East vs. West battle at Crew Stadium
By Ashleigh Ignelzi, Columbus Wired, Photos by Dave Liggett (Columbus Wired)

Columbus, OH- After suffering through two losses on the road, the Columbus Crew returned home Sunday evening, hosting the Houston Dynamo. The match between the Crew and Dynamo was a match of top teams in the Eastern and Western conference, respectively. It was a physical battle that would have ended in a draw, if it wasn’t for the penalty kick made in stoppage time from Eddie Gaven that gave the Crew a 2-1 win and the 20th straight at Crew Stadium.

The 2006, 2007 MLS Champion Dynamo and the ’08 Champion Crew had a feisty match at best. But, thanks to a goal in the 34th minute from Crew Captain Frankie Hejduk the Crew took an early 1-0 lead.

This match was a test for the Crew, especially coming off of the embarrassing road losses 5-0 at Cruz Azul and 1-0 against the New York Red Bulls.

However, facing the best in the West gave them a boost of confidence. Eddie Gaven said, “It was a hard battle from minute 1 to minuet 90, it was a very hard game, a lot of fouls, but these boys worked really hard.” Gaven continued to say, “This was a very good game for our team, the guys worked hard and played great defense against a very good team.”

The Dynamo had great tempo control and a goal from Cam Weaver in the 80th minute. The game changer was the foul called on Geoff Cameron who had his hand on Alejando Moreno's left shoulder before he went down that changed the game. The foul called on Moreno and the PK from Gaven extended the Crew’s regular-season home unbeaten streak to an MLS record 21 games.

“We knew we had to step it up, no matter what when we play at home we’re looking for nothing more than three points, no matter who it’s against. That’s what we’ve set our standard now” said Hejduk. The Captain continued, “We’re the defending champions and they’re going to have to have a hell of a game to beat us at home. And we proved that we’re here to battle and we’re going to fight. “

If this battling frame of mind continues for the Crew as they head to Chicago, it should make for a spirited and energy match. Chicago is currently three points behind the Crew and in second place in the Eastern Conference.