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YouTubechaptal wrote >>
Did Blanco try to punch the kid out after taping ;)
HAHAHAA!
Columbus Underground Messageboard » General Columbus Discussion » Sports
Crew 2009 Season Discussion
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michaelcoyote
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Posted 2 years ago # -
pjguldan
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F.C. Dallas 0 - Crew 2 (Game 22 - August 15th)
Over 19,000 fans watched the Crew dispatch another opponent at home, beating FC Dallas 2-0 with goals by Chad Marshall and Eddie Gaven. Columbus controlled the game and made sure that the Crew came away with another three points at home, running their unbeaten streak to 8, their home unbeaten streak to 20, and their winning streak to 5.
Coach Warzycha left several starters on the bench, including leading scorer Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Gaven, and Jason Garey. Frankie Hejduk did not dress. Team depth was on display as Warzycha felt comfortable shuffling the lineup in the middle of a winning streak. The replacements did not disappoint.
The Crew would strike early. Columbus built up pressure on Dallas and earned a corner in the 10th minute. Robbie Rogers and Chad Marshall made sure the Crew didn’t waste the chance. Rogers, filling in for Schelotto, lofted a corner kick towards the back post. Marshall outjumped his mark and made it 1-0 Crew early on.
The Crew refused to relent, former super sub Emmanuel Ekpo pestered the Dallas backline, creating a several chances to extend the lead, first nearly finding Alejandro Moreno for a goal. He later would strip Dallas back Jair Benitez and bore down on goal. His cross found an open Rogers, but the header went high.
The second half would be more of the same, Dallas trying to push for an equalizer, the Crew defense standing solid. Former Crew striker Jeff Cunningham had very few chances to create something as Dallas resorted to kicking long balls at the diminutive striker that centerbacks Marshall and Eric Brunner handled.
Cunningham would have the best Dallas chance of the game off of a free kick in the 72nd minute. A long ball from the left side came across goal. Hesmer did not come out to meet it, but drifted to the far side. Cunningham ripped a ferocious header, but Hesmer was there to meet it and hold the Crew lead.
With the lead still one goal, recent sub Gaven would soon ensure the Crew win with a driving run towards goal. Taking the ball from Rogers in the Crew half of the field, he exploited the space in front of the Dallas goal. Driving to just outside the penalty area, he slipped the defender and put a left foot shot past the keeper to extend the lead to 2-0 in the 87th minute.
Not only was the crowd treated to another win, but also Schelotto made his return from injury to chants to “Guillermo†and standing ovations in stoppage time. While he did not have time to create a third goal, he did hint at his many skills with a clipped pass to Rogers to spring him past the defense.
The Crew has won five games in a row after last night’s win. Some of those wins have been gritty come from behind games like Toronto; others have been flashy displays of offense like the Crew’s wins against Real Salt Lake and San Jose; last night was a professional win. With a big game coming on Tuesday and an off week ahead some teams might have slipped up, but the Crew was aggressive and never left the result in doubt.
This team is now healthy and in fine form. They are also running into the busy part of the schedule. They have 6 Champions League games, in addition to the 8 league games in the next two and a half months. It’s a challenging schedule, but the Crew is well situated to handle it. Making a run for the Supporters Shield and the Champions League knockout stage is not out of the question.
Posted 2 years ago # -
pjguldan
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The team and Warzycha played this pitch perfect. They held possession, looked for their shots, didn't give up a counterattack goal, and took advantage of their set pieces. The Islanders have stopped up bigger teams than Columbus before with their bunkering play.
Warzycha wisely went with two strikers and 5 in the midfield to better counteract the superior defensive numbers that Puerto Rico pulled back behind the ball. The team also went for the kill when they got the first goal. Gaven ripped open the right side. He had a chance at two more assists.
I can't believe the rise of Steven Lenhart. He has developed into a solid forward with a pretty good scoring touch who can now control his body. He is smoothing out the rough edges to his game. He is moving from a marginal squad player to a guy who will be able to play in MLS for a decade or more.
I am also wondering if the calls for Guille as MVP should be directed towards Marshall. Chad has done it all this year. The defense is a rock (even with the lineup shuffling). He has scored with his head, off of freekicks, and added an assist last night, he passes better than any other defender in the league, and he is sneaky fast. I really think he can get playing time with a Premier League team at this rate.
