Wessam Abou Ali and Diego Rossi have both scored two goals in their first two matches for the Columbus Crew.
Despite their efforts, Columbus has not yet secured a win, facing challenges with counterattacks from opponents. The Crew looks to change that in their home opener against the Chicago Fire on Saturday night.
Rossi’s goal in the 82nd minute helped Columbus earn a 2-2 draw against Sporting Kansas City on February 28. Abou Ali scored first in the 33rd minute but felt he could have done more to help the team win.
He had a chance to score again in the 87th minute when he earned a penalty kick but failed to convert against goalkeeper John Pulskamp. However, first-year coach Henrik Rydstrom is confident in Abou Ali, stating that he will take the next penalty.
“It’s his responsibility to take the challenge,” Rydstrom said. “I know he will score next time. That’s his mentality.”
As the Crew aim for their first win (0-1-1, 1 point), Chicago (1-1-0, 3 points) is coming off a 3-0 victory over Montreal at Soldier Field on February 28. Jonathan Bamba scored first in the 27th minute, followed by stopp-time goals from Hugo Cuypers and Robin Lod.
This win helped Chicago bounce back from a 2-1 loss to Houston in their season opener. Under second-year coach Gregg Berhalter, who led the Fire to 68 goals last season, the team is focusing on improvement.
“We felt like a foundation has been built in Year 1,” Berhalter said. “There’s a lot of continuity with last year’s team. We know there’s room for improvement.”
Part of that improvement is needed defensively. Chicago allowed 60 goals last season but successfully played 44 minutes as a 10-man team without conceding last week after Johnny Dean received a red card.