Struggles continue for Columbus as playoff race heats up | OneFootball

Time to press the panic button? No...well...maybe. Those were my thoughts after watching the Crew give away two important points on the road against a Toronto FC team that was playing for pride. Diego Rossi was able to get the Crew an early lead in the eighth minute, but then things seemed disjointed. Columbus held on as long as they could until Toronto was able to draw level in the 77th minute as a poor clearance off a corner kick led to a recycled cross which was finished by Vilsaint. Columbus was able to momentarily net a winner, but Daniel Gazdag found himself in an offside position and the goal was reversed by VAR. Overall the effort and energy of the game wasn't good enough and the result exemplifies that. It's a tough result for a team trying to position themselves to earn the ability of hosting a playoff game. After the game coach Nancy discussed how the game was "weird" because the grass was apparently cut a lot higher than the Crew are used to, which led to the pace of the game being a bit slower. There's something to that, but at the end of the day the play still has to be levels sharper than what was displayed. Below are three takeaways from where things stand.

Time is running out to right the ship

Columbus has only one win in their last four league games now. In this recent stretch of four games they've scored four goals and conceded eight. If this team maintains their ambitions of hosting playoff matches there needs to be a complete course correction. Of the eight games remaining there are only three home matches, one of which is this weekend against a New England team in bad form (one win in their last 11 matches). That game at home is an absolute must win for Columbus before they head out on a three game road trip. In these remaining games they'll see the Red Bulls twice, New York City FC and Chicago who are all vying for playoff spots. These teams will be hungry and have something to play for, and if this recent effort in Toronto is any indication it could be turbulent if the level of play does not improve. That being said, if they can quickly integrate newly signed DP Abou Ali it's possible things could turn around very quickly. Which leads me to my next point.

Wessam Abou Ali can immediately imprint himself

Abou Ali is now in Columbus and ready to train after receiving his visa. There's not been much discussion in ramp up period with the team in training or how he'll be brought into the team in this final stretch of games, but it's clear the time for patience is over. This team needs an immediate injection of life, especially offensively as has been the case for most of the season, so I'd expect Abou Ali to be put onto the field as soon as he's fit and let it fly. With rumors still swirling around the potential departure of Max Arfsten there is no time to waste in slowly bringing Abou Ali in to get acclimated to the team. I have a sense we are all going to find out quickly if we've found our new striker or not based on these last eight games. It'd also help Crew fans get over the fact that Daniel Gazdag has still not scored in open play since he's been brought into the team four months ago. Perhaps even Gazdag is rooting for Ali to come right in and clean up the offensive woes so the focus could be diverted.

Nagbe injury causes concern

This team is so different without Darlington Nagbe available. So often he is looked to as the first option from the back line in link-up play to transition from defense to offense, or just to keep possession. We have no other player like him in the team, so when he's out it shifts the culture on the field. He's currently listed as having a torso injury, coach Nancy hinted the injury occured in one of the League's cup games as he stated the following:

"He's out. He received the first contact that he had against a Mexican team – I don't remember the team. When they didn't go for the ball, they went to hurt him, and this is what they did. He’s going to be out for a few days. We'll see when he's able to come back."

This is worrisome, if it's an injury that keeps Nagbe out of the lineup in the coming games it could deal an absolute blow to the team. It's not a coincidence the level of play was mostly sloppy with the engine of the team being out. Columbus will need Nagbe down the stretch to make a real run to try to host a playoff game, which would require them to finish fourth in the standings (currently sit sixth, two points back of Orlando City with a game in hand).

Overall there's still hope that attacking help is now here, and with seven of their remaining eight games coming against teams lower than them in the standings there's an opportunity for separation. So It's not time to completely panic just yet, maintaining confidence will be important. If somehow this team stumbles at home on Saturday though, it may just be time to start sounding the alarms.