Defending MLS champs face elimination
Crew coach questioned about tactics
Last Updated: Thursday, November 5, 2009 | 3:03 PM ET
The Associated Press
Columbus midfielder Guillermo Barros Schelotto didn't play in the first playoff game. (Victor Decolongon/Getty Images)Guillermo Barros Schelotto never left the bench in the Crew's playoff opener, but last year's Major League Soccer most valuable player will try to help Columbus muster some offence and engineer a comeback against Salt Lake when the teams meet Thursday night.
The Crew are the reigning MLS Cup champion but fell 1-0 last week in the playoff opener in Sandy, Utah, with Robbie Findley scoring for Real Salt Lake in the 88th minute.
Columbus could not get a goal past RLS keeper Nick Rimando playing without Schelotto, who scored 12 times in the season.
Coach Robert Warzycha, who took over from Sigi Schmid who left after last year's championship for expansion Seattle, faced criticism over the decision.
"Did you check his stats? How many goals does he have the last four or five games since coming back from his injury? I put out the players in my mind that can do the job and help the team," coach Robert Warzycha said. "Sometimes in the games you're not scoring. Me, as the coach, I have to find the solution. I'm not saying I'm right all the time."
Warzycha hinted at putting the Argentine back in the lineup Thursday.
"It's going to be a different game," Warzycha said. "Usually at home we play much better. I need to see how he can best help the team. If the team needs him he is going to play."
It was a misstep for a coach who followed up Schmid's success by guiding Columbus to a 13-7-10 record for the league title.
Important games
Schelotto has proven in the past he comes up big in important games. The midfielder-forward helped set up six of his team's goals en route to the 2008 championship.
Columbus went 9-2-4 at home, including a 3-1 win over Salt Lake on July 18.
Real's struggles on the road are well-documented. The team went 2-11-2 as visitors this season and owns a 10-51-16 all-time road record.
"Right now, it's a different game because we won at home," said midfielder Javier Morales. "We need a tie there, but we have to know that it will be a hard game. I think we have to look for [at least] one more goal."
Findley could be key again for RSL after leading the team with a career-high 12 goals in the regular season before getting his first in the playoffs against the Crew. That came a week after he scored twice in a 3-0 win over Colorado to help Salt Lake clinch a playoff berth.
Findley's goal in the first leg was set up by fellow forward Yura Movsisyan, who will leave the team in January to join Randers FC of Denmark after scoring a career-high eight goals this season.
"Anytime you come in, you want to make a difference," Movsisyan told RSL's official website. "It doesn't matter whether you get an assist, you get a goal or you shut a play down."
If the game is tied after 90 minutes, the teams will play a full 30 minutes of extra time, divided into two periods. If still tied, penalty kicks will determine the result.
The winner in the next round will face the survivor of the Chicago-New England series.
With files from CBCSports.ca
