Columbus Crew SC bid farewell to the MAPFRE Stadium crowd and kept their minor hopes of a play-off birth alive with a comprehensive 3-0 beating of a gutless Chicago Fire on Saturday night.
Harrison Afful gave Crew SC the lead early on when his long range swerving shot deceived Fire ‘keeper Sean Johnson and flew past his flailing arms and into the roof of the net.
The second half started in much the same fashion as Justin Meram doubled the Crew SC lead within five minutes of the restart . The Columbus winger hit a quick one-two with Dilly Duka before cutting past the Chicago defender Khaly Thiam and firing home from close range.
Dilly Duka got his name on the score sheet shortly after when Mo Saeid’s sliding past evaded a desperate Fire defense and allowed the Crew SC midfielder to slot home his first goal since returning this season.
Columbus now hit the road to finish off the season with trips to Chicago and ending with both New York Red Bulls and New York City.
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.
