NEW YORK—Columbus Crew SC finished the 2016 season with back-to-back losses to a pair of teams that finished atop the Eastern Conference.
But, as they showed in a one-goal loss to the New York Red Bulls last Sunday, Columbus battled to the end in a 4-1 season-ending defeat to New York City FC at Yankee Stadium Sunday afternoon.
It doesn’t take away the disappointment, but it is what coach Gregg Berhalter can take as a positive heading into a longer offseason than he hoped.
“I thanked them for all their hard work this season, I thanked them for hanging in there,” Berhalter said. “It was a difficult season as you guys know, and they didn’t give up and I think that’s a good quality to have as a group – when you face adversity and you don’t stop fighting and you keep going, and they did that.”
Ola Kamara provided the highlight on Sunday, latching onto a Justin Meram cross and powerfully heading into goal. It was his 16th goal of the season and it forced NYCFC to scramble in the second half to avoid playing in the Knockout Round in midweek.
“We have a very, very good group of players,” Kamara said. “A lot of talent and I think it shows that we have a lot of fire power offensively. Next year is going to be good.”
Columbus was victimized by NYCFC’s high line and were caught offside 10 times. But the effort never wavered.
“We have a bunch of fighters here,” Meram said. “We have guys working for each other and never giving up. We played with pride tonight and just got a bit unlucky on a couple of goals.”
A year removed from their second-ever trip to the MLS Cup, Columbus finished eighth in the Eastern Conference, a 17-point difference year-over-year.
And that means change is on the horizon. But how much?
“It’s difficult to say,” Berhalter said. “I don’t know how you would characterize a lot. There will be changes. We want to make a stronger team and we want to compete next year at a better level that we did this year. Obviously, there will be tough decisions to make.”
