You never want to give up a goal, but in soccer, the worst two periods to concede are the five minutes before and after the halftime whistle.
The reason for this may be obvious, but it’s deflating to allow the opponent to score right before the break and sometimes even more so right after you’ve gone the locker room and made halftime adjustments.
On Saturday, Columbus Crew SC scored in the 44th and 46th minute, leading to a 2-0 victory over Toronto FC on the road.
“It was nice to go into halftime with that lead,” head coach Gregg Berhalter said.