The Crew are left facing massively unfavorable odds of progressing in the MLS post-season as a ruthlessly professional New England left Crew Stadium with a 4-2 advantage on a chilly November afternoon.
The Crew were able to welcome Federico Hiquain back into the starting line up but sadly didn’t have the backing of that famous twelfth man: The crowd. Less that 10,000 people came out to see the Crew’s first post-season push in four years. The Nordecke, however, was nicely packed, although the noise they made couldn’t compensate for the large sections of the crowd left bare from the fair-weather fans who stayed warm at home.
The Crew almost took the lead on the half hour mark, but Justin Meram’s possible game changing shot hit the underside of the crossbar and paved the way for New England to open the scoring just five minutes later.
Charlie Davies scored the first of his two goals in the 34th minute, after finding himself wide open in the box and nodding home a free kick from Kelyn Rowe.
The second half saw the Crew in deep trouble as New England doubled their lead with a precise free kick from Chris Tierney that left Crew ‘keeper Steve Clark with little chance of making the save.
In the 64th minute, Justin Meram brought back a glimmer of hope for the home side as he smashed in Wil Trapp’s scuffed ball that made its way across the New England area.
But Lee Nguyen re-established the two goal lead on a Revolution break with a low shot that left Clark helpless in the Crew net as his defenders sat back and allowed the New England player all the time in the world to pick his spot.
Defender Tyson Wahl was punished again in the 78th minute. The Crew center half stood back and allowed Davies too much time to drive forward and blast the ball off the post and in for the Revs fourth goal.
The Crew were tossed a minor lifeline in the final seconds of the game when Jose Goncalves handled the ball in the box. Higuain dispatched the resulting spot kick but the Crew are still left with a mountain to climb in the second leg that happens next weekend.
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Matt Ellis is a freelance photographer who covers bands that visit the city and the Columbus Crew MLS team. More about Matt can be found at Matt Ellis Photography.
