MLS Columbus Crew SC

Crew Prepares for Strike Duo of McInerney and Di Vaio

Published on July 17, 2014 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Columbus Crew SC News Release


The Crew defense has faced a strong run of opposing strikers in recent matches: Deshorn Brown, Bradley Wright-Phillips, Thierry Henry and Dom Dwyer have all lined up against the Black & Gold in July alone. The road doesn't get any easier on Saturday as the Montreal Impact visits Crew Stadium. The Impact boasts the duo of Jack McInerney and Marco Di Vaio, two of the most dangerous strikers in the League.

Montreal Head Coach and Director of Player Personnel Frank Klopas hasn't always started both McInerney and Di Vaio together, but he has done so in two consecutive matches after not starting the pair together for all of June.

"They both move very well off the ball," said Crew Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter on the duo. "When they're both playing, you have to look out. There's certainly some danger with movement. When they're both not on the field, it lessens that and they become a little bit less dangerous."

If the strike tandem does line up together at Crew Stadium on Saturday, the Black & Gold need to watch out: no two current teammates have more goals over the past two seasons than McInerney (who spent 2013 and the early part of 2014 with Philadelphia) and Di Vaio:

Players Team Goals Shots Shots on Target Matches Played

Jack McInerney/Marco Di Vaio MTL 42 211 114 91

Robbie Keane/Landon Donovan LA 38 158 88 74

Mike Magee/Quincy Amarikwa CHI 35 143 84 72

Alvaro Saborio/Javier Morales RSL 31 124 60 71

Thierry Henry/Bradley Wright-Phillips NY 31 170 84 71

Obafemi Martins/Lamar Neagle SEA 29 156 80 83

Eddie Johnson/Fabian Espindola DC 27 150 78 79

Chris Wondolowski/Atiba Harris SJ 27 199 92 97

Will Bruin/Giles Barnes HOU 27 233 98 100

Lee Nguyen/Diego Fagundez NE 27 144 84 98

Diego Valeri/Will Johnson POR 27 173 83 97

Dom Dwyer/Claudio Bieler SKC 27 151 66 71

Speaking to what Berhalter said about their movement, only one other duo (Houston's Will Bruin and Giles Barnes) has more shots, and nobody else has as many shots on target. Movement creates chances, and Montreal's McInerney and Di Vaio figure to be a test for the Crew's re-bolstered backline, which did a good job against Dom Dwyer on Wednesday and needs to be ready again on Saturday.

Check out the Columbus Crew SC Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Major League Soccer Stories from July 17, 2014


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central