Can Columbus Crew keep up scoring pace with six of next nine games at home?
Cucho Hernandez has scored four goals in his first 90 minutes of action. The Crew took this season’s first edition of the ‘Hell Is Real’ rivalry to extend their unbeaten streak to eight games, and the Crew have jumped into playoff position for the first time since early April.
To put it bluntly, things are going well in Columbus.
With six of the next nine games at home, a level of confidence the Crew haven’t felt since their MLS Cup run in 2020 and a striker who can score at will, there’s an opportunity for the Crew to use this stretch to climb the Eastern Conference standings in the final 14 games.
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To do so, they will have to continue to score at the pace they’ve been scoring at since Hernandez arrived.
"This is just the beginning,” Hernandez said through a club interpreter. “I continue to work so I can keep scoring goals.”
Cucho Hernandez helps to rejuvenate Columbus Crew
The Crew were shut out eight times in 17 games before Hernandez made his debut in Chicago on July 9. After scoring eight goals in the first three games of the season, it took the Crew another nine games to score eight more.
However, in the three games leading into Saturday night’s home match against the New England Revolution, the Crew have scored seven goals and now own a plus-five goal differential.
Hernandez has clearly rejuvenated Crew attacking midfielder Lucas Zelarayan. With one goal and five assists in three games with Hernandez, Zelarayan has been the impact player he was during the Crew’s MLS Cup run.
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Crew coach Caleb Porter said what they liked so much about Hernandez when scouting him was his ability to play off the back-line defenders and combine with other players. By doing that, creating space for other attacking players.
“You have (Zelarayan) who has great vision and final passing, and you have Luis Diaz and Derrick (Etienne) who move behind the line and stretch, so those final passes are on,” Porter said. “Then you have Cucho who is also in good spots in the box to finish.”
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Hernandez said he already has a good relationship with Etienne and Diaz, both of whom like to run behind defenders to create scoring chances. At the same time, Etienne sees Hernandez helping the team in a number of ways.
"He can do a lot more than score goals,” Etienne said. “When you have Lucas and Cucho, that leaves a lot of other guys open in one-v-one situations. I think a lot of us thrive off that.”
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New England has two of the quicker outside backs in the league, which will make it more challenging for Etienne and Diaz to get behind the back line. However, Etienne has shown it can be done, recording two assists playing at right back against New England on May 7 in a 2-2 draw.
"We need to be more clever in how we move behind the line at the right moments and the angles that we take," Porter said. “If we're just going to be in a track meet ... it's a tougher matchup.”
Columbus Crew
Record: 7-5-8, 29 pts., 6th in East
Projected Starting XI (4-2-3-1):
Eloy Room (goalkeeper), Josh Williams (center back), Jonathan Mensah (center back), Pedro Santos (left back), Marlon Hairston (right back), Darlington Nagbe (central midfielder), Aidan Morris (central midfielder), Derrick Etienne Jr. (right winger), Lucas Zelarayan (attacking midfielder), Luis Diaz (winger), Cucho Hernandez (forward)
Suspension: Steven Moreira (yellow-card accumulation)
What to watch: There shouldn’t be any mystery to the Crew’s lineup this week. Only Artur (stress fracture) was listed on the injury report and he was in training this week. The matchup to watch is how Aidan Morris and Darlington Nagbe can contain 2021 MLS MVP Carles Gil.
New England Revolution
Record: 6-7-7, 25 pts., 10th in East
Projected Starting XI (4-2-3-1):
Dorde Petrovic (goalkeeper), Brandon Bye (right back), Henry Kessler (center back), Jon Bell (center back), DeJuan Jones (left back), Matt Polster (midfielder), Tommy McNamara (midfielder), Sebastian Lletget (right winger), Carles Gil (attacking midfielder), Dylan Borrero (left winger), Gustavo Bou (forward)
Prediction
Columbus 2, New England 1: The Crew are playing as well as any team in the Eastern Conference right now and have Cucho Hernandez getting closer and closer to playing a full 90 minutes. It’s still unknown if any team can stop him.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Crew vs. New England Revolution: Prediction, starting lineup
