 4 on 3 here. Columbus has Moreira on the ball, Chambost (#7) near the ball, Farsi (#23) farther up the sideline, and Rossi (#10) central and on the same line as Farsi. We only have 3 defenders with Zaha, Diani, and Ream. Despite the numerical issue we can deal with this by cutting off passing lanes. Moreira only has 3 passing options and if our 3 defenders seal those off he has no options forward. However, we get this wrong. Zaha (who is behind Chambost in the image) is pressuring Moreira while cutting off his pass out wide to Farsi. Ream is also facing out wide watching Farsi should he get the pass. Diani is a bit forward and cutting off the pass to Chambost. This means we’ve left the passing lane to Rossi (#10) unmarked. He is not only their best attacking player but is in the most central forward position.

Moreria gets its to Rossi who turns and runs at our defense.

With poor marking by us and one pass, Rossi is running at our center backs and our entire left side is out of play. Though the image above does not even show the worse of this which is Arfsten (#27, one of their top attackers) is wide open on the other side. We’re lucky Rossi misses the pass and Scardina intercepts.

Diani’s poor positioning

Columbus wants to draw teams into tight spaces, find a way past them and then switch to field to wide open players and they found success doing this on our left side mainly because of poor positioning by Diani.

Here Columbus tried to play quick but Zaha makes a nice recovery run and forces them to play back and reset. Chambost plays it out wide to Rossi who has drifted into the space out wide. Again there is nothing threatening right now with the ball out wide.

In the clip above we’re in a good position. Ream can step forward on Rossi, Zaha can cover a back pass and Diani is occupying space to prevent a forward pass toward the center. But as Rossi gets the ball Diani decides to step forward way in front of our midfield line to mark Chambost.

This allows their striker (Russel-Rowe, #19) to drop into space that Diani should occupy and receive a pass in a dangerous position. Rossi finds Russel-Rowe who turns forward. Privett has to step forward but he’s too late and Rossi can easily run past Ream and receive a pass back in space. And again we have another chance where Arfsten is wide open and fortunately Rossi puts the pass straight to Scardena.

The past two examples CLT got away with unharmed. But Diani’s poor positioning led to impactful moments in this game. Here Zaha pressured Moreira who turns and is forced wide again. Note how Diani currently is near Rossi (#10).

The ball goes to Chambost out wide who plays up the sideline to Farsi. Again no issues the ball is still out wide we can cover it. However, Chambost makes a run from that wide position vertically towards the endline still out wide and past Ream.

This “corner run” makes Ream adjust but also draws Diani in and drops him into the box leaving Rossi wide open for a pass into the halfspace.

Rossi is in too much space now and can create. He plays a nice 1-2 with Russel-Rowe who drops off the back line and pulls Privett with him. This leads to Rossi getting a point blank shot off that Kahlina saves with his face.

While Kahlina made the save, the near (and possible) concussion could have been avoided with better defense and definitely affected the rest of the game.

And one more for Diani. We lose the ball in buildup and as Columbus gets a 2v2 out wide Rossi is jogging in from the top of the box to make this a 3v2.

As Farsi dribbles toward Ream, Diani smartly drops off of Moreira to cover a pass across goal. But somehow Ream and Diani get split by this pass right into the feet of Rossi.

This pass should not get through our two lanky defenders. Rossi’s shot/cross leads to a corner which leads to the Abada handball and the Crew’s second goal.

Earlier this season I was hoping for Diani to get more minutes. He showed he can be good in possession and ability wise he is probably our best midfielder at playing defense on this roster. But his lack of pace and poor positioning is a major liability that has cost us goals in this game, the Colorado game, and against Nashville.

Ream’s left back limitations

Before any critique I will say I think Tim Ream can play left back on this team and we can be successful. But when he needs to step forward instead of playing in the defensive line he does have some limitations. Especially when we need to extend our press when trailing, Ream can find himself in positions he is not equipped to handle as a left back.

Here Columbus is trying to build through some of our pressure and their center back (Cheberko, #21) gets the ball and sees a window to dribble past Bronico and Zaha. As he steps forward Ream is the next defender who steps up to slow him down.

Cheberko sees Ream, takes a heavy touch past him and just dusts him in his place.

Columbus goes on to attack in transition and in 11 seconds they get this dangerous cross that Malanda fortunately deals with.

My concern is not that Ream got beat, that can happen. But it was a central defender who just took a dribble and burned him for pace.