Posted 2 years ago # -
pjguldan
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dorn wrote >>
Pictures from the Crew V Dallas game.
Enjoy.
Please let me know what you think.I loved the pics. There is a lot of great talent shooting at Crew games these days!
Posted 2 years ago # -
pjguldan
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Crew 0 - New York 1 (Game 23 - August 30th)
After 5 straight wins, the Crew finally hit speed bump; losing to a resurgent New York team last night 1-0. With five starters on the bench from the midweek demolition at the hands of Mexico, the game was left in the hands of the Crew’s deep bench. Unfortunately, the Guillermo Barros Schelotto-less lineup would only sporadically threaten the Red Bulls goal.
Both teams found it hard to keep possession on the hard turf in the early going. The Crew would have a few fruitless corners and the Red Bulls would have a rare long shot at goal. The first real attempt on wouldn’t come until the 25th minute. Gino Padula sent a corner kick that found Chad Marshall’s foot. His shot was saved off the line and found Jason Garey, who promptly skied the rebound shot over the New York goal. It would be the first missed chance, but not the last.
New York was next to get a shot to break through in the 31st minute. Dane Richards launched a deep cross that found star striker Juan Pablo Angel. With Frankie Hejduk a step behind, Angel connected with the cross but sent it just wide. Any goal would have been wiped out as he had drifted offside before the cross came in. The remaining quarter-hour rolled off the clock and both teams entered the half scoreless.
New York would come out strong early in the second half. In the 52nd minute, Richards broke past the defense, spurring the Red Bulls to a three on two breakaway. He chose to shoot rather than passing it to the unmarked John Wolyniec. The deflected shot nearly beat Andy Gruenebaum but landed just past the crossbar.
The next Red Bull chance would come just 7 minutes later, Danleigh Borman cut down the left side and dropped a pass to Wolyniec who had slipped free. His open shot from 10 yards out hit the left post, keeping the game scoreless.
The building New York momentum would lead to a scramble and a goal. Padula played a short corner to Hejduk. His cross was blocked by two onrushing Red Bull players. The kind bounce fell to the speedy Richards who blazed the 70 yards towards the Crew goal drifting from the left side. With only Brian Carroll to beat, he dipped back to the left, turning the Carroll and unleashing a shot past a defenseless Gruenebaum to make it 1-0 New York in the 63rd minute.
Both teams would again struggle to string together passes and hold possession. Robbie Rogers came in for Adam Moffat in the 69th minute, further weakening the Crew’s possession game. Columbus changed strategy from trying to link up using the midfield to dumping balls forward to the speedy Rogers. A Moreno for Garey swap three minutes later did little to change the Crew’s fortunes.
The Crew’s best chances were off of set pieces. Defender Eric Brunner had two good chances that were headed wide. Moreno would force Red Bull keeper Bouna Coundoul into his only save with a late header. Schelotto would come into the game in the 88th minute. Unable to run; he never had a chance to make a difference, only getting near the ball once.
Columbus has only lost once since the end of June. The five game win streak is gone and with it a chance to take the lead in the race for the Supporters Shield and put some distance between them and Chicago in the eastern conference. The Crew has now finished the weakest part of their schedule, taking 9 of 12 points in August. The games in September now gets much harder with Houston and Los Angeles at home and Chicago on the road added to the three games for Champions League play.
The offensive questions that were solved against weaker teams will again come to the surface as Columbus faces some of the top defensive sides in MLS. Schelotto is still struggling to regain fitness, Alejandro Moreno is searching for his goal scoring touch, and the midfield struggles to build with two holding players and a revolving cast on the wings. The team now has two weeks off to prepare for a grueling stretch run to the playoffs. It is two long months until the regular season ends. How much energy they have left after 11 games in 7 weeks will probably decide if the Crew can run to another MLS Cup.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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Get the Video Plugins Posted 2 years ago # -
pjguldan
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Dynamo 1 - Crew 2 (Game 24 - September 13th)
Houston and Columbus came into Sunday’s game at the top of their conferences. The matchup of the two top teams in the league did not provide the brilliant display of team soccer that many hoped for. The rugged match saw 27 fouls called, two yellow cards, two red cards, and one penalty in stoppage time. The Crew were fine not earning any style points, they grabbed the much more valuable win and three points with a 2-1 victory.
