Topic: Columbus Crew Discussion

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THE BAD NEWS:  The Crew lost their season opener at D.C. 3-1.

THE GOOD NEWS:  Plenty of room for improvement for the Crew's home opener this Saturday against N.Y.

THE REAL GOOD NEWS (Non-Crew):  U.S. national team forward Charlie Davies played his first MLS game for D.C. and scored two goals.  Davies was expected to start for the U.S. in the 2010 World Cup.  But a 2009 near-fatal auto accident derailed those hopes.  The now 24-year-old Davies looked completely healed and returned to pre-accident form in Saturday's game.  Bad news for the Crew, but very good news for American soccer.

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THE GOOD NEWS:  A tie is better than a loss.

THE BAD NEWS:  The 0-0 tie came at home and against a N.Y. Red Bulls team whose line-up was depleted by injuries and international call-ups.  The Red Bulls set an MLS record for making six changes to its line-up from its Game 1 win to its Game 2 match against the Crew.

THE FUNNY NEWS:  The Nordecke began chanting "Guillermo" in the second half.

The Crew will have another home match Friday night against FC Dallas.  The game will be nationally televised on the Fox Soccer Channel.

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THE GOOD NEWS:  The Crew get their first win of the season, a 2-0 win over FC Dallas.

THE BAD NEWS:  Dallas was down one man after a red card at the 33th minute.

But a win's still a win, right?  The Dallas red card, which was an accumulation of two yellow cards for hard fouls, was deserved.  And the Crew was looking good prior to the red card.  Ekpo earned a penalty kick early in the second period, which was kicked in by Mendoza.  Eddie Gaven finished a superb game with a goal in the 90th minute.

It was a solid all-around game for the Crew.  And no one chanted "Guillermo".  The Crew travel to L.A. for a game against Chivas on Saturday.

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THE GOOD NEWS:  A tie on the road at Chivas is better than a loss.

THE BAD NEWS:  It was 0-0 tie.  And with a better offense a win was easily within reach.

The Crew return home Saturday to face Kansas City.  The Crew are 1-1-2.

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The Crew had another blustery April home game and defeated Kansas City 1-0.  After giving up 3 goals in their MLS opener at DC, the Crew's defense has shutout NY, Dallas, Chivas and KC in four straight games.  The off-and-on rain and the constantly high wind kept the offense to a minimum Saturday night.  KC had the wind in the first half and managed two shots on goal.  Without the wind, they got zero SOG in the second half. 

The Crew benched disappointing designated player Mendoza and started the combination of Duka, Burns, Ekpo, Rogers, Gaven, Renteria to try to jump start their offense.  And with the second half wind advantage, they showed some life.  Rogers scored in the 53rd minute off a Burns pass that was headed on by Duka.  The Crew nearly went up 2-0 in the 68th minute, but a Gaven shot into what looked like a wide open net was foiled by a spectacular save by the KC goalie.  After that KC got a player red carded from the game and the Crew ran out the clock for the win. 

Columbus is now 2-1-2 and near the top of the Eastern Conference.  The Crew goes to Toronto next Saturday.

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Its easy to see why Toronto FC fans hate Columbus.  Going into Saturday's game Toronto was winless in its 11 total games with the Crew.  And sometimes Toronto's been denied a win in unusual ways.  Remember last year's 2-2 tie on goalkeeper Hesmer's header?

This year Toronto was denied a win in another unusual way.  In the 41st minute midfielder Tony Tchani gave Toronto a 1-0 lead.  Then he celebrates by running into the stands.  His excessive celebration got him a yellow card.  And when combined with the yellow card he received earlier, got him a red card ejection and left Toronto one man down for the rest of the match.

The Crew equalized the match when Renteria scored in the 49th minute.  The game ended 1-1.  Although a road tie is normally considered a good result, the Crew must feel like they let Toronto off the hook by not connecting on their many scoring chances in the second half.  The Crew dominated play but the final scoring touch eluded them.

The Crew (2-1-3) host one of this year's two new MLS teams next Saturday when the Vancouver Whitecaps come to Columbus.