And while this next example is not fully Ream’s fault, his lack of pace does play a major factor in the Crew’s fourth goal. Here Zaha and Bronico both press forward trying to win the ball but the press is not good enough and the pass goes out wide to Farsi (#23).

Ream gets stuck on an island having to guard both Farsi and the run from Russel-Rowe (and in the video you can see him drop his arms in frustration). He can’t step toward Farsi because of the run by Russel-Rowe but has to stay near him so he cannot just dribble forward.

Farsi passes all the way across to Arfsten on the far side. This is fine for CLT initially but Ream is unable to get to his man in the rotation. Marshal-Rutty (our right back) is going to shift to Arfsten, Malanda will cover Rutty’s mark and Privett will mark Rossi. But as Westwood and Bronico shift over to the other side, Ream was pulled too far forward and wide to mark Russel-Rowe who keeps moving forward.

Above shows how our shift is good except Ream is out of position and his recovery run is not fast enough. Arfsten sees the opening and sends a cross toward the back post for an easy goal. Ream is at least a half-step too far behind to contest the header.

I’m not sure how much to blame Ream here. Part of it was he was in a tough position. His body language and effort seemed a bit lacking but I’m not going to look much into it. What I can definitively say is our left side defense has been CLT’s weak spot this season defensively. And both good and bad teams are looking to exploit this space and create goal scoring opportunities by starting their attack on that side

Topic 2: Crumbling under the press

Outside of the situations above, Columbus looked the most dangerous to score when they did not have the ball. This game CLT opted to play Westwood as the single pivot which made it nearly impossible for us to break their press and progress the ball forward. And the longer CLT cycled the ball through the defense the more likely it seemed they would turn the ball over for a great Columbus chance.

Charlotte buildup: A ticking time bomb

Let’s jump straight to the opening goal which comes from our inability to build up and consequently invite the press. We start with a free kick where Scardina plays it back to Malanda. Columbus is in a standard mid-block and generally pressed in the 2-4 structure we’ve seen over multiple games.

Malanda plays it back to Kahlina and Columbus moves forward. Westwood drops into the center as our lone pivot and receives a pass to feet from Kahlina. Westwood receives the ball with Aziel Jackson (#13) and Russel-Rowe facing him with pressure.

The issue with Westwood as a single pivot is he is not able to dribble and turn his way out of pressure. He needs to get the ball with space to turn or already be facing forward to be able to create (which requires someone to help). Here Westwood’s only option is to pass backward to Privett. Privett gets pressure from Russel-Rowe and his only option is out wide to Ream.

Ream receives the ball above and every passing option is marked. But this is where the timer is starting to get hot for CLT. As Ream passes back to Privett, Columbus spring their press.

Privett receives and Russel-Rowe is directly on him. Privett’s only pass is across to Kahlina and Columbus starts to anticipate with Jackson and Rossi both sprinting into the box to pressure.

Kahlina receives this and Jackson has cut off his ability to continue the switch to Malanda. With heavy pressure and no easy passes Kahlina tries to play it upfield toward Diani. However, Chambost is marking in front of Diani and easily wins the ball.

From here our defense is way out of position and Columbus works quick. Chambost to Rossi, Rossi turns and shoots from the top of the box, Kahlina can’t hold onto the save and Chambost continues his run forward to tap in the opening goal.

This starts from our own free-kick near midfield. But the longer we fail to progress the ball forward the more we invite the press and give up chances like the one above.

Its almost as if our buildup players need a timer in their head where at some point we just need to play a direct ball and stop trying to pass around the back. Here we’ve cycled the ball around the back and Ream plays a pass into Zaha.

Zaha lays it off to Diani and then starts to make a run forward. As Zaha makes this run Diani takes a touch and then will recycle back to Ream.

Now Diani does get pressured pretty quickly here but he has to take this opportunity to try a through ball with Zaha 1v1 with their wing back. By not taking a chance to play direct when it makes sense, we cycle the ball again inviting more pressure. The ball gets to Privett who plays a lobbed pass into Abada who starts to get pressured.

Abada plays it into Westwood who as the lone pivot again is unable to look up and pick out a pass because he is immediately pressured by Russel-Rowe.

Russel-Rowe forces a rushed pass by Westwood that gets blocked and Columbus springs onto an attack in transition.

Rossi gets the ball and one pass later Jackson is 1v1 and Kahlina has to make a big save.

Needing someone to step up

Somebody needs to help alongside Westwood with breaking through the press in buildup. Bronico has tried but on the ball possession is not his strongest skill set. Diani might be able to do it but his pace and positioning have made him irrelevant in buildup. While Zaha and Biel have helped this season, they can’t consistently do it because they need to stay forward to receive the line breaking passes. So maybe for now it has to be some of our defenders carrying that responsibility.

