After four losses and a tie in their last five games, the Columbus Crew desperately needed a win. With three points and the Pioneer Cup on the line, the Crew stepped up their game in the second half, beating FC Dallas 2-1.
Dallas controlled the first half, with scoring chances about equal for both clubs. Columbus was still making mistakes and their set-pieces were rather poor to start the match. One such mistake was made by the Crew’s Tony Tchani, as he stopped playing to appeal to the linesman that the ball went out of bounds.
That was all that Dallas’ Fabian Castillo needed as he drove forward and got it past Crew goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum to give Dallas the early lead at 21′ of the first half. There’s a reason you “play to the whistle”.
Columbus head coach Robert Warzycha: “You have to play until the whistle and that was a mistake by [Tony Tchani] that led to a goal. I think he [Tchani] played very well in the second half; he was winning 50/50 balls and running forward making crosses. It seemed like he wanted to be the best player on the field.”
At the half, the score was FC Dallas 1 -0 over the Crew. Columbus needed a spark, and the second half provided it.
A yellow card for each club (Justin Meram for the Crew and Fabian Castillo for Dallas) was given in the early stages of the second half. The turning point for Columbus was the 63rd minute. That’s when Dallas’ Zach Loyd earned his second yellow card of the match, which lead to a red card. Dallas suddenly found themselves a man down with much of the match still to play.
Four minutes later, the Crew pounced to even the score. Justin Meram took the shot from distance and beat Dallas goalkeeper Chris Seitz in the lower left corner of the goal.
Crew forward Justin Meram: “I was trying to read the play and the ball went by me. I saw Eric [Gehrig] step up and win the ball back. I had a good position, looked up and saw an opening. I took the shot and luckily it went in.”
The spark that was needed, was found. The Crew started playing more aggressively and their passing was crisper. In essence, they created their own luck. Five minutes after Meram equalized the match, Sebastian Miranda headed a corner kick from teammate Nemanja Vuckovic from 20 yards out that whizzed past goalkeeper Seitz. Columbus now had a 2-1 lead.
Columbus defender Sebastian Miranda: “We practiced some plays and corners and the idea was maybe to find Milo [Mirosevic]. I was outside the box unmarked and I headed the ball and scored. It was my first time scoring with a header in my career. I headed it as hard as I could and it went in. The important for me was not the goal but that we won. This was good for our confidence.”
FC Dallas would not go quietly into that goodnight. They never dropped into a defensive-only formation just because they were a man down. They played hard right to the end of the match, to no avail. The Crew started to string together some good play and were rewarded with two goals, three points and the Pioneer Cup.
Once again, Crew head coach Robert Warzycha: “We played against a very good team to be honest with you. They came out strong in the first half. I don’t think we had much rhythm in the beginning. They were connecting more passes and they came out stronger. In the second half it was a different story. We came out strong, creating chances and moving the ball well. The red card, obviously, changed the game.”
All in all, a somewhat well-played match by the boys in Black and Gold. They earned the points and they brought the Pioneer Cup back to Columbus. More importantly, they saw what happens when they start playing more cohesively.
Next match: Saturday, May 19th has the club trekking to the West Coast to take on the San Jose Earthquakes in Buck Shaw Stadium.
Stay massive, my friends.
On Tuesday night, in front of a little less than two thousand of their most ardent supporters, the Columbus Crew crapped the bed.
