Game Grades: Crew SC vs. Montreal Impact

Columbus Crew SC failed to clinch a playoff berth for the second consecutive week as the Black & Gold were downed 3-0 by the Montreal Impact at Stade Saputo on Saturday. It was a terrible afternoon for the Crew, which seemed to start the game in good shape before it was completely dominated by the Canadians.

Check how each Black & Gold player fared in Montreal:

Zack Steffen (6) – The goalkeeper cannot be blamed for any of Montreal’s goals as the first happened on a penalty kick and the other two came in extremely well-placed shots. He showed his skills in the second half when he avoided a larger defeat by stopping a header from Bacary Sagna and a low-shot from Alejandro Silva.

Harrison Afful (4.5) – The fullback missed an opportunity in the first half that could have entirely changed the game and didn’t produce much offensively outside of that. Despite his four tackles, his one-on-one defending was troubling at times, as Ignacio Piatti showed again.

Jonathan Mensah (5.5) – Once again, the Ghanaian was the best player on Crew SC’s backline with solid positioning, important defensive actions and safe passing. His efforts were not enough to clear up so many mistakes.

Josh Williams (4.5) – The veteran displayed some good positioning early in the game and was unlucky in the play that led to Montreal’s penalty kick. On the second goal, however, he should have closed Alejandro Silva down before he shot instead of walking towards his own penalty box.

Milton Valenzuela (4.5) – The normally solid Argentinean made a bad decision on Montreal’s second goal and ended up being easily dribbled by Silva. His game got better near the end of the game, when he had a few dangerous runs on the left flank, and he led the team in crosses with six.

Wil Trapp © (5.5) – The captain did a fine job when he had the ball and had the most passes (96) in the entire game, but struggled every time he had to cover the fullbacks in both flanks. All in all, he was one of the most solid players on the field in a tough game for Columbus.

Artur (5.5) – The Brazilian played a decent two-way game, helping the team defensively with five tackles and offensively with a 92.5 percent passing accuracy. With the team trailing, he could have been more aggressive in the attacking third.

Pedro Santos (5) – The Portuguese had good intensity in the first half and fed Zardes with a great cross which the forward should have converted. As usual, his effort was good, his production was ok, but his final product was just not enough.

Federico Higuain (5) – The Argentinean had a good start with a smart and accurate long pass that found Afful in a great position. He had another long ball to Santos, but after that seemed to disconnect from the game a little bit.

Justin Meram (4) – The winger seemed to miss chemistry with his teammates, especially Zardes, and didn’t produce much both in individual or combination plays. The fact that de didn’t record a shot or a key pass in 69 minutes is an accurate summary of his performance.

Gyasi Zardes (4.5) – The forward showed his usual intensity level but should have done better than placing a point-blank header right at goalkeeper Evan Bush. He also struggled with his first touch on a couple of occasions when he could have gotten himself in a good spot to score.

Mike Grella (5) – The veteran has saw the field for the first time since August and he fired a dangerous shot that Bush saved in the final minutes. He didn’t do much more than that, however.

Patrick Mullins (5) – The forward came in near the 70th minute mark and at least he showed good presence inside the penalty box when he missed a good chance near the end of the game.

Niko Hansen (N/A) - The winger was called to get into the game at the 88th minute and didn’t even have time to touch the ball.

Gregg Berhalter (5) – His team had a surprisingly positive start of game, controlling the actions and creating chances but after conceding the first goal on an unlucky penalty kick, things changed and Columbus has no answer to Montreal’s transition game.