Here we see Scardina take on a man to break the press and start a potential attack. Privett gets the ball as we cycle around and plays a pass that moves Scardina forward.

As Scardina takes his first touch Arfsten (#27) closes down quickly to try to make a tackle. Scardina cuts inside and beats his man.

From here Scardina can look up and play at their defensive line. He passes wide to Bronico which beats the Crew’s first 2 lines of pressure allowing Bronico to run right at their defense.

This willingness to beat the press off a dribble is risky but has been missing from the team all season. It can be risky to lose the ball this way, but when successful it creates “transition-like attacks” or attacks where we break a press from buildup so we can run at a not set defense similar to a transition attack.

Let’s look at one more just before the end of the first half. From a throw in the ball goes to Malanda then over to Privett who gets some pressure from Russel-Rowe.

Instead of panicking with the pressure and passing negatively, inviting more pressure, Privett looks to create off the dribble. He cuts to his right then forward and splits this first line of pressure with his dribble.

With the first line beaten, Privett finds Bronico with a nice pass breaking the second line and getting through the Crew’s midblock. From here we get a transition like attack where Bronico can pick a pass among runners going directly at their defensive line.

Sadly, Bronico does not set his feet well and misses Abada with the through ball. But honestly if Biel is in that spot instead of Bronico this could be a huge goal scoring chance to even the game up and created by Privett willing to challenge the press and dribble through it.

Issues with the counter-press

All season CLT has had a few turnovers each game from a counter-press, but this is the first time it has led to a goal. Columbus specifically by attacking with a lot of players in tight spaces is well positioned to counter-press because when they lose the ball they are all already near the ball to pressure and win it back.

To just take a quick example we won the ball back on the sideline and Diani makes a quick pass to Zaha. Look at the immediate pressure and swarm of Crew players that surround Zaha in this counter press.

So while this next example looks bad on Ream, I’m not sure how much I can blame him.

So here Columbus gets the ball to Farsi (#23) on the sideline and Rossi makes a run into the box to create a 2v1 against Ream. Ream does a nice job getting a foot out to stop the pass.

Unfortunately though the interception is hard to control and Farsi immediately presses Ream when he sees the interception happening. Below Ream has very few options other than to try to clear it best he can.

The ball deflects into Farsi’s path and he picks out Jackson sitting unmarked with his hand raised at the top of the box for a one time finish.

You can say Ream needs to do better here but he is in a tough spot. You could also point to how Westwood maybe needs to pass off his marker to Malanda and be guarding Jackson as well. Regardless I do not have a ton of takeaways other than just we are vulnerable (like most MLS teams) in those first moments of regaining possession.

Topic 3: Westwood the playmaker

Our attack this game felt poor for similar reasons of previous games. Our inability to buildup consistently means most of our attacks come in transition. But there are two different approaches we had this game that made our attack add another dimension and I want to dive into them.

Most of CLT’s attack this year has funneled through Zaha or Biel as primary playmakers. But with Biel out, Westwood was able to shine as a deeper playmaker with some unbelievable passes. Stylistically Westwood is a phenomenal fit in this team. When he gets the ball and can face forward he is incredible at making difficult and deep aerial passes. This game showcased the threat Westwood can provide and what CLT needs to do to allow him to make these passes.

The threat Westwood provides was evident 30 seconds into this game. After we lose possession the ball pings around the midfield until it drops to Scardina.

As Scardina gets this ball and Bronico makes a run forward bringing the midfield defensive line deeper with him. Westwood stays back and drifts into the open space between the midfield and front defensive lines. Scardina passes across to Westwood who immediately first time hits a long ball in for Agyemang.

The quality on this ball is unreal and Agyemang is through on goal.

This is an attacking option unique to Charlotte. If we can get Westwood the ball anywhere in the middle third of the pitch where he can face forward and pick his head up we have instant offense. The combination of Westwood’s long passing and the strength and speed of Agyemang, Zaha and Abada as runners in behind is a dangerous weapon we need to unlock more.

But the key to unlocking this weapon is Westwood needs some support. As shown in the earlier section, when Westwood is alone in the midfield he can easily be pressured and be forced to play backwards. Having a second player in buildup to pull defenders, draw attention, and receive passes in third man combinations is needed to get Westwood these looks.

About 30 minutes into the game we are cycling the ball and Scardina plays it into Westwood in the pivot. As a single pivot Westwood is immediately pressured and is forced to play backwards.