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After a shaky start to the 2011 season, the Columbus Crew are starting to compile an impressive record.  That was helped with a 2-1 win over Vancouver on Saturday night.  The Crew started out with two poor efforts (0-0 tie and 4-1 loss) against RSL in the Champions League.  Then they began the MLS season with a 3-1 loss at D.C.  But after that the Crew has been undefeated in their next six matches (3 wins, 3 ties).  The games haven't always been beautiful - but the results look good. 

The same could be said for last Saturday's game.  Emilio Renteria looks to have recovered from early season injuries.  He drew a penalty and struck the PK in the 50th minute for a 1-0 lead.  Renteria added a second goal in the 59th minute for the 2-0 lead.  But instead of cruising to an easy win, Vancouver's 17-year-old rookie Omar Salgado scored in the 69th minute to narrow the lead to 2-1.  In the next 20 minutes the Crew stopped multiple scoring chances to preserve the win.  A good win - but still not a complete 90 minute quality game.

The Crew is now 3-1-3 with 12 points.  Only two points behind the Eastern Conference pre-season favorite New York.  Columbus will host Seattle next Saturday.

[tedders55]

The Crew should be a middle of the pack team.  They play good defense, but have very little ability to maintain possession.  Our midfield is disappointing.   However because the East right now is really weak they can sneak up into the top half of the standing.  They will likely make it back into the playoffs but quickly bounced.   

[dmerkow]

I think Duka is maturing, which is good. It is time to move Ekpo along to some other team. I think Rusmir will only get better as he learns the language and the MLS game. Mendoza is a waste of money. The return of O'Rourke and Shaun Francis can only help going forward.

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Another "could've been worse, could've been better" game Saturday night for the Crew against Seattle.  The game ended in a 1-1 draw.

It could've been worse because . . . Seattle scored an early goal in the 7th minute.  With the heavy rain and poor playing conditions they might have been able to retreat into a defensive shell and preserve a 1-0 road win.

It could've been better because . . . Columbus was awarded a PK in the 67th minute when Marshall was fouled on a corner kick.  Renteria knocked in the PK for the tying goal.  After that the Crew had numerous scoring chances, including one at the end of stoppage time.  The Crew had advantages in shots, shots-on-goal and corner kicks, but once again lacked the final scoring touch.

The Crew is now 3-1-4.  Good enough for a second-place tie in the Eastern Confernce.  Still two points behind New York. 

Columbus will travel to San Jose (1-4-2) next Saturday.

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The Crew's seven-game unbeaten streak came to the crashing end with a 3-0 loss at San Jose on Saturday.  A scoreless match was broken open in the second half by San Jose with three goals between the 50th and 62nd minutes. 

It won't any easier for the Crew next Saturday as they finish off their west coast road trip at Portland.  Although one of the MLS' two expansion teams, Portland's Jeld-Wen Field had become one of the best home venues in the league.  Portland is 4-0 in MLS games at Jeld-Wen.

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Columbus fell 1-0 at Portland on Saturday.  Former Crew member Eric Brunner drafted by the Timbers in the expansion draft headed in the winning goal in the first minute of the second half.  Not a terrible game by the Crew - but not enough to overcome the new most intimidating venue in the MLS.  The Portland Timbers are now 5-0 at home.  It's becoming quite the scene.  The Dispatch posted a video of the game here.  And the Timbers Army also featured my favorite new sign at the game:



The loss at Portland and the previous loss at San Jose has turned the Crew's previous seven-game unbeaten streak into a two-game losing streak.  The Crew need some home cooking with a win against Chivas next Saturday at Crew Stadium.

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Lots of goals for the Crew last Saturday.  Fewer points in standings.  The 3-3 draw against Chivas was both hopeful and frustrating.

Hopeful for the amount of offense from the offensively challenged Crew.  Hopeful because the goals came from two players the Crew need much better play from - Mendoza scored the first two goals; Ekpo assisted on one of those goals and scored their third goal.

Frustrating because of the defensive lapses.  Frustrating because the Crew had even more scoring chances - two shots were cleared by Chivas defenders on the goal line.  And frustrating because Chivas was one-man down for the final 20 minutes and the Crew couldn't get a final goal for the win.

The draw drops the Crew (3-3-5) to the middle of the pack in the Eastern Conference.  They'll travel to Red Bull Arena to face New York (4-2-6) next Saturday. 

