On paper, Columbus Crew SC's match with D.C. United on Saturday night seemed likely to show where the two Eastern Conference heavyweights stood early in the season.
If that's the case then Columbus could be looking back at Saturday night with some disdain. After a 2-0 defeat, Crew SC head coach Gregg Berhalter said it was small mistakes, not a lack of quality, that doomed Columbus.
"When you're playing a top team in the East, you've got to play every moment of the game," Berhalter told MLSsoccer.com after the match. "There were two cases in the first half where we didn't execute well and we got punished. The message to the team is that the small moments are going to define these kind of games, and we didn't do well enough in the small moments."
Those two mistakes directly led to both United goals, and allowed the home team to focus on defense after building the two-goal lead in the first half.
"That's the difference when you're talking about higher level teams," Berhalter said. "You miss one challenge at the top of the box and all the sudden the ball is in the back of the net and they're on the other side of the field."
Columbus entered the match leading MLS in goals after notching seven in their last two matches. But the D.C. defense stifled the Columbus attack, and Berhalter gave the home team credit for the lack of goals.
"The first thing, and I told [Ben Olsen] this after the game, is that they defended very well," Berhalter said. "We need to give them credit; they were very difficult to penetrate. We had some good movements and they defended really well in the box. But we know we can be sharper."
Crew SC launched cross after cross but couldn't find the final product, and second-half substitute Kristinn Steindorsson agreed that Columbus simply wasn't sharp enough in the final third.
"Our fullbacks play high up and we want to get them the ball and try to put in the crosses," Steindorsson said. "Tonight, they weren't really there. Too many crosses went behind or hit their defenders, so it was a shame."
But despite the unflattering scoreline, midfielder Mohammed Saeid thought Columbus played well aside from the lapses.
"They countered us and they scored the chances they had," he said. "I think we dominated possession and we had a lot of chances."
Berhalter called the defeat a good learning experience, and said the week of training will be business as usual for the club.
"It's just a lesson, a good lesson for us," he said. "We came up against a very experienced, good team. The lesson is the small moments will define us, and we need to be there. We're not happy with a loss, we never are. But it's a good learning tool for us as we move forward in the season."
Andrew King covers Columbus Crew SC for MLSsoccer.com.
