Columbus realizes a first of the season against motivated FC Charlotte team: Three things from the match | OneFootball

Don't be sad it's over, be happy for the times we've had. Columbus dropped their first away game of the season Saturday night in Charlotte 3-2. On the surface this doesn't seem like a big deal, but it's the string of draws leading up to a match like this that start to matter. All of a sudden the missed opportunities in those draws, especially the ones that could've easily been wins become impactful when a game like this is dropped. To Charlotte's credit they took the game to Columbus and appeared to have them rattled from the very start of the match.

Less than 30 seconds into the game Charlotte's pressure forced a bad turnover just outside the box and generated an open look for Patrick Agmeyang which luckily missed the frame. Then just a few minutes later confusion between Stephen Moreira and Nicholas Hagen almost ended badly. In the 13th minute Charlotte pinged a shot off the crossbar. It was as if the Crew were seeing ghosts on the field as they looked as rattled as I've seen all season. In lieu of all that however it was the Crew who drew first blood on a nice redirecting header by Ibrahim Aliyu on a cross from Mo Farsi in the 14th minute giving Columbus the lead against the run of play. That lead being short lived as Charlotte found the equalizer in the 18th minute on a glancing header off a corner kick where Hagen seemed stuck between two minds leaving the near post exposed. It only took another five minutes for Charlotte to find the go-ahead goal on a brilliant through ball by Wilfried Zaha breaking the Crew's back line leading to Agmeyang passing it to the back post past a helpless Hagen. Columbus drew level in the 64th minute with a stroke of luck where Malte Admundsen found himself the benefactor of a rebound from a low driven free kick at goal by Dylan Chambost. Columbus looked to try to keep things level and bleed out the game, but Charlotte's pressure being too much finally broke through in the 75th minute on a well brought down cross by Pep Biel who made his finish look easy with Cheberko on his back. It was a deserved result for the Crew who simply did not look ready to match the intensity of the effort of the home side. Here are three observations from the game:

Has Nancy found something in Aliyu?

In a season where the search for a number 9 has been on-going, it appears that Ibrahim Aliyu has flashed the most dynamic skill set of anyone who's stepped in that role this season. He looked confident and comfortable managing his duties as the man at the top of the formation. His goal was a nice, directing header into the back post on a semi-lofted ball in from Farsi. It was his second consecutive start in that role and going back to the FC Cincy game a week ago he's flashed some ability to get himself in good positions to score. Honestly at this point I think it's Aliyu I trust the most to fulfill that role until we can bring a player to solidify it. He looks aggressive, he wants to score and he seems to have a knack for finding spaces between the back line of the defense. While it's too early to tell, the goal he scored on Saturday did give some encouragement that he could fill meaningful minutes at the position when he's called upon. It also allows Jacen Russell-Rowe to play a position that seems more natural to him as a playmaking striker with good passing ability who doesn't need to play with his back to goal. I'm sure we'll see more of Aliyu in the coming games, which hopefully means we'll be seeing more goals.

Columbus generated 12 shots, Rossi took 7 of them

This is not a winning formula. Rossi is not a volume shooting goal generator. His game is not predicated on his superior ability to finish. He's best a playmaking in tight spaces and finishing goals either off set pieces or poaching around the box. Diego Rossi taking seven shots is the most he's taken all season (next highest in any one game is 5). Maybe he sensed the low energy the team seemed to be playing with or maybe he took it upon himself to try to superman the team into a result as he could feel Charlotte had the edge on Saturday. Either way, this type of performance will not help the team offensively. Rossi is so good at creating unscripted plays with a combination of good vision and ability, that's where he finds his greatest success. It feels like he's of the mindset he has to be the teams leading goal scorer so finds himself sometimes forcing shots or putting so much pressure on himself he misses sitters. Rossi was setup nicely a couple of times, on one occasion from 12 yards out under no pressure he missed the entire frame. Another chance, albeit a little higher degree of difficulty, was on a Russell-Rowe cross that found Rossi's feet on a half volley and he shot it right at the keeper standing near post instead of attempting a back post finish. These are just the most recent examples of Rossi not being the player type we need that just has a nose for goal. My hope is we bring in a striker in the summer transfer window and we can put Rossi back into his role as a playmaking striker who can score, instead of his current role of playmaking striker who needs to score. This will free him up mentally and allow him to play the game the way he wants to. Forcing a square into a round peg is counterintuitive to success and that's what we are currently experiencing with trying to make Diego Rossi our go-to goal scorer. You can tell he's pressing his shots a bit too much which is leading to missed chances that I believe he'd typically finish.

Sometimes you just have to tip your cap...

FC Charlotte came to play on Saturday and that was evident from the opening minute. To their credit they were able to keep the aggressive form going all game. Zaha was an absolute force in this game creating all kinds of havoc for the Crew's back line. Agmeyang had his way with the more diminuitive center backs Columbus was throwing at him. Those two looked formidable up top and the defense had troubles the entire game matching their form. As a team Charlotte had the better chances, if not for a few really good reaction saves out of Hagen this thing could've been blown wide open. Even when they were holding onto their one goal lead in the late stages of the game they were still attacking and taking the game to the Crew. It was an impressive effort by a team that seems to be trying to figure things out. With revenge on their mind they came out and imposed their will and got the result to match.

It was a tale of two teams on Saturday, Charlotte brought their best while the Crew seemed content to just be there. All performances can't be ideal and I think this is one you just have to chalk up. We know Columbus is much better than they displayed on Saturday so there's no cause for alarm. My only real concerns are on the health of Moreira, who exited the game in the 20th minute due to a foot injury he's apparently been dealing with since last week. Also the health of Patrick Schulte who was a late scratch just before the game as he experienced pain in his side during warm ups. With two big games coming up this week (one on Wednesday against Nashville and one on Saturday against Inter Miami) it'll be important to monitor the status of those two as they'll certainly be needed to put the Crew in the best position to get out of this week with at least 3 points.