[Gordon Bombay]

I am now a converted Columbus Crew/MLS fan.

The past few years whenever someone brought up soccer, all I'd say is "I hate soccer." And to be honest, I did. However, my experience was based on playing it as a kid, being bored watching my younger sibling's games and trying to watch the World Cup.

I hated (and still kind of do) when the World Cup rolled around, because all of the sudden it seemed like everyone around me pretended to be the biggest soccer fan in Cincinnati. Things came to a head when I tried watching with a friend at a bar and every time I called it "soccer" he'd correct me and say: "No, it's football!" (he even threw in a faux accent and would say it like "fuutbawl")

Some co-workers finally convinced me to join them on a trip to Columbus to see The Crew though. I love Columbus and even though I wasn't a soccer fan, I always thought they should've put an MLS team in Cincinnati at Paul Brown Stadium (which is able to accommodate a regulation soccer field). The experience was great. I loved the stadium, the atmosphere and seeing the game up close gave me a new-found respect for it. Watching it on TV never gave me that appreciation. Despite the weather and low attendance, I thought the crowd was great. The Hudson Street Hooligans are what I love seeing at games, AWESOME fan support. I had a blast and am now a Columbus Crew fan.

Baseball will always be the most interesting thing in the world to me, but I have a new found appreciation for the MLS and especially The Crew.

Just thought I'd share my story and wanted to say I've enjoyed reading this thread as a way to keep up with The Crew while working. I loved the video posted from Portland, that seems like a wild time.

Edit:
My only complaints about the game (and maybe someone can explain this better to me than my friends did):
- Why does the referee just get to arbitrarily decide how much time to add on later? Couldn't someone just fake an injury and drag it out to waste time?
- What is with everyone wearing scarves? It's summer. It's hot. Why the scarves?

[dmerkow]

Q1: It isn't necessarily arbitrary, it is just that referee keeps the time on the field and it isn't reflected on the game clock in the stadium (the MLS tried a more 'American' style clock at one point but abandoned it quickly). Theoretically, the ref is supposed to take into account who real an injury might be and generally once the clock moves past 45 there isn't supposed to be any added time.

Q2: It is a European thing. It is like wearing a baseball cap w/ your team name on it. It is a little douchey.

Welcome to Massive Nation! Glad you enjoyed the Crew game.

[tedders55]

^^

re: Time Keeping - time is kept on the field by the Ref, so technically he is the only one that knows how much time is left in the game.  This is also true for Football (American, in case your friend is reading and got confused).  It is just easier for the time keepers to keep track of the clock as there are much more defined stoppages of play.  This is also why they are able to "reset the game clock".  Soccer doesn't have the same stoppage in the course of play, even Goal/Corner Kicks are happening as the clock is ticking.  The only stoppage should occur for injury or a goal.  And to try and reset the game clock during those could be problematic.

And welcome to the the Worlds Sport!!  Be sure to catch some of the Gold Cup games this summer, the quality of soccer should be better than the MLS.

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I am now a converted Columbus Crew/MLS fan.

Welcome!  Columbus has an interesting history with Major League Soccer.  The Crew was one of MLS' original ten teams in 1996.  Then in 1999, Crew Stadium was the first stadium built specifically for soccer in MLS.  Since the 2008 Championship Season, the Nordecke supporters section been a model for other supporters sections in the league.

MLS has been growing slowly but steadily since it started.  Its up to 18 teams with Portland and Vancouver added this year.  Most teams now have either built or renovated their own soccer-specific stadiums.  Some, like the $200 million New York Red Bull Arena, virtual smaller-scale clones of european soccer palaces.  And some of the newer franchises, like Seattle and Portland, have blown up the Nordecke-style cheering to the whole stadium.  MLS ain't NFL size, but it has become a solid niche in the American sporting scene.

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And speaking of New York Red Bull Arena.  The Crew escaped with 1-1 draw last Saturday. 

