Atlanta United will play the first game of the second half of its MLS schedule at Columbus on Saturday.
Atlanta United (7-7-3) is in sixth in the Eastern Conference, and the Crew (8-9-1) are in fifth place. If Atlanta United were to win and Orlando City to lose at Real Salt Lake, the Five Stripes could move up to fourth.
Columbus is a team with a style that Atlanta United’s players and coaches respect.
Andrew Erickson, who covers Columbus for the Dispatch, answered three questions ahead of Saturday’s game.
1. What’s the biggest area of improvement for Columbus in the season’s second half?
Columbus is just one game into the second half of the season but produced a welcome result in a 4-1 win over the Impact last weekend. Second-half scoring, which hasn’t been the strength of the Crew’s this season, made the difference in the win. The Crew will look to tire out teams and find ways to score late moving forward.
2. What did Columbus take away from its first meeting with Atlanta United?
Don’t give Miguel Almiron space in the open field. Coach Gregg Berhalter and several Crew players said they believed Atlanta’s press was starting to weaken in the final half-hour June 17, but a giveaway and poor positioning in defensive transition led to Atlanta’s second goal, the one that swung the momentum in a 3-1 Atlanta win.
3. What will be the key to Saturday’s match?
Columbus will produce a better result if it doesn’t panic against a high press. Unforced errors led to Atlanta’s first and third goals in the first meeting between the Crew and Atlanta United. Both were preventable. If the Crew can make the logical pass to avoid silly mistakes early, it will be better able to set up its attack this time around.
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