OBETZ, Ohio – With their 3-2 win over Minnesota United in their final game of the MLS regular season, Columbus Crew SC now receive the dubious reward of playing the hottest team in the league.
In the Knockout Round of the Audi 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs, No. 5 seed Columbus travels Thursday to play No. 4 D.C. United (8 pm ET | FS1, UniMás, TSN, TVAS) and their red-hot attacking duo of Wayne Rooney and Luciano Acosta. D.C. has only lost twice since July 28, and rides a 10-match unbeaten streak into the postseason.
To win on the road and keep their season alive, Crew SC know they have their work cut out for them.
And while they haven’t played D.C. since the club added Rooney and reversed course on their season, Columbus has plenty of tape to know how dangerous United can be.
“Rooney’s overall quality, his timing of his movements is excellent, his passing is excellent, his finishing and shooting is really good,” head coach Gregg Berhalter said. “Acosta has taken his game to a different level with the addition of Wayne Rooney – very dynamic, very good off the dribble. It’s similar to what we just dealt with, with [Darwin] Quintero, but more central. Overall, a really good player.”
From striker to goalkeeper, the entire Crew SC team will be required to minimize a D.C. offense that can explode in any given game. But Columbus’s most improved player and their best defender, Jonathan Mensah, may be key to stopping Rooney and company.
Mensah was suspended for Columbus’s match against Minnesota, but returns fresh to face D.C. Asked how he’ll affect the game, Berhalter chuckled.
“It’s going to help, for sure,” he said.
A seasoned veteran of the international game, Mensah has played against many big-name international strikers in the past, including against Rooney in a friendly in 2011.
And he knows that while you can’t fear the big names, they’ll need to be respected as well.
“They’re really smart because they’ve been in the game for so many years, so they know situations that they’ve seen so many years ago and they know what to do,” said Mensah. “So you have to be smart and vigilant with them. You don’t jump into tackles and all that.
"But you’re always on top of them, always frustrating them. Because as much as they’re experienced and they’re really good at what they do, you can also frustrate them.”
Mensah has just as much respect for Acosta and winger Paul Arriola. He said Acosta, in particular, can give teams trouble.
“We need to be really careful about [him] because he goes everywhere,” he said. “He’s always trying to create space for others. So we have to be paying attention to everyone near the box.”
Columbus isn’t shying away from the challenge.
To a man, Crew SC see the game as an exciting one, and an encounter that could possibly give them some critical momentum.
“If we knock off D.C., that’s the hottest team in the league,” defender Josh Williams said. “From there, we get a home playoff game and we know what we can do here. Anything can happen. I think the team is well aware of that. We’re all looking forward to it.”
Watch: How Crew SC can bottle up D.C. United & win
