TORONTO—One player named Kamara is gone, but the Columbus Crew still have another one that Toronto FC has to worry about in the immediate future.
A finalist for last season’s Major League Soccer MVP award, Kei Kamara landed in trouble when he and Federico Higuain became embroiled in a heated argument over who would take a penalty kick in a recent game. The bad blood continued to flow after the match when Kamara made a number of pointed and critical comments about Higuain which led to the club suspending him.
One thing led to another, and the next thing you know Columbus traded the Sierra Leone forward, who scored 22 goals during the 2015 regular season, to the New England Revolution on May 12.
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For TFC, the timing couldn’t be better, as they host the Crew—sans Kei Kamara—on Saturday at BMO Field. Still, coach Greg Vanney warns Columbus, last year’s MLS Cup finalist, remains a well-balanced side without their former top scorer.
“Every time we say we’re catching a break it hasn’t actually worked out for us, so I’m going to say no,” Vanney quipped when asked if the Reds are catching a break.
“They’re a very good team. Even Kei, when he scored goals for them, a lot of his goals were team-created goals. It’s not like Kei is the guy who’s dribbling around everybody and creating these great individual goals on his own.
“We still have a lot of other people, other things with that group that we need to shut down. They’re a very good attacking team.”
Toronto defender Drew Moor, a veteran of MLS who knows all about Kamara, concurs with Vanney—that the Crew aren’t going to drastically alter their style or approach despite his exit, or because they sit second-last in the Eastern Conference.
“He’s a dangerous player. He’s a handful and someone who I’ve battled with throughout the years in this league. But I don’t think they’re going to change the way the play just because he’s not there,” Moor said.
“They’ve got off to a slow start this year, which I think makes them more dangerous. They’re a bit of a cornered animal right now that is doing everything it can to get points.”
While Kei Kamara is gone, the Crew have another forward who could pose problems for TFC on Saturday. Ola Kamara is a Norway international who will be tasked with filling the shoes of their former star striker. Kamara, 26, spent last season on loan with Norwegian outfit Molde FK, who won their UEFA Europa League group before losing to eventual champions Sevilla in the Round of 32. He was the team’s top goal scorer with 14 before returning to Austria Wien.
Acquired by Columbus during the off-season, he made just three substitute appearances (totalling 50 minutes) through the first nine matches of the current MLS campaign. Kei Kamara’s exit has thrust Ola Kamara into the spotlight—he earned his first start and played a full 90 minutes in a 1-1 draw with the Colorado Rapids last weekend.
“He’s not as big and strong [as Kei Kamara] but he’s going to be a target and somebody they look to get the ball into. Anytime you lose a player like that, it forces the rest of the players to step up,” Moor offered.
Vanney described Columbus as a team with great pace down the flanks that likes to play crosses into the penalty box for their forwards. He also warned that the Crew players like to interchange positions with each other, which makes it difficult for defenders to remain with their defensive assignments.
“They are very good with their spacing and positional play. They get into areas of the field that make you question who is going to pick up whom, and how you’re going to deal with their shifts. That’s always the challenge with them,” Vanney cautioned.
He added later: “Kei is by far the best player in the air in terms of going up and winning things. You can just hang balls up and Kei just goes higher than anybody else to get them. That’s something [they’re missing without him] but at the end of the day they are still a very dangerous attacking team.”
NOTES: Canadian Jonathan Osorio will be available to play Saturday after sitting out Wednesday’s 1-1 draw against NYCFC with an ankle injury. Fellow midfielder Marky Delgado is questionable with a hamstring strain. He’s missed the last two games but is close to returning… Saturday is the first of three meetings this season between TFC and the Crew. They’ll meet again on July 13 (in Columbus) and July 31 (in Toronto)… Columbus leads the all-time series with 12 wins and eight draws in 25 games. The Crew have won four of 11 matches at BMO Field, with five draws… Saturday’s contest ends a four-game homestand for TFC. They hit the road next weekend to take on the New York Red Bulls for the second time this campaign—Toronto won 2-0 in New York on the opening day of the season.
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