Neither the Columbus Crew nor host Charlotte FC have tasted victory lately, but the levels of hunger will be different when they meet on Saturday night.
For the Crew (7-1-6, 27 points), three straight matches without a victory is unusual, but they’ve managed draws in all of them despite scoring just four goals, including a 1-1 draw versus FC Cincinnati last Saturday, when the Crew attempted 17 shots.
“Yes, it’s frustrating we didn’t win the last three games because we deserve it,” Crew coach Wilfried Nancy said. “I believe if we play the way we’ve been playing, we’re going to score more goals than you think.”
Charlotte (6-7-1, 19 points) has lost five straight MLS matches but hoped to gain momentum with a victory in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup versus D.C. United on Wednesday.
Instead, the teams tied 3-3 through 120 minutes before D.C. United goalkeeper Jordan Farr made four penalty kick saves for a 2-1 victory.
“I think that was the lowest-scoring shootout that I’ve ever seen,” Charlotte coach Dean Smith said. “It’s unfortunate because the only winner now is Columbus, who’ve had a free week and will be fresh for this weekend.”
Charlotte hopes to regroup quickly.
“We wanted to win it so bad. We left it all on the pitch,” defender Bill Tuiloma, who scored in the 61st minute, said about Wednesday’s game. “We’ve got to move onwards and on to the next game in the regular season.”
These are desperate times for Charlotte FC. After Saturday, they will have five straight away matches. They are 5-2-0 at home but 1-5-1 on the road, including a 4-2 loss in Columbus on May 3.
“We have to expect that they come out very hungry, and hungry to change how it’s going for them,” Crew defender Malte Amundsen said.
He said he knows the Crew will be ready.
“You’ll see a very hungry Columbus Crew team,” Amundsen said. “We want to win games.”
–Field Level Media