New York scored early in the game's 9th minute.  After some good defense by the Red Bulls and some missed scoring chances by the Crew, it looked like New York would get a 1-0 home win.  The game moved into stoppage time and on the Crew's final scoring chance, two Crew rookies combined for the tying goal in the 92nd minute.  Below is an MLS video link of Justin Meram passing to an on-rushing Rich Balchan for the goal.

http://www.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2011-06-04-new-york-red-bulls-vs-columbus-crew/highlights?videoID=15476

And the look on Balchan's face is priceless in the photo from MASSIVE CITY FOOTBALL FAN CORPS:




Columbus (3-3-6) has a rare two-game homestand this week.  One against a strong team.  The other against a weak team.  On Wednesday, the Crew face Real Salt Lake (6-2-2).  On Sunday, the Crew face Chicago (1-4-7).

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Part One of this week's two game homestand started badly but ended well.  Real Salt Lake scored early with a 7th minute header.  Then RSL held off the Crew until a penalty in the box on the 76th minute.  Mendoza converted the PK to tie the game.  Gardner won the game in the 82nd minute with a booming right-footed kick. 

The 2-1 victory moves Columbus up to third place in the Eastern Conference.  A Sunday win against Chicago could move the Crew into second place over New York or into a first place tie with Philadelphia.

[tedders55]

Part One of this week's two game homestand started badly but ended well.  Real Salt Lake scored early with a 7th minute header.  Then RSL held off the Crew until a penalty in the box on the 76th minute.  Mendoza converted the PK to tie the game.  Gardner won the game in the 82nd minute with a booming right-footed kick. 

The 2-1 victory moves Columbus up to third place in the Eastern Conference.  A Sunday win against Chicago could move the Crew into second place over New York or into a first place tie with Philadelphia.

I am worried about any prospective fallout from the PK.  It should have been Cunningham taking it, thereby tying him for all-time goals leader.  It looked like Marshell and others were trying to tell him this too.  Cunningham did say all the right things afterward and he will eventually get the overall lead, but drama like this can unravel a team.

Also, the Crew really needs to stop giving up these early goals.  That's 3 in their last 3 games inside 30 min.  Playing from behind will eventually catch up to them.  Luckily Chicago is pretty terrible, and just changed their coach.  Should be an easy win, but with this team nothing seems guaranteed.

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I am worried about any prospective fallout from the PK.  It should have been Cunningham taking it, thereby tying him for all-time goals leader.  It looked like Marshell and others were trying to tell him this too.  Cunningham did say all the right things afterward and he will eventually get the overall lead, but drama like this can unravel a team.

Yeah, that PK was "interesting".  Mendoza has been a mess this season.  And this was just the latest incident with him.  First, poor play.  Then, good but petualant play.  Now, open defiance against the coach, the team and the fans.  Crew management has been very supportive of him up to now.  But that may be changing (see the Brian Bliss quote from the article below). 

What makes all of this worse is that Mendoza was given the team's DP money over Schelotto.  So in the fan's eye, signing Mendoza forced out Schelotto.  And replacing a fan favorite with an a-hole is never good!

Soccer: Mendoza's latest actions test Crew
Friday, June 10, 2011
By Shawn Mitchell, The Columbus Dispatch

Crew designated player Andres Mendoza suffered a broken wrist on Wednesday during the Crew's 2-1 victory over Real Salt Lake.  It is unclear whether the forward will continue to play with the injury, but a broken bone might be the least of Mendoza's worries.
 
"With the coach, his teammates and the fan base, there seems to be an incident around every corner (Mendoza) turns," Crew technical director Brian Bliss said. "How much can you put up with for the quality he brings? Somewhere there is a tipping point. I'm not sure where it is, but I'm sure we're getting close."
 
Mendoza converted a penalty kick for the Crew's first goal after ignoring pleas from the coaching staff and his teammates to allow Jeff Cunningham - one goal shy of tying the Major League Soccer scoring record - to make the attempt.

READ MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/sports/stories/2011/06/10/mendozas-latest-actions-test-crew.html?sid=101

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Sunday's match against the Chicago Fire had lots of positive vibes going into it for the Crew.  The Crew had just beaten RSL, one of class teams in MLS, on Wednesday.  The weather was absolutely perfect.  A decent size crowd was on hand.  Even Mendoza apologized for his PK incident (a PR issued written apology - but still).  And the Crew was facing one of the bottom feeders in the East.  A Chicago team with only one win in 13 games.  A Chicago team fresh off a 0-0 match against equally hapless KC on Thursday.  So Crew fans had good reason to feel positive going into the game. 