As the ball cycles to Ream and up to Zaha note how the situation for Westwood changes here.

With Zaha dropping into the press he receives and draws the attention of Nagbe (#6) allowing Westwood to drift back into space. Westwood receives this ball and can face forward looking to progress.

Zaha dropping in helped Westwood progress the ball but he is still pretty far back. So Westwood plays it wide to Scardina who can work forward. As Scardina progresses Bronico drops into the press to receive a pass.

Notice how Bronico dropping in has again drawn Nagbe away from Westwood who can receive this back pass facing forward and looking upfield. Westwood has enough time to receive the ball, pick up his head and take a dribble.

From here Westwood pings another through ball for Agyemang to go 1v1 with the defender.

Moving forward I hope to see CLT lean into the offensive weapon that Westwood provides. If we can support Westwood to get him these opportunities it is going to help the offensive production of Agyemang, Abada, and Zaha and create a dilemma for defenses to focus on the advanced playmaker in Biel or the deeper one with Westwood.

Topic 4: Success with 2 strikers

In my New England match review, I floated the idea that if Biel missed some time, we should consider playing a 2 striker formation with both Agyemang and Toklomati. And in the 60th minute chasing 2 goals, Dean Smith decided to give it a try. While it wasn’t the exact tactics I expected, the 2 striker formation looked great and was probably our best 20 minutes of the match.

I expected Agyemang to stay as our advanced forward up against the defensive line while Toklomati would play more in Biel’s positions during buildup and then move into a second striker position when in attack. Instead we saw Agyemang play as our left striker and Toklomati play as our right striker. Depending on what side our build up happened, that sided striker would drop into the attacking midfield space as an option. And to my surprise, Agyemang excelled in this role.

Agyemang impresses in buildup

When Agyemang dropped into the space near the Crew’s midfield line he did a great of using his body to seal possession and then use his dribbling ability to carry into the attack. Here Privett gets the ball as our left back.

Privett plays a great line breaking pass into Agyemang who has dropped off the defensive line and into the space between them and Crew’s midfield line.

From here Agyemang carries forward and his run draw the attention of Moreira who is trying to stay with Zaha. Agyemang uses his dribbling ability to beat this tackle tacking a defender out of the play.

From here Agyemang carries further center and plays it out to Abada who get a chance to go 1v1 with Arfsten. I would have preferred Agyemang to play a through ball into Zaha since his marker left him for Agyemang and then got beat. But this shows how Agyemang was able to use his ability of progressive carries to contribute in this additional role.

These next two show Agyemang able to use his body to seal off these weaker midfielders and drive in transition. Here Ream makes an interception and it falls to Bronico who does a quick pass out of pressure up to Agyemang.

As Agyemang receives Chambost tries to apply pressure on him. Agyemang is physically stronger and shields the ball with his body allowing him to turn and run upfield.

Agyemang gets into the attacking third and then cuts inside as Chambost recovers but knows he cannot challenge Agyemang 1v1 and it just stalling for help. Agyemang makes a great pass inside to Zaha near the top of the box.

From here Zaha gets a great chance to create in the center of the pitch.

Zaha plays it wide to Abada who gets a cross in. Personally, I would have liked to see Zaha try to take someone on a dribble or rip a shot from the top of the box here. But again Agyemang’s strength and progressive carry facilitates a great transition.

Here is another play created by Agyemang and enabled by having Toklomati also on the field. Bronico blocks an entry pass from Chambost.

As the ricochet falls to Agyemang he handles the counter press by sealing off Chambost with his body and can then dribble upfield.

As Agyemang moves forward Toklomati has stayed up with against Crew’s back line and makes a nice run across the field. Agyemang plays his through and we have a great chance with Abada running free on the far side.

Unfortunately, Toklomati takes one too many touches and does not see Abada. To be honest Toklomati was good this game but he missed a few passes and chances. Regardless I love the dual Agyemang and Toklomati have as either one can drop in to get a pass or be the runner in behind.

And just to show Toklomati can also receive in this way. Here we build up on the right side with Rutty playing to Abada who cuts back and gets a passing lane in to Toklomati who has dropped off the defensive line.

Toklomati has a defender coming right behind him but he turns and seals the ball away from him, beating the defender in one move.

I would have liked Toklomati to carry this centrally at the back line and try to find a runner in. Instead he plays it out wide to Marshall-Rutty but the pass is too strong. Regardless, the threat is evident that either Agyemang or Toklomati can drop in and do this role.

