Columbus Crew 2 look to improve after first win

On Sunday, Columbus Crew 2 took on the Chicago Fire II at SeatGeek stadium. Coming into the game the Crew were looking to pick up where they left off in Miami and improve on it. Head coach Laurent Courtois made it clear that the primary goal of this club is to “Develop players into better professionals and hopefully get called up to the First team.” After the on-field changes by Courtois, subbing in Quinton Elliot, Jacen Russell-Rowe, and Marco Micaletto, the Black & Gold caught lightning in the 72nd minute with a goal from Noah Fuson. The Crew ended the game with a 1-0 win, and a clean sheet.

Now the Crew turn their attention to Philadelphia Union II this Sunday at Subaru Park. Going into this Sunday’s game, Courtois knows that Philadelphia is going to play, “compacted, and might play in a diamond or a 4-2-2-2 to try and stop the attack.” Courtois also knows that it is going to take the team trying to press high and exploit the weakness of the Union to break their defense down, attack the back line and continue to get more numbers in the box to score.

The Union, on the other hand, are coming into this matchup after defeating Inter Miami II 4-3 on penalties. The Union, just like their parent club, sit tied for first in the Eastern Conference and is one of four squads in the Five-Goal club just two matches into the young campaign.

With new teams, come new challenges. Mohamed Farsi, a newcomer to Crew 2 has found adjusting to his new squad to be beneficial. “It has been fun. A lot of hard work and practices, but it has been good so far”, he said. Coming into the season Farsi was switched over to playing right center back. Playing in a different position, Farsi can take his field vision and apply it to the right center back position and help set the mid-fielders up for the attack, dribble away from defenders, and help set the tempo.

In addition to the two teams facing off, their respective senior squads face-off against one another this weekend also.

Kickoff for the match is slated for a 5pm start from Subaru Park. You can catch every game live on the MLS Next Pro website.