And then the game started...

Both teams seemed low on energy in the first half, but the Crew looked especially punchless.  With many offensive players like Renteria, Duka and Rodgers unavailable, they started Cunningham and Mendoza (who was wearing an enormous padded cast that went from wrist to forearm) as their attacking forwards.  But there was very little attack in the Crew's offense.  And the defense looked shaky as well.  The second half seemed to be mostly played in the Crew's defensive end of the field as the Fire made some offensive subs and started to get numerous scoring chances.  The Crew countered with defensive subs and looked content to play for the draw.  But the Fire eventually connected on one of their scoring chances at the beginning of the 91th minute to win 1-0.

Chicago deserved the win and the Crew well deserved the loss.  Not only did the Crew put up a zero on the scoreboard - they got zero shots-on-goal and earned zero corner kicks! 

The Crew (4-4-6) are now tied for third-place in the East.  Three of their next four games are on the road - starting next Saturday at Houston.

[dmerkow]

That was one of the most painful games in years to sit through and the Nordecke was very weak.

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What a difference a week makes! 

The Crew travels to Houston and goes from offensively inept to offensively potent with a 2-0 road win.  The two goals were scored by (You Know Who) and (Who?).  You Know You is Andres Mendoza, who seemed unhampered by the gigantic cast on his left arm when he scored in the 41st minute.  Who? is Bernardo Anor, who started his first ever MLS game.  Anor scored in the 77th minute on a beautiful pass from second half sub Justin Meram.  Anor also assisted on Mendoza's goal.

The win moves the Crew two points behind first place New York and one point behind second place Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference.  The Crew (5-4-6) return home to face Colorado (5-4-7) on Sunday.

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Weird Sunday night at Crew Stadium:  A team that billed itself as the Columbus Crew played a team that billed itself as the defending MLS Champion Colorado Rapids. 

Could that have been the formerly offensively inept Crew that won 4-1?

Could that have been the formerly ineffective Andres Mendoza that scored two goals?

Could that have been the defending MLS champs whose defense badly turned the ball over allowing two easy Crew goals in the first half?

And what was over half of the Nordecke doing on the upper deck of the stadium during the second half?  Well, at least that can be answered with this report from The Masive Report website: The Nordecke Takes a Vacation From The Corner



The two consecutive wins moves Columbus into a tie for 2nd place in the East with New York - and only two points behind 1st place Philadelphia.  The Crew (6-4-6) travel to Dallas (9-4-4) next Saturday.

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FC Dallas had a solid 2-0 win over the Crew Saturday night in Pizza Hut Park.  Dallas outshot the Crew 13-5 in the first half and 12-4 in the second half.  Only a strong performance by goalkeeper William Hesmer kept the Crew in the game.  But Dallas eventually broke through with two goals at the 58th and 76th minutes in the second half.
 
Columbus is still third in the East.  Two points behind New York and three points behind Philadelphia.  The Crew (6-5-6) have a quick turnaround and play their next match at Vancouver (2-8-8) on Wednesday.

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Those who stayed up late last night for the Crew's match at Vancouver were eventually rewarded with a 1-0 victory.  But it took some time.

Vancouver had the better of the play in the first half and for part of the second half - until they went down to 10 men with a red card in the 78th minute.  Up to that point the Whitecaps had peppered goaltender Will Hesmer with quality shots on goal.  In the 73rd minute, Hesmer even stopped a Vancouver PK to preserve a 0-0 score.

But the 78th minute red card and a late game substitution of Jeff Cunningham turned the game Columbus' way.  In the 88th minute a diving save of a Rogers shot forced a corner kick.  Columbus retained prosession until a ball was sent into the box that Cunningham headed in for a goal in the 90th minute.  Not only did that goal give Columbus the win, but it was Cunnigham's 133rd career goal - tying the all-time Major League Soccer scoring record.  Below are links to the game highlights from MLS and an article from The Dispatch:

VANCOUVER VS. COLUMBUS - 7/6/11 GAME HIGHLIGHTS

Crew 1, Whitecaps 0: Cunningham ties record for career goals in MLS

The win moves the Crew into a second place tie with Philadelphia in the East with 27 points.  Both Columbus and Philadelphia are one point behind first place New York.  Columbus (7-5-6) will be off until July 16, when they host San Jose (5-6-6) at Crew Stadium.

