The Crew have played 47 games ahead of their MLS regular-season finale Saturday, and given the congested schedule , coach Wilfried Nancy has made strategic use of his substitutions.
Most of the time, Nancy has explained his in-game moves as tactical changes, an attempt to preserve a player's energy or an effort to give a bench player more minutes. Following the Crew's matchup against the Philadelphia Union on Oct. 5, though, Nancy offered a different reason for pulling Aziel Jackson, who entered the game just eight minutes before he was subbed out.
"There (are) some things that I accept and some certain things that I don’t accept," Nancy said. "So, I think that was the moment for him to understand that we cannot do certain things, especially against this kind of team. So, after that, I discussed with him and everything was clear and we move on."
While Nancy declined to elaborate on the specific actions that led to Jackson's removal from the game, Jackson would later reveal it was due to his unforced turnover, which resulted in the Union's second goal in Columbus' 3-2 victory.
That was all Nancy needed to convey his message.
In the Crew's next game a week later against the New England Revolution , Nancy started Jackson over forwards Christian Ramirez and Jacen Russell-Rowe. The decision quickly paid off when Jackson recorded an assist five minutes in, creating a scoring opportunity for teammate DeJuan Jones .
"Good performance, he was good," Nancy said. "So, like I told him after the game, I did what I needed to do and after that, I moved forward. And today (vs New England), the first goal he did all the job, I would say. Not all the job, but he was involved and he had a good game."
Jackson played 61 minutes before getting substituted out for Russell-Rowe, but Jackson finished feeling confident in his performance.
"(Nancy and Cucho Hernandez ) were just telling me, just encouraging me, it’s just one mistake, we’ve just got to keep moving forward," Jackson said. "But I’m proud of myself, how I handled it because I didn’t try to react too emotional, just stay professional because things happen in sports, sometimes you can’t control. So, you just got to control the moment."
The 4-0 victory over New England proved to be an opportunity for a number of players to demonstrate the impact of Nancy's coaching style.
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After Jones scored the opening goal, Alex Matan, recorded his career first hat trick. Matan scored the first of his three goals off a long shot from the top of New England's box, and right when the ball found the back of the net, he went to celebrate with Nancy.
"He felt it was the moment to give me a hug," Nancy said. "I was emotional because, when we challenge players, they’re able to accept it and after that, they can put it on the pitch."
Abraham Romero was in goal for Columbus with goalkeepers Patrick Schulte and Nicholas Hagen playing for their international teams during the FIFA international window.
It marked Romero's first appearance since receiving a red card against the Seattle Sounders on Sept. 7. Without a backup goalkeeper , Columbus was forced to put midfielder Sean Zawadzki at goalkeeper for over 45 minutes of play, which led to a 4-0 loss.
Though Romero admitted that the defense against New England kept his workload light, he believes it was his conversations with Nancy that most helped him put his mistake behind him.
"I couldn’t say enough good things about how this club is run, because it was unfortunate what happened against Seattle," Romero said. "But at the end of the day, the support I felt from the front office, the coaching staff and my teammates was immeasurable.”
bmackay@dispatch.com
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Wilfried Nancy provides 'immeasurable' support for Columus Crew players to find redemption
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