Crew ready for its next challenge
A little less than 72 hours after Crew SC took the field in front of more than 67,000 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and took down Atlanta United in penalty kicks to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals, coach Gregg Berhalter had moved on.
“To be honest, I talked to the team about enjoying that win and now moving past it,” Berhalter said Sunday. “I haven’t given Atlanta a second thought. Our focus is on New York (City FC). As a group, we just need to move forward and focus on how we can beat a good New York City team.”
It makes sense that a team would not want to dwell on a game that has already taken place, but there were a few key takeaways for the Crew, one being that if it can handle Atlanta’s crowd, it should be able to handle just about any environment in MLS.
After Crew SC tied NYCFC 2-2 in the regular-season finale, a result that earned the team the No. 5 seed and a trip to Atlanta, defender Josh Williams embraced a tough path through the playoffs.
“Why not go there?” he said of Atlanta. “Why not take them down?”
The 29-year-old center back was confident then, and he’s confident now. The Crew heads into the two-leg, aggregate-scoring conference semifinal series with NYCFC, which begins Tuesday night at Mapfre Stadium, without a loss in 11 games.
“Now we’re 11 unbeaten. We’re the big, bad dogs now. That’s kind of how we’re approaching it,” Williams said. “Obviously, you want to remain humble. We’re not going to be out there flaunting everything. We’re going to be out here working, and I think we’re gonna silently remain confident.”
Crew SC has the benefit of being just a week removed from playing NYCFC on the road, of having worked through the adversity of a nervy first half and an early second-half deficit before getting a second goal and holding on for a road tie.
The Crew also is better equipped to handle the pressure it might face early in Tuesday’s game.
“They press, and now we know them a little better,” midfielder Pedro Santos said of NYCFC. “In training, we’ve tried to find space and (to determine) how we play out of the press, and I think we are ready.”
The X’s and O’s might be similar, but the context is not. Crew SC entered Citi Field in New York on Oct. 22 knowing it needed 90 good minutes to try to move up the Eastern Conference standings. Tuesday’s game will be part one of a two-part effort to try to advance to the conference finals.
“Now we have 180 minutes to worry about,” Williams said. “I think you take little things with how we play and the coaches always have us prepared, so we’re going to look into that. But to me it’s a completely different mindset because it’s the two-game series.”
One thing, at least, will remain consistent: The moments won’t get any smaller from here on out.
“I think the playoffs still have a different intensity, so we’re going to have to be careful of that,” Berhalter said. “We’re going to be expecting a tough series. I think New York’s a great team and it’s gonna be tough.”