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The Crew made a big trade yesterday that sent defender Andy Iro and midfielder Leandre Griffit to Toronto FC for midfielder Tony Tchani.  According to the Dispatch article linked below, Tchani is viewed by the Crew as major building block for a revamped midfield.  He's young (22), big (6'-4") and technically skilled (he had an impressive for Toronto against the Crew back in April). 

Iro had lost his starting job to Julius James this year.  Griffit rarely played and was on the injured reserve.  So the Crew didn't give up much for Tchani.  If Tchani plays the way they think he will, this could be a great trade for the team.

Crew lands Toronto FC midfielder:  Tchani is acquired for Iro, Griffit; deal also clears cap space

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The Crew played to a 0-0 draw against San Jose on Saturday night.  But it wasn't a dull draw.  Both teams had plenty of scoring chances.  Ultimately the two goalkeepers were too good this night.  Crew keeper Will Hesmer had five saves - some of them of the acrobatic variety.  Quakes keeper Jon Busch six saves - including two breakaway attempts by Rogers and Mendoza.  Below are links to the game highlights from MLS and an article from The Dispatch:

SAN JOSE VS. COLUMBUS - 7/16/11 GAME HIGHLIGHTS

A night for keepers - Crew's Hesmer, Earthquakes' Busch record shutouts; McBride honored at halftime

At halftime, former Crew star Brian McBride was inducted into the team's new Circle of Honor.  Guillermo Barros Schelotto attended and mingled with fans.  Even Andy Iro, wearing his own jersey, paid a goodbye visit to the Nordecke after being traded on Friday to Toronto.  So, not a bad Saturday night - even with the double goose egg finish.

The draw moved Columbus into a first place tie in the East (for a few hours).  Then a New York draw put them one point ahead and a Philadelphia win put them three points ahead of the Crew.  Columbus (7-5-7) travels west for a Wednesday match against the MLS-best LA Galaxy (10-2-9).

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No reason to stay up late for the Crew's match last night at LA.  LA Galaxy win 1-0 with a goal in the 70th minute.  "Highlights" included the following:  Crew DP Mendoza leaving the game in the 2nd minute with a pulled hammie; David Beckham taking 14 corner kicks; Beckham receiving a yellow card for time wasting in the 92nd minute.

The Crew (7-6-7) return to Columbus to host Portland (6-9-3) on Saturday.

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On a hot and humid Saturday night the Crew hosted the Portland Timbers.  The Crew went into the match undermanned.  Added to the litany of player injuries for this game was the Crew's leading scorer Andres Mendoza and Crew starting goalkeeper William Hesmer.  Mendoza went down with left hamstring injury in their previous game at LA.  Hesmer suffered a left quadriceps strain in practice that he said was a symptom of a nagging knee injury.  Backup keeper Andy Gruenebaum would be making his first regular-season MLS start for the Crew since Aug. 30, 2009.

The heat and mediocre play made the first half unmemorable.  The Crew gained the advantage in the second half, as Portland looked content to play for a road draw.  In the 60th minute, Chad Marshall headed a corner kick that got past the Portland keeper and appeared to cross the goal line.  But a Portland defender made a goal saving clearance kick and it was ruled a no-goal.  Emilio Renteria came on in the 66th minute, his first appearance after a ten-game absence - which was good to see.

The Crew eventually scored on a wild goalmouth scramble in the 79th minute.  In a play that saw the ball ping-pong between multiple Crew players and Timber defenders, Eddie Gaven acrobatically kicked the ball toward the net and saw it bounce off a Portland defender's chest into goal.  And that was all the Crew needed for the 1-0 victory.

PORTLAND VS. COLUMBUS - 7/23/11 GAME HIGHLIGHTS

Crew 1, Timbers 0: Gaven's goal gives Crew tie for lead in East

The win vaulted the Crew (8-6-7) over New York and into a first place tie with Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference.  Philadelphia (8-4-7) does have two less losses and two more games-in-hand then the Crew, but what-the-heck its still first place!  Kind of amazing - considering all the roster changes, injuries and inconsistent play for the Crew this season.

