Hejduk: The better team won tonight
Crew take Supporters' Shield lead over Dynamo after converting controversial PK
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Referee Jorge Gonzalez pointed to the spot after calling a foul on Dynamo defender Geoff Cameron while he marked Alejandro Moreno. Eddie Gaven filled in for the subbed Guillermo Barros Schelotto and nailed the winner for a 2-1 victory Sunday afternoon before 14,306 in Crew Stadium.
Cameron was adamant that the video showed there was not only no foul but that Moreno should have been cautioned for diving. He accused Moreno and Schelotto of flopping the entire match to set up free kicks.
"Of course, they're probably going to say that. I don't think that was the case," Gaven said. "It was a good hard game. We were able to win it fair.
"It's always hard to lose a game like that on a call that maybe isn't 100 percent clear cut but I thought it was a foul. He definitely got kicked in there. Our guys play hard. They get hit a lot. It's not like they're falling when no one is around. They get hit and they go down. There's guys on every team in the league that when they get hit they're going to go down. I don't think that's diving."
While Houston felt it was robbed of vital points in the matchup of the league's two best teams, defender Frankie Hejduk - who put the Crew ahead in the 34th minute - differed.
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"That's what teams are going to say when they lose. They make excuses and say anything they can. They're angry that they lost," he said. "The better team on the field won tonight. When you lose you're never happy. I would have said the same thing if it had happened to us in Houston.
"It was a hard fought game by both teams. I thought it was a great game. There were hard tackles, both teams were battling. We came out aggressive. They started throwing numbers in the second half because we had the score.
"They were falling around, too. They were getting just as many calls as we were. It was evenly called. I don't care. They can say it all day long. We're walking out of here with three points and that's all that matters."
The Crew (11-4-9) improved to 42 points to pry the Supporters' Shield lead away from the Dynamo (11-8-7, 40) with two games in hand. The Crew also moved three points ahead of second-place Chicago in the Eastern Conference in one fewer game. The teams meet next Sunday in Bridgeview, Ill.
"We are the best team. The second-best team is Houston. We have 42 points. They have 40," said Schelotto, who reportedly had a brief exchange with Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear in the tunnel leading to the locker rooms afterward.
The topic of diving likely came up.
"We won. That is more important, not what is said by the Houston coach" Schelotto said. "It's his problem, not my problem. We played very good, better than them and we won."
Schelotto said he is healthy after a lengthy recovery from a strained hamstring. He made his first MLS start since July 4 and played 88 minutes before being replaced by forward Steven Lenhart.
The move could have backfired if Gaven had not connected in the clutch. Schelotto is 6 of 6 on penalty kicks the last two seasons. The only other Crew to attempt one was Moreno exactly one year earlier at Toronto FC. He missed.
"It's good the team has a good player for penalty kicks, too. In future if I'm outside the field Eddie Gaven or somebody else can do it," Schelotto said.
Gaven was going to yield to Moreno again vs. Dynamo goalkeeper Pat Onstad.
"I was going to let hit Ale' hit it because he was the one that was fouled but he said he was a little bit tired. Maybe he got hit on his foot as well. I was right there so I went up," said Gaven there. "I got the ball, stepped up and it. I waited for him to move first and luckily he did and went the other way."
Houston got the equalizer from Cam Weaver in the 80th minute and the match appeared headed to a draw, just as the scoreline was in the season opener in Houston on March 21 but the penalty changed the outcome.
The Crew had been idle two weeks since suffering a 5-0 loss at Cruz Azul in the CONCACAF Champions League and a defeat at last-place New York over a four-day period.
Playing at home, where the Crew have a league record 21-game unbeaten streak (15-0-6), rejuvenated the team.
"We were excited to play. We had a lot to prove to ourselves because of those two losses. We didn't play our best," Hejduk said. "We're here at home. We've been unbeaten in how many games? It's a lot. To be honest at 1-1 we would have been very disappointed with that result.
"When we play here we have a very high standard. Anything less than three points is a disappointment."
The Crew return to Champions League play Wednesday at Saprissa of Costa Rica before the showdown with the Fire.
Craig Merz is a contributor to MLSnet.com
