Photo by Andrew Weber/USA Today Sports
By RYAN TOLMICH
For the second straight week, the Columbus Crew proved dominant in dispatching an opponent that posed little threat.
Led by a pair of goals from Ethan Finlay, the Crew thoroughly defeated a hapless Philadelphia Union, 4-1, Saturday at MAPFRE Stadium.
Finlay, whose finishes came on either side of halftime, was joined on the scoreboard by Justin Meram and Kei Kamara, as the Crew’s forward line proved to be an absolute nuisance for a Union team with lackluster performances aplenty.
Throughout the first half, the Crew continued to rely on wide play and crosses to generate most of the team’s attacks, and that strategy finally paid off in the 21st minute by way of a Kamara finish.
The sequence was kick-started by Tony Tchani, whose thumping header in the midfield rolled straight into the path of Finlay. The Crew midfielder darted down the right side before finding a wide-open Kamara on the backpost. The forward touched the ball down and fired across goal, giving the hosts the 1-0 lead.
The Crew doubled their lead in the 32nd minute via yet another cross, as Waylon Francis’ perfectly-weighted ball from the left dropped right into the path of Finlay, who touched a shot home to push the lead to two for his first goal of the night.
Adding to the Union’s opening half misery was a goal that seemed all too familiar, as goalkeeper John McCarthy saw Meram’s rocketed shot slip through his hands and over the line in the 44th minute, giving the Crew a 3-0 lead going into halftime.
Eric Ayuk cut the lead to 3-1 early in the second half before Finlay added a second in the 74th minute.
The Crew midfielder’s finish came off a darting run down the right side, beating Fabinho to a pass from Kamara and finishing first time to seal a dominant victory for the home team.
For the Crew, the victory follows a dominant performance against Orlando City last week, while the Union slump to their second straight loss.
Now unbeaten in four straight, the Crew return to action May 2 with a trip to D.C. United while the Union return that same day with a matchup against Toronto FC at PPL Park.
This game is a true showcase of how outmatched the Union are in this league. They don’t have an up-to-par 18, let alone starting 11. The little bit of money they have, they’ve invested poorly.
The Crew, IMO , are about our equal in terms of amount of resources and payroll. Tonight shows how far off the union are. There is no creativity on the flanks (le Toux & wenger are hopeless), the midfield gets continually over-run (starting Lahoud & Carroll, what did Curtin expect??) and our outside backs are that of USL quality. S Williams has only regressed the past two years and Gaddis has been average at best this year. I’m 23, left-footed and only a year removed from playing quality football. I think I’m going to try out to play left fullback for the Union if they consider Fabinho game day quality.
It’s increasingly frustrating to watch them trot out a below average side that offers little to get excited about. It seems the union have a habit of taking one step forward and three steps back..
This Philadelphia club is an absolute travesty. The front office failed to put together a competitive 18 for the season and are being punished for it week in and week out. That is not the players’ fault or Curtin’s fault. This is a personnel management issue–it’s an incomplete and outclassed team at nearly every turn. I actually feel awful for many of these players, but a league intervention is past due.