Columbus Crew SC put an end to their five-game straight loss by stunning the visiting Zlatan Ibrahimovic and his LA Galaxy friends 3-1 on Wednesday evening at MAPFRE Stadium.
Former Galaxy players Gyasi Zardes and Hector Jimenez each grabbed a goal to help Crew SC get back on track after a miserable few weeks. Federico Higuain got the other goal and also picked up another assist to become the Crew’s all time record holder with 62.
Zardes opened the scoring in the 27th minute when the Crew SC forward was first to get his foot to a Robinho cross and poke the ball past David Bingham in the LA goal.
The goal gave Columbus their first lead in 566 minutes of play.
Higuain doubled the lead early in the second half with a bursting run that ended with a low-struck ball that just managed to squeeze its way into the bottom corner of the goal.
The third goal came from a more unlikely source, as utility man Jimenez popped up in the right place at the right time to calmly bury the ball into the net after a scramble in the box.
Jimenez’ goal was his first in over five years, spanning 106 games.
LA got a late consolation goal from Daniel Steres, but Columbus were able to hold on for the remaining few minutes of the game to take the three points.
Columbus Crew SC are back in action at MAPFRE this coming Saturday, as that other team from LA (LAFC) come to town for a 7:30 p.m. kick-off.
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.