The game started with both teams probing to find an advantage. The Crew worked down the right side for the first ten minutes, but repeated foul calls by referee Jorge Gonzalez slowed down play. Much like the game grinding to a standstill, as did the Crew offense in the first quarter hour.
Houston countered with quick passing through the midfield. Recent Dynamo pickup Luis Angel Landin was able to get free for a couple chances at goal, however he would send two chances high. The referee tried to reign in the undisciplined play with constant whistles and foul calls. This resulted in very little offensive flow to the game and both teams rarely threatened the goal a half hour in.
It would take the first bit of luck for the first goal to come. Countering the recent Houston pressure, Schelotto played a short corner kick to Padula. With the Houston defense pulling up, Padula’s cross skidded off a Dynamo head to an unmarked Hejduk. Frankie did not miss a chance to put the Crew up 1-0 in the 34th minute. The short corner that had failed miserably in New York was instrumental in putting the Crew ahead just before halftime.
The game opened up in the second half as the defenses started to tire. Houston continued to push up for the tying goal taking a couple of long range shots, but not coming close. Robbie Rogers and the Crew offense used that space to break behind the Dynamo defense. Unfortunately for Columbus, they were not able to finish any of the three good chances they had to put the game out of reach.
The Crew’s lack of killer instinct nearly came back to haunt them as Dynamo strikers Cam Weaver and Brian Ching would miss open shots at goal in the 78th minute. Houston would make their next chance count mere minutes later when Ching took a pass and flipped it to Weaver who got on the wrong side of Hejduk and slotted it near post to make it 1-1 with only 10 minutes to play.
The simmering rough play and tempers would flare moments after the equalizer as Moffat was dispossessed of the ball in the attacking third. His recovering tackle was late and reckless earning him straight red card. Ricardo Clark swung out at a Crew player as well earning him a dismissal as well. Each team would finish out with 10 men from the 82nd minute on.
Both teams took the chance of going for the win with more open space on the field. Ching, dispossessed by Moreno, brought him down with an ugly tackle from behind drawing a yellow. The normally low key William Hesmer sprinted from the goalmouth to voice his displeasure at the perceived lack of equality in the discipline, earning him a yellow as well.
Any controversy the ref had created in the first 89 minutes was soon eclipsed by an always-controversial 90th minute penalty call. Hejduk had sent in a cross from the right side towards Moreno. Houston defender Geoff Cameron reached out and pulled the right sleeve of Moreno, pulling him down. The Dynamos cleared the danger, but referee Gonzalez, waiting several seconds, called a late penalty.
With Schelotto on the bench, there was no sure fire penalty taker. Eddie Gaven stepped forward and calmly shot the ball opposite Pat Onsted giving the Crew the 2-1 win. He later recalled, “Moreno said he was tired cause he was all the running so I got the ball, took it, and it went in.†With penalty taking an art and a science Gaven simply picked a side and hit it “I tried to wait for (Onstad) to move first, so I hit it to the other sideâ€Â
The Crew resumed play against a tough opponent and pulled out a win. It was a vital three points that put them to the top of the league with a game in hand against second place Chicago in the East. The road doesn’t get any easier as Columbus heads south to San Jose, Costa Rica to take on Saprissa on Wednesday in the Champions League before returning to head back on the road to Chicago in MLS play. It is a tough series of games, but the Crew showed on Sunday that they could handle themselves in a fight against a tough team, even if it gets physical.
Posted 2 years ago # -
michaelcoyote
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Tie at Chicago 2-2 for a point..
Posted 2 years ago # -
pjguldan
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michaelcoyote
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berdawn
near that stretch of N. High Street in the Short North
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pjguldan wrote >>
berdawn wrote >>
worst pun ever from a co-worker: so, I hear the crew had a South African prelate's non-clerical neckware yesterday.
I love my co-workers.That is awesome! I don't think any of my coworkers would know the score of the Crew game or what a prelate is...
as you can imagine, this sort of thinking does have its down side.
