A spot in the knockout round of the MLS Is Back tournament could be clinched Thursday night should either the Columbus Crew or New York Red Bulls emerge victorious in their Group E encounter in Orlando.
Of the two clubs, the Crew (2-0-1) are in better shape, currently leading the group by virtue of their 4-0 hammering of FC Cincinnati on Sunday in the latest installment of the "Hell Is Real" derby. Lucas Zelaryan's free kick on 27 minutes opened the floodgates for Columbus as Gyasi Zardes had a brace on either side of halftime before Youness Mokhtar completed the goal-scoring flurry on the hour.
Crew coach Caleb Porter, though, has been focused on getting this team to prepare for this match, knowing a win would put Columbus into the round of 16 and allow him to rotate his squad for a final group match that would matter little beyond seeding.
"I've always felt that winning teams, they don't celebrate wins because they expect them. If you're too high or too low, that's not a great mentality," Porter explained to the Crew's official website. "You don't want a rollercoaster. You want a real business-like team that enjoys the wins, but they're not surprised and they move on to next one. If they're surprised, it's when they lose. I think that's the key.
"This group, I think, when you prepare well and you know that you're a good team, I go and I remind them every day that they have to show up. The best team doesn't win. It's the team that plays best."
Zardes took back the goal-scoring lead from Zelaryan with his brace, accounting for three of the team's six goals while the Argentine midfielder has contributed two and assisted on two others. Columbus' defense notched its second clean sheet in three matches and has conceded just one goal in its first three contests.
Despite being in second place on goal difference, New York (2-0-1) also is in good shape to advance after edging Atlanta United 1-0 on Sunday. David Jensen made four saves to make Florian Valot's fourth-minute goal stand as the match-winner for the Red Bulls recorded their first shutout of the season.
"I think the shutout was very important for us, you know, as the Red Bulls backline, we really work a lot," said defende Amro Tarek to NYRB's official website. "There's a lot of demands on us. I think getting a shutout is a big reward for us, so I hope we can get another shutout next game and concede less goals as possible in all the games because this will help our team. We know our strikers will score every game, so keeping the clean sheet is very important for us."
The problem for opponents is that there is little clue which Red Bulls offensive player will be doing the scoring. Valot was already the fifth different player to score for New York, and no one on the team has registered a second goal yet. Valot and fellow midfielder Kaka have found a chemistry, something coach Chris Armas continues going forward.
"It's fitting for the two guys sitting next to me, Flo [Valot] and Kaku both," the coach said. "They really understand how to operate in that red zone, we call it, the space between the other teams 6's and backline because their awareness and their ability to know exactly where they are at all times, and then to make final plays whether it's a goal or an assist their passing ability and intelligence is of a high level."
Columbus has had the upper hand in the rivalry of late despite New York's recent success, taking four points from last year's two matches. The Crew are also 4-1-2 in the last seven meetings between the teams.