I want to end this section with our best attacking passage of the game. As we cycle the ball we start with a double pivot of Westwood and Bronico. Because Bronico is in the pivot he brings Rossi over to the near side giving Westwood space to receive this ball from Ream.

With this space Westwood can dribble forward and look to break the midfield line.

Westwood tells Agyemang to drop into the space between the 2 defensive lines and then finds him with a nice line breaking pass.

Agyemang seals off the pressure and then plays it out wide to Zaha who for one of the rare times in this game is not doubled teamed thanks to the buildup.

Zaha receives and as he draws his defender in plays Agyemang through who has a center back 1v1.

Agyemang from here uses his pace and physicality to get past his man and drive to the end line.

Agyemang goes to ground a little too easily here looking for the penalty. I would have liked to see him stay on his feet and try a cutback either to Toklomati and Abada both crashing into the box.

Overall, I hope that when Biel is not on the field (especially when we are tied or losing) we look to this formation and play both Agyemang and Toklomati. Agyemang was really impressive with his ability to retain possession and carry forward. And having the threat of Toklomati keeping the defenders back to respect the through ball allowed Agyemang space he usually lacks as the sole striker. Our decision making and final passes need to be better, but the talent and setup is there for this formation to be successful.

Quick Topics

Those were the big topics but there is a lot of other things from this game and I’ll try to cover them briefly.

CLTs 2 goals

Both of our goals felt more like flukes than anything repeatabe in my opinion. For the first one, it was great on Zaha to get that pass in despite having a triple team coming to defend him. I think Agyemang had a poor first touch but it worked out well and good on Bronico to get the penatly. My main takeaway from that is Zaha is getting double teamed a ton, I’d like to see us find ways to get him an isolated defender and when he gets those rare opportunities I want Zaha to be quick and challenge them off the dribble.

The second goal is also a goalkeeper mistake. I will the 2 striker formation helped us get into that position and Ream whipping in a cross with both Agyemang and Toklomati as targets is a benefit of the 2 striker formation.

Kahlina’s concussion?

When Kahlina took a shot off his face I was concerned. I am not a medical professional and have no idea if it was a concussion, but he did not seem 100% for the rest of the half. The next corner he looked less decisive and that first goal he probably should have held onto Rossi’s shot.

Kahlina is a great MLS goalkeeper and made some great saves this game. My biggest lesson learned is our poor defense on that left allowed the shot that took Kahlina out for a few minutes. Good defense protects your goalkeeper and we failed to protect him this game.

No Williamson?

Eryk Williamson not playing this game is very concerning. Especially when we were down 1 in the second half, Williamson for Bronico seems like a great substitution. We lose some defensive ability but Williamson can help Westwood with buildup and can help create from that deeper midfield position when we need a goal. Heck that substitution helped cause the first goal in the Nashville win.

I think the biggest issue with him not playing is that he hasn’t earned minutes. I’m not sure if he’s hurt, not practicing well, or just not good enough. But with our midfield being our weakest spot and Diani’s performances being poor, I’m really concerned if Williamson is viewed as not good enough to get meaningful minutes in our deeper midfield positions.

Conclusion

I want to zoom out and say this is not a bad loss. Columbus is a better team than and a legitimate supporter shield contender. They have an incredible coach, great roster, and a successful tactical identify. Couple all that with being a road game, I do not expect CLT to win this game.

But I wondered why is Columbus clearly a better team than Charlotte and the answer is right in the middle of the field. The Crew’s midfield duo of Chambost and Nagbe kept possession, facilitated buildup, and moved the ball to their creative and fluid attack.

When I see Chambost turning in the pivot, making clean passes and finding space within our press I realized that while Chambost is great, Westwood is better and can play that role. But his midfielder, Darlington Nagbe is the difference. Nagbe is good in possession, can challenge on defense, but most importantly can dribble within the press to escape pressure. His threat in buildup makes our press mark 2 players and his dribbling ability provides another to beat the press and in sticky situations provides an emergency exit to escape pressure.

Until CLT finds that ability to buildup off the dribble and support Westwood, we will stay a team that is comfortably a playoff team, but will be a tier below those supporter shield contenders. Maybe Bronico can fill that role, maybe its Diani, Williamson or Petkovich. Maybe one of our defenders can take more buildup responsibility, or maybe that’s what our 3rd DP spot needs to go to in the summer window.

Regardless CLT is a great team and Columbus is one of the few teams in the MLS that is better than us. I’m hoping we can build on some of the positives and get Biel back for our next match against Nashville.

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