Crew 0 - Real Salt Lake 1 (Game 1 - Eastern Conference Semifinals - October 31st)
A trip west to Salt Lake was going to be a tough trip for the Crew. Real Salt Lake had not lost in ten games at home and the Crew was on a very bad run of form, losing two straight. Coach Warzycha looked for a combination that would spark some offense. He left Schelotto on the bench and brought in a bruising pair of forwards in Lenhart and Renteria. The result still ended up the same, a 1-0 loss, putting the Crew in a hole for the second game of the series.
Both teams would be content to probe for offensive chances for most of the half, making for a boring and sometimes ugly game. It would be the Crew with the first chance in the 8th minute. Rogers redirected a long ball into the path of Lenhart. Lenhart’s touch took him to goal where his shot slipped past Salt Lake keeper Nick Rimando, but went wide.
Salt Lake’s best chance of the half came 15 minutes later on one of their few runs into Crew territory. Javier Morales dribbled the ball down the center of the field and found Andy Williams wide left. Williams lined up a shot from 25 yards out that tested Hesmer, but the keeper was able to grab the shot before any damage could be done.
Neither team would press hard for an opening goal. There were only 3 shots on goal the entire first half. Both teams would dump the ball forward and try to chase it. Real Salt Lake was unable to break their speedy forwards. The Crew’s bruising attack couldn’t spur much in the way of shots as the first half closed with both teams firmly stuck at a 0-0 tie.
The opening 15 minutes of the second half would be another contribution to dismal soccer. Continuing the trend of the first half, passes went long and any breakout was cut short by a foul. The tedium would finally give way, as the teams would open up a little bit. The first sign would be a thunderbolt shot by Danny O’Rourke from 20 yards out that would go just left of the post.
The key, however, would be when Salt Lake turned to Yura Movsisyan to bring life to their flagging offense. It nearly paid instant dividends as Movsisyan dropped a heel pass to Williams who sent a square ball to Morales who sent his shot wide in the 73rd minute.
Morales fired the warning shot. Salt Lake’s fresh legs overran the tired Crew midfield. Warzycha turned to little used forward Jason Garey in an attempt to turn the tide, bypassing again, Schelotto who watched from the bench. It was of little use as Salt Lake pressed attack after attack on the bunkering Crew defense.
Robbie Findley nearly had a chance in the 82nd minute to break the deadlock as the Crew defense was caught flat-footed but he sent his shot off the side netting. It would be the last shot that Columbus was able to dodge, as Real Salt Lake would finally break through in the 88th minute.
Will Johnson took a quick throw-in on the left side to Movsisyan. Hejduk was slow to contest the cross in at goal. The speedy Robbie Findley broke past Brunner and clipped the shot near post past Hesmer to give Real Salt Lake the late winning goal.
The Crew has a short week to think about the loss. They return home for the 2nd leg on Thursday night. Warzycha was obviously was trying to shut down a potent Salt Lake offense at home and it worked for long stretches, but now the Crew is in a 1-0 hole with 90 minutes to get a couple goals. It’s something they haven’t been able to do since beating Los Angeles in September.
The Crew is still in good position if the offense can come to life. As good as Salt Lake has been in Rio Tinto, they are abysmal away from home prone to letting in weak goals. A single spark brilliance by Schelotto, an incisive run by Rogers, or a ferocious Marshall header would even series and possibly loosen the offensive floodgates. A Crew fan can hope.
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