After the Crew host a "friendly" on Tuesday against Newcastle United of the English Premier League, they travel to Real Salt Lake (9-3-6) on Saturday.

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On Saturday night the Crew entered Utah winless in their history at Rio Tinto and tied for first place in the East.  They left Utah with a 2-0 win and in sole possession of first place.

Gruenebaum replaced injured starting keeper Hesmer for a second straight game.  Leading scorer Mendoza was also on the bench for a second straight game.  But Robbie Rogers was not on the bench - and that made the difference in the match.  In the 5th minute Rogers got behind the RSL defense and sent a cross to a wide open Gaven, who blasted it home.  Five minutes later Rogers sent a similar crossing pass to Heinemann, who headed it home.  After just 10 minutes, it was 2-0.  Gruenebaum had a nifty save to start the second half and the Crew benefited from a non-call on possible hand ball later to preserve the win.

REAL SALT LAKE VS. COLUMBUS - 7/30/11 GAME HIGHLIGHTS

Crew 2, Real Salt Lake 0 - Early burst helps Crew move into first place

The Crew are now three points ahead of second place Philadelphia in the East (although Philly does still have two games-in-hand over the Crew) and four points ahead of third place New York (Crew also has one game-in-hand over NY).  Many matches left in the season - but after the tumulus off-season - did you really expect to see the Crew atop the Eastern Conference standings?

Columbus (9-6-7) travel to Colorado (8-6-10) on Friday.

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Brief round-up of some Crew articles from the Dispatch in preparation for tonight's road game at Colorado.  The first place Crew (doesn't that sound great) face the Rapids tonight at 9:30PM - nationally televised on the Fox Soccer Channel.

First, an article about the new midfielder role Emmanuel Ekpo has settled into this year and his part in the Crew's success - "Ekpo playing at high level in new role".  Next, an article about the Crew's many many injuries this year - "Crew hangs tough despite many injuries".  And finally, an off-the-field article about code enforcement battling the Hudson Street Hooligans Club - one of the Crew's supporter clubs - "Hooligans Club red-carded".  A bit off-topic for a sports thread, but still appropriate given our website's urban issues focus.

[Columbo]

It figures that when the Crew gets a chance to be on national TV that they produce a clunker.   It started on a bad note when key midfielder Eddie Gaven had to leave the game after an injury in the 3rd minute.  The Crew had some scoring chances in the first half.  The best being a series of tight passes that led to a crossing pass from Rogers to Mendoza streaking toward the goal.  Unfortunately Mendoza couldn't connect with the pass into the wide open net.

The Rapids went up 1-0 in the 54th minute on a 30-yard blast that beat Crew goalkeeper William Hesmer, who returned to the starting lineup after missing two straight games.  And it was a massive blast.  The Crew had a great chance to tie the game in the 74th minute.  Mendoza slipped past the Rapids defense and received a pass that had him one-on-one with the Rapids goalkeeper.  But Mendoza weakly hit the ball into the goalkeeper.  After that Colorado went up 2-0 in the 79th minute and that was that.

COLORADO VS. COLUMBUS - 8/5/11 GAME HIGHLIGHTS

Rapids 2, Crew 0: Game gets away from Crew in second half

Despite the loss, the Crew are still first in the East.  Columbus is one point ahead of second place Philadelphia (Philly now has only one game-in-hand over the Crew after two straight draws last week).  The Crew are four points ahead of third place New York and a surging Kansas City team.

Columbus (9-7-7) returns home to face New England (4-10-9) on Saturday.

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Some good news for one of the Crew's supporter clubs - after they had some troubles with "the man" (i.e. city building inspectors).

Hooligans Club to re-open Saturday
By Shawn Mitchell, The Columbus Dispatch
August 12, 2011 - 15:08 PM

The Hudson Street Hooligans Club was granted a temporary, 30-day occupancy permit and will be open for business at 4 p.m. Saturday before the Crew’s game against visiting New England.
 
Hudson Street Hooligans officer Blake Compton said the club has raised considerable funds through donations via a “Save Hooligans” fund and is progressing toward completing renovations that would bring the bar in line with city building use regulations.
 
For now, the club plans to be open on home game days only, Compton said.  To do so, it must leave its doors propped open and pay a firefighter to remain on the premises while the building is occupied.

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