Columbus Crew's growing confidence yields high expectations against Chicago Fire
Caleb Porter made his expectations clear.
As the Crew prepare to host the Chicago Fire at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, coming off a 1-0 win over Inter Miami, Porter, the Crew coach, left no ambiguity about what he sees as the proper outcome for his team.
"We want to get the three points," Porter said. "No other result is really good enough, in this match, other than the three points."
Saturday's game concludes a two-game homestand the Crew view as crucial for their climb up the Eastern Conference standings. Columbus checked the first box with Wednesday's win and now have an opportunity to pick up seven points in seven days after a draw in Cincinnati last Saturday.
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The Crew haven't won back-to-back games this season. Both Porter and goalkeeper Eloy Room hope the confidence that the team has right now, building from defender Steven Moreira's tying goal at the death in Cincinnati through the win against Miami, will help them change that Saturday.
"If you have a good result, if you have a win, it gives the team a lot of confidence and it helps for the next game coming," Room said. "Especially when we have a short turnaround, this one is a huge boost for the team. ... End of the season, the games are counting the most. These games are really important, especially the home games. If you don’t get three points on the road, you need to win at home."
For Porter, the confidence doesn't just come from the fact that the Crew won on Wednesday, but from how they won. Columbus had to change the game plan late in preparation after learning Lucas Zelarayan would be unavailable, adjusted well to the 4-3-3 formation and played a tight, pressing defense for the full 90 minutes.
It was a contrast to some games of late where Columbus has given up a late goal, most recently against Atlanta United on Aug. 21, and showed Porter that the Crew are feeling more comfortable playing within the tight margins that come late in the regular season.
"It’s great to close a game out 1-0 when it’s tight, margins are thin," Porter said. "I’ve said it many times, in this sport, it’s a 1-0 difference or a one-goal difference. You’d like to be 2-0, 3-0, breathing room, but many times, that doesn’t happen. I think when you start to create a psychology of closing games out, it’s a bit contagious as well and you gain that confidence."
Chicago enters Saturday's game winless in its past four games and 13th of 14 teams in the Eastern Conference — though only eight points behind the Crew, despite the seven-place gap in the standings. The Fire have just six games left, and Porter expects them to have a "do or die" mentality.
Facing a team with that level of motivation makes the Crew's confidence in their ability to close out the game with three points all the more important.
"We know our quality," Room said. "I know we have a good team, we have quality players, our roster’s really good. But we have to show it week in and week out. That’s the hard thing. You need to show it in the games. We could talk about everything right now, but we have to show it (Saturday).
"I think the confidence is a really huge thing now. We’re in a good spot now for the last games. I think overall this season, we’ve been building confidence and you need to have the right timing before the playoffs. I think we’re in a good spot."
Columbus Crew
Record: 9-6-12, 39 pts., 6th in East
Projected Starting XI (4-3-3):
Eloy Room (goalkeeper), Will Sands (left back), Miloš Degenek (center back), Jonathan Mensah (center back), Steven Moreira (right back), Artur (midfielder) Darlington Nagbe (midfielder), Aidan Morris (midfielder), Derrick Etienne Jr. (forward), Cucho Hernandez (forward), Luis Diaz (forward).
Injury report: Lucas Zelarayan (questionable, right thigh); Pedro Santos (out, right thigh)
What to watch: The Crew didn't give up a shot on goal to Miami on Wednesday until the final seconds of the match and were committed defensively for the full 90 minutes. Against one of the league's weakest offenses in Chicago, expect that defensive performance to continue — and perhaps bring Room a second consecutive clean sheet.
Chicago Fire FC
Record: 8-13-7, 31 pts., 13th in East
Previous Starting XI (4-2-3-1):
Gabriel Slonina (goalkeeper), Miguel Navarro (left back), Jonathan Bornstein (center back), Carlos Teran (center back), Boris Sekulic (right back), Fabian Herbers (central midfielder), Federico Navarro (central midfielder), Chris Mueller (left winger), Brian Gutierrez (attacking midfielder), Andre Reynolds (right winger), Jhon Duran (forward).
Prediction
Columbus 2, Chicago 0: Columbus is feeling confident after Wednesday's win, and Chicago ranks last in MLS with just 28 goals scored this year. The Fire have allowed the eighth-fewest goals, 38, so their defense is solid, but the Crew scored three goals in the teams' previous meeting and have scored nine goals in their last five games. Even without Zelarayan, Columbus' attack should be able to overpower the Fire.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Crew vs. Chicago Fire preview, prediction, starting 11