Posted 2 years ago # -
pjguldan
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Crew 2 - Fire 2 (Game 25 - September 20th)
Games featuring the Crew and the Fire have been some of the best in the league over the past two years. The teams have tied each regular season game for two years running. Columbus got the better of Chicago in last year’s playoffs. The Fire denied a struggling Crew team their first win of the year in April as they came back from down goals down in the final five minutes to tie the game. Sunday’s edition did not disappoint as a furious comeback and a fortuitous penalty gave the Crew a 2-2 draw.
Columbus got off to a poor start; giving up a 6th minute goal. Brandon Prideaux took a Cuahtehmoc Blanco pass on the right side. Prideaux’s centering pass was tipped back by Brian McBride to Peter Lowry. Lowry’s ripped his shot into the opposite corner from 15 yards out. The Fire got the early goal to put the champs on the defensive.
Minutes after the goal, the Crew was nearly reduced to 10 men. As Blanco held up the ball at midfield; Padula closed in for the tackle. Padula slid and appeared to sweep Blanco’s legs. It was a reckless challenge that on other days may have been a dismissal.
The Fire continued to dominate the game throughout the first half. They held long stretches of possession, with Columbus looking slow and late to every ball. The Fire midfield especially kept the Crew pinned back and stopped most of the attacks before Columbus could get into the final third.
The immense possession edge Chicago enjoyed created several chances including an open header for McBride that would go wide in the 25th minute. Chicago would finally turn their chances into a goal in the 35th minute and again it would be Lowry to finish the chance.
Eric Brunner’s outlet pass would get intercepted in the midfield springing the Fire. Brunner would then blunder again as he tried to recover, his touch failed him on the interception and the ball slid to Blanco and he redirected the ball to the onrushing Lowry, who one timed the shot to extend the lead to 2-0. The Crew was thoroughly outplayed in the first half and it showed on the scoreboard.
If the Crew were going to comeback, their best chance was to strike quickly in the second half. An outstanding individual effort from Robbie Rogers would start the comeback. Rogers, dribbling in the left corner, drove past his defender, got tripped, popped back up and fired the perfect cross toward goal. Schelotto somehow slipped off his marker and finished with a textbook header in the 55th minute to make it 2-1.
Both teams started to loosen up in the rain and as the Crew pushed for an equalizer. The Fire had two good chances, as Chris Rolfe’s point blank shot was right to Hesmer. Hesmer also was well positioned to get to a free header in the box. Chicago would soon regret missing their chances as the Crew would get a little bit of luck in their quest for a tying goal.
In the 77th minute, Rogers sent in a left sided cross, that the Fire cleared. CJ Brown and Steven Lenhart came together as they both went for the ball. Referee Mark Geiger immediately called the penalty to the shock of most everyone in the stadium. Schelotto would convert the penalty and secure the tie.
Every Crew v Fire game promises a little controversy and some good action. These are teams that are developing into one of the most heated rivalries in MLS. These teams seem destined to meet in the playoffs. That made the tie that much more satisfying. The Crew held off a Chicago team fighting to get into first place. They took the Fire’s best shot, staggered, but refused to falter.
Posted 2 years ago # -
pjguldan
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Arace hits the nail on the head. Columbus is the epicenter for outstanding soccer recently. Top MLS sides Houston, Los Angeles, and Seattle come to town in the span of 4 weeks. Adding the Champions League visits of Cruz Azul and Saprissa, I have been one very happy Crew fan.
Posted 2 years ago # -
michaelcoyote
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I liked watching this last night.. What is it about our Crew though? They look somewhat lost for the first 45 minutes and are on point for the rest of the match? It beats the reverse, but still...
also got my first look at Rentaria.. wow.. that guys is huge.. and he's good.. He was really sticking himself in dangerous positions from the minute he hit the pitch. Within 30 seconds, he ran from the side and put himself at the end of a cross that missed. I also liked him switching to a defending role getting between a striker and the ball he was chasing down which ended up wining us the ball.. wow.. I hope we see a lot more of that..
Posted 2 years ago # -
berdawn
near that stretch of N. High Street in the Short North
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I think Margaret Atwood may be a soccer fan!
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/20/books/review/Winterson-t.html?_r=1&scp=6&sq=blanco&st=csePosted 2 years ago #
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