The task becomes harder and harder for the Columbus Crew with every point dropped, and it will be no less difficult when they host Charlotte FC on Wednesday.
After conceding the winner in the 89th minute of a 3-2 loss at Orlando City on Saturday, the Crew (8-15-5, 29 points) are edging close to being eliminated from the Eastern Conference playoff chase.
They are in 13th place, seven points behind ninth-place FC Cincinnati for the final postseason berth with six matches left. The teams play Sunday in Cincinnati.
For Crew defender Mohamed Farsi, the time has come to let it all hang out.
“I think for the next games, we have nothing to lose,” Farsi said. “I think that needs to be the mentality. You have nothing to lose and you try to win but you don’t have any pressure because the standings now, we’re pretty low, but I think that’s going to help us as well to play freely and not think about, ‘We have to win, win, win, win.'”
Charlotte (13-8-7, 46 points) craves points for a different reason. Thanks to a 7-2-4 stretch since returning from the World Cup break, Charlotte FC are tied with the New England Revolution for fourth, two points back of the Chicago Fire and three behind second-place Inter Miami.
The top four get home-field advantage in the first round.
Charlotte helped its cause Saturday by overcoming a two-goal deficit for a 3-2 win over FC Dallas. Idan Toklomati scored his second goal of the match two minutes into second-half stoppage time for the winner.
“I think it bodes well for where we want to go,” Charlotte defender Harry Toffolo said. “We want to be in the playoffs; we want to go far in the playoffs.”
Toklomati is second on the team in goals to Pep Biel (12) with a career-high-tying 11.
“He’s become more of a fox in the box now, which is important,” Charlotte coach Dean Smith said. “I like center forwards who are getting goals from two, three yards out, because then they’re in the right area.”
–Field Level Media
