Missed Opportunities: Crew downed 1-0 by Revolution
by Dave Weissman, Columbus Wired

The Columbus Crew looked to extend their undefeated streak to six games facing the New England Revolution. They had numerous opportunities to put one past New England goalkeeper Matt Reis, but could not catch a break.

On the other end of the pitch, Crew goalkeeper Will Hesmer stopped a penalty kick in the 88th minute, but Kheli Dube was there to put in the rebound and New England left town with a 1-0 win and now tied with the Crew for first place in the Eastern Conference.

It was the Crew’s first home loss of the season battle in front of almost 15,000 fans at Crew Stadium. The heartbreak ending reminded the faithful of many times recently that the Crew blew opportunites.

Reis was very businesslike in goal for the Revs. He stopped an Alejandro Moreno shot in the 26th minute, Eddie Gavin had two good chances, a shot just wide of the goal and a missed header. Frankie Hejduk and Brad Evans also missed chances. Hejduk’s was an open netter that he shot high.

"All it comes down to is that we played well, but the result didn't go our way," Hejduk said. "If you lose concentration for one minute, it's that one minute that can cost you the game."

In the 88th minute, Crew defender Ezra Hendrickson stepped on Steve Ralston's right foot, bringing him down for a penalty. It was a questionable call as Ralston did not really have a good opportunity for the shot.

Shalrie Joseph took the penalty kick, which Hesmer stopped diving to his left. Dube zipped past the defenders and was there to receive the gift rebound and put it home for the goal.

"It's disappointing to do the hard part, and then not make the second save," Hesmer said. "After you make the (initial) save, you're hoping that's the end of it."

The Crew will now try not to dwell on the loss and instead look at the season they are having so far.

"We played a team like New England, who is perennially one of the top teams in the league, and if you look at the game, we played very well," Crew head coach Sigi Schmid said. "We're disappointed that we didn't get the result. You're going to hit some speed bumps along the way. We just need to make sure it's a speed bump, not a detour, and we need to keep our confidence up."

Columbus travels to California next week.