Crew defeats Rapids 2-1
By Dave Weissman, Columbus Wired

The Columbus Crew returned home after gaining 5 points on the road against Kansas City (win) and L.A. (tie). Looking for their first home win since May, Columbus scored on a penalty kick and added another goal in the 70th minute to defeat the Colorado Rapids 2-1.

Colorado (5-8-1, 16 pts.) had owned the Crew with 14 wins against only 7 losses in the history of the two teams.

Early on it looked as if the Rapids would take an early lead, but goalkeeper Will Hessmer stepped up with two fantastic highlight saves to keep the Crew in it. Hessmer was credited with a total of seven saves. The Crew on the other side wasted opportunities in the first half from Alejandro Moreno and Robbie Rogers.

In the 53rd minute, Alejandro Moreno drew a penalty when he fouled by Pablo Mastroeni in the box. The referee awarded a penalty kick. Guillermo Barros Schelotto took the shot and left Rapids goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul standing in his shoes with a lightning strike to the left corner. It was his 4th goal of the year off penalty kicks.

Colorado evened things up in the 60th minute when Conor Casey took the ball from the outside, racing across the field and past Chad Marshall. Midfielder Nick LaBrocca made a move to get open and nailed the touch pass from Casey past Hessmer.

“We played hard, not smart,” said Rapids head coach Fernando Clavijo. “Two chances early on and giving up a goal after coming back.”

Crew rookie Emmanuel Ekpo seemed tentative through the first half as his passes were off when he should have driven the ball further. Schelotto was seen scolding him to continue his run. He must have listened as in the 70th minute he drove the ball 50 yards down field through defenders and let loose a bomb just outside the box that easily went past Rapids goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul for his first goal of the year.

“It was an outstanding goal the way he turned to midfield and taking it all the way,” Crew head coach Sigi Schmid said. “We felt we needed to get that (effort) from him.”

The win was the fifth one for the Crew at home, matching last year’s total home wins. They remain in second place in the Eastern Conference with the league’s second best record overall (8-4-2, 26 pts.) behind New England.

As a result, first place New England Revolution’s Steve Nicols was named head coach of the Eastern Conference All Stars. Schmid was humourous in his response. “The last time I coached the all-stars, I was fired (from L.A.).”