The Columbus Crew returned home to thrash Sporting Kansas City by 4-0 scoreline in midfielder Aidan Morris’ farewell game. Columbus went up 2-0 thanks to a pair of goals by Cucho Hernandez before Christian Ramirez added a third. Hernandez would collect his hattrick seconds before being substituted on a sublime free-kick into the far bottom corner. This is the Black & Gold’s first home win since March 16^th, when they beat New York Red Bulls 3-0. The Crew now sit fifth in the Eastern Conference with 30 points, 11 points behind leaders Inter Miami but with three games in hand.

SKC tried to match Columbus man-for-man in this match, which did not bode well for them. Let’s dive into the tactics and decisions that went into this massive victory for the Black & Gold.

Attacking Kansas City’s weaknesses

It is safe to say that Kansas City did not play well on Saturday night, but the Crew did not stoop to their level either. SKC had tactical holes in its gameplan that Columbus was eager to exploit, leading to a landslide of goals.

The first thing the Black & Gold did to attack Sporting was attack their width. SKC decided to match the Crew’s formation, going in a 5-2-3 with wingbacks that can get up the pitch. Trying to out-Crew the Black & Gold is never a recipe for success, but it was the direction Peter Vermes decided to go in.

One tweak to the Kansas City formation was how narrow their three center backs were. There was little to no help on the outside for the SKC wingbacks to deal with Max Arfsten and Mo Farsi. This led the pair to having a field day, especially Arfsten, preying on the wingbacks and whipping in an abundance of crosses.

Columbus simply tried to swing the ball into space quickly for the wingbacks and allow them to go at the defenders. Another common pattern of play was a simple one-two with one of the midfielders that sucked in the defense and freed Farsi and Arfsten down the line. SKC’s attempts to get pressure on the Crew allowed those quicker players in behind, and it cost the visitors dearly.

The second thing Columbus did was have the attacking three drop into the wide midfield in a gap Kansas City left open. SKC did not have their center backs follow Diego Rossi, Ramirez, and Hernandez when they dropped into space. Sporting did however try to plug up the middle by playing their centerbacks and defensive midfielders very narrow.

This left a hole of space on the outside behind those midfielders and between the center back and wingback on both sides. This was the space that the Black & Gold exploited time and again in attack. One of the three central attackers would drop in and either combine with an outside centerback and wingback, or they would turn and run at the defense into space.

It was a dumb mistake by SKC to allow that space and not have their center backs follow the dropping runners, but they were trying to play for a point. As soon as the first goal went in, the visitors had little hope of rectifying the game.

This contest was not entirely the Crew’s brilliance on display, it was also the inability of Kansas City and the coaching staff to adapt and plug the holes. They did not do it all game, and Columbus made them pay to the tune of four goals and a clean sheet.

The young future of the Crew

With this game marking Morris’ final home appearance for the Black & Gold, the Crew must start or keep thinking about what the future looks like. From a tactical perspective, there are a few players that can fill his shoes or take over for other players who may be getting phased out.

Starting with Morris’ replacement, the clear-cut choice is the new signing, Dylan Chambost. The midfielder Columbus acquired from AS St. Etienne will most likely slot into the starting lineup but will need time to adjust to Wilfried Nancy’s system which can take some time.

In the meantime, there are other options. Sean Zawadzki is seemingly the most like-for-like switch with Morris, bringing a ball-winning mentality but also an ability to go forward. Zawadzki is more adaptable than Morris but would slot in well until Chambost is comfortable and ready to start.

Others to watch in the midfield are new signing Aziel Jackson and rotation midfielder Derrick Jones. Jackson will need time to adjust as well but seems to be an exciting player to watch for the future. Jones has gotten minutes off the bench but has not really impressed much. He is another player who can play in the midfield or in the back but seems a step behind when he comes on in the middle of the park.

Until Chambost is in Columbus and comfortable with the system, Zawadzki seems the clear-cut choice to replace Morris. He is familiar with the system, and he is not needed on defense with both Malte Amundsen and Yevhen Cheberko splitting time and playing well in the back. Morris leaving passes the torch to Zawadzki to take his spot for the time being.

Another player and position to watch is Arfsten in the wingback slot. He has gotten a significant uptick in playing time since last season and been impressive on the wing. His ability to take players on one-on-one and whip crosses into the box offers something different for the Black & Gold out wide.

With Farsi becoming a mainstay on the right side, will Arfsten begin to demand more minutes on the left? Yaw Yeboah was Nancy’s preferred option at the left wingback spot last season, but with a younger Arfsten in the wings maybe there is more competition than meets the eye.

Regardless of who starts, the Crew have a plethora of young, solid players who can play adaptable soccer and help the team. Nancy is never going to complain about having too much quality in his squad, and the fans will not either.