The Columbus Crew fell to Nashville SC 3-1 away from home on Sunday night after a calamitous second half where the Black & Gold conceded three goals. Columbus started out with an absolute screamer of a finish from midfielder Yaw Yeboah to go up 1-0 in the opening two minutes, but from there it was Nashville doing the scoring.

After trailing at the half, the home side took the lead with two corner kicks that the Crew failed to defend before attacker Hany Mukhtar added a third goal in stoppage time.

With this result, the Black & Gold haven’t won one game since April 8 and have had a rough defensive stretch. Let’s dive into what Columbus did and failed to do tactically against Nashville.

Corner kick defending, or lack of defending

Defending corners was a polarizing topic postmatch after the Crew conceded two such goals. Defending set pieces is often a topic of conversation, but when a team gives up two goals from similar set pieces, it becomes an issue.

On the first corner, the Crew lined up in a hybrid marking system of both man and zone Opposing players standing outside the six-yard box were zonally marked by Yeboah, Lucas Zelarayan and Cucho Hernandez. The ball is typically swung into an area between the penalty spot and the six-yard box, so this gave these players the freedom to attack the ball instead of worrying about staying marked.

Nashville put five players in, or almost in, the six-yard box, showing they wanted to smother goalkeeper Patrick Schulte and create havoc for the Black & Gold defenders. Inside the six-yard box, the Black & Gold had center back Phillip Quinton, wing back Mohamed Farsi and central midfielder Aidan Morris man-marking Nashville attackers. The Crew also had center backs Gustavo Vallecilla and Steven Moreira and midfielder Darlington Nagbe camping out in a zone and helping with any missed marks.

The breakdown occurred with wing back Malte Amundsen on the backside. Nashville forward Fafa Picault camped out near the back post and Amundsen was aware of him. Before the play, the left back looked back and saw the Nashville attacker but did not move to cover him, instead staying in his zonal area.

When the cross came into the penalty box, the newly signed Crew wing back was slower to react than Picault and allowed him to get goalside, which typically spells disaster for a defending team. Picault attacked the ball, got the goal and tied the game up for Nashville.

On the second goal, the issues were more glaring.

Columbus lined up in a similar way to the first goal with both man and zone defenders. The system, however, was not the problem with this breakdown.

The first issue was forward Teal Bunbury was allowed to get goalside of Moreira, which again is the kiss of death when defending corners. Quinton was freed to go attack the ball, but misjudged the flight and couldn’t get his head on the cross, which gave Bunbury a free header. From there, it was another goal conceded and a lead blown by Columbus.

There were also issues with Shulte. As a goalkeeper, you are taught that any cross that comes into the six-yard box has to be your responsibility to claim. Schulte jousted with Bunbury but then dropped back toward his line instead of attacking the ball with his hands to clear the danger. It’s yet another tough learning experience for the young goalkeeper.

Head coach Wilfried Nancy will be frustrated with how his team defended these set pieces. While this hasn’t been a glaring issue for the Crew, only conceding four set piece goals this season, these two moments turned a possible win or draw into a loss. Nancy will have to dive into this defensive area training before it becomes a bigger issue.

Why the Black & Gold imploded in the second half

It was yet another second half breakdown for Columbus in Nashville that resulted in three goals conceded and a trip back home with no points to show for the team’s effort.

The Crew played well enough in the first 45 minutes, scoring the first goal and doing well without the ball. But that all changed in the second half when Nashville made changes and the Black & Gold did not respond.

One thing the home side did in the final half was press with five players to one side of the pitch to box Columbus in. This limited the Crew’s options to beat the press, either trying to find quick passes out or long balls.

The Black & Gold found success in playing long balls out of the back, but didn’t utilize this enough. These passes didn’t have to be in the air, but passes on the ground to Yeboah or Zelarayan were open if the attacking midfielders checked back to the ball because Nashville left a gap in the midfield between the press and the defense. Columbus did not take advantage.

Another issue was the Crew’s willingness to get forward and attack when they turned Nashville over in dangerous areas. A couple times, the Black & Gold retained the ball in their attacking half and players were too lethargic getting forward and pushing for a second goal. This allowed Nashville to defend numbers easier and get the ball back.

This young Columbus side talked recently about killing off a game after giving up two second half goals to Orlando City SC. The Crew was able to do this better in a 2-0 win against the LA Galaxy, but now it appears Columbus is not ruthless enough in going for a second goal. The Crew needs to find balance in how to play with a second half lead.

If the Black & Gold had pushed forward quickly, giving Hernandez and Zelarayan more bodies and options with pace, they had a better chance to catch a Nashville team that was looking for the equalizer and the goal-ahead goal out of position and find the second goal. Because Columbus slowed play down so much and tried to possess, it allowed the home side to recover and settle in before the Crew could attack.

This ultimately kept the game at 1-0, and fans of the Black & Gold watched the lead evaporate and disappear in a matter of 30 minutes.