Early goal dooms Columbus
Crew can't catch Real after spotting hosts lead
Riding high on a four-game unbeaten streak, the Crew came crashing down on the hard turf on the campus of the University of Utah. No visiting team has ever left the mountain fortress of RSL with three points this season, and the Crew were no exception.
Four minutes into the match defender Chad Marshall was whistled for a foul a few yards outside of the penalty area. Salt Lake's Javier Morales stepped up to the stationary ball and whipped it in between the men in the Crew wall and past Will Hesmer, sending the Salt Lake crowd into a frenzy.
Although falling behind early isn't a new feeling for the Crew, in recent games they've been able to recover and at least salvage a tie. Last week, in their 2-2 draw with Chicago, it was the Fire who scored first, in the eighth minute. Similarly against the Galaxy (June 28), it was Los Angeles scored who twice before Columbus could get on the board. The Crew's luck ran out against Salt Lake.
"We took a goal in the first five minutes, and you're behind the 8-ball in the first five minutes," said Crew defender Frankie Hejduk. "We've been doing that a lot this year. In games past we fought back ... and either fought back and tied it or won it. Today we weren't so lucky."
The Crew pushed for their late-game heroics, but it was not to be. In the 78th minute Robbie Findley beat goalkeeper Will Hesmer and a lunging Danny O'Rourke to put the game out of reach.
Columbus head coach Sigi Schmid points out that the breakdown on that goal wasn't with tracking Findley, but rather Kenny Deuchar winning a heading duel on a long goal kick to feed the ball to the speedy forward. In fact, Schmid felt his team had a handle on the game until Deuchar and Findley came on around the hour mark.
"I think Deuchar got the best of Marshall, and basically posted up on him," said Schmid of Salt Lake's second goal. "Until Deuchar and Findley came in at the end, and we opened ourselves up because we were pushing forward, I don't think Salt Lake had a huge amount of chances. They had more possession and jumped on more things, but I don't think either team was really super goal dangerous."
In their last four outings the Black and Gold racked up an impressive 10 goals, never being held to a single goal in each match. Getting shutout by Salt Lake was the first time the Crew were held scoreless in over month -- it was also their last loss when they dropped by the same score to San Jose at Crew Stadium.
Midfielder Robbie Rogers, who is second on the team with five goals this season, felt that the unkind surface had a part to play in the shutout, and a key to RSL's success.
"Obviously, we weren't really clicking -- not used to playing on the turf," said Rogers. "A field like this is really fast. I don't think it allows you to play as much as soccer as you'd like. We didn't make the right adjustments for it.
"Their game plan was to get behind us early, in the first half they just kept knocking it behind us. I think that's a good game plan when you're playing on a turf field like this. That helped them set the tone."
The chances were there for Columbus to equalize. Guillermo Barros Schelotto rocked a shot off the crossbar, and Marshall pounded a header just wide off a corner in the second half. Schmid points to those chances as opportunities for his team to change the game.
"I just think we didn't look sharp," said Schmid. "We had a couple of opportunities, if Guillermo scores and makes it 1-1, instead of hitting the post, that changes the game. I thought Marshall had a pretty open header, on the corner. If he puts that one in I think the game tips a little bit and we get a little momentum. We needed a shot of adrenaline, and the only way that was going to come was through a goal, and that didn't happen."
Although the result was a disappointment, Schmid is quick to look at the bigger picture.
"We're 2-1-2 in our last five games," he said. "So, we've gotten eight points in five games, which is OK. If we can get eight points in every five games we'll be happy. It was a situation today where they looked quicker than us, they just looked better than us. "
From here, Hejduk feels that the best thing for his team to do is to move on and start preparing for their next game.
"We think about it for a couple hours now, and it's on to the next game," said Hejduk. "We had a four-game unbeaten streak come to an end. ... By tomorrow it will be out of our minds, and it's on to prepare for our game on Thursday."
Scott McAllister is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
