Crew defeats
defending MLS Cup Houston 1-0
by Dave Weissman, Columbus Wired.
Photos by Tom Theodore, Columbus Wired
Alejandro Moreno
scored his 4th goal of the season as the Columbus Crew extended
their home winning streak to three games and gained first place in
the Eastern Conference with a 1-0 win over the defending MLS Cup
Champion Houston Dynamo.
Houston has
had a difficult season this year and with the loss remained winless.
Crew goalkeeper Will
Hesmer earned his second shutout of the season, making some terrific
saves and with help from the defensive corps in front of him,
including a shot in the 69th minute that went through his legs, but
was stopped by one of his teammates before crossing the line.
Houston did not give
up and continued to keep the pressure in the Crew's zone, but this
year is different from last as the Crew now looks to win and not to
keep from losing.
"A game like this
one is a war," Schmid said, "and when [we] are in a game like this
one today they have a feeling that they are going to win it, instead
of last year when the feeling was, 'OK, when is the bad thing going
to happen.'"
Alejandro Moreno, a former Houston player now has four goals in
five games in the 2008 season.
And in the 22nd minute he was in the right place at the right time.
Guillermo Barros Schelotto
took a corner kick and
sailed a beauty to the front of the net. Chad Marshall pinched
up and headed the ball towards the goal. A Houston defender
got his leg out to stop the ball, but the rebound went directly to
Moreno who slammed the ball past the diving goalkeeper.
Hesmer made the save
of the game in the 89th minute when Wade Barrett blasted a
shot from outside the box but the goalkeeper with his shoulder
hurting from a play earlier, dove far to his left and snagged the
ball before it could get into the net.
The win was the 100th of Crew head coach Sigi Schmid's illustrious
MLS career. Asked what it meant to him, he said he did not
really know about it until the beginning of the week when PR
Director Dave Stephany told him.
"It means I've been around for a while," said Schmid. "But what it
really means is that I've had the chance to coach some good players.
The Crew plays at
home again next Saturday night.
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Houston Dynamo (0-2-3) vs. Columbus
Crew (4-1-0)
April 26, 2008 -- Columbus Crew Stadium
Scoring Summary:
CLB -- Alejandro Moreno 4 (unassisted) 22
Houston Dynamo -- Pat Onstad, Richard Mulrooney, Bobby Boswell,
Patrick Ianni (Stuart Holden 77), Wade Barrett, Brian Mullan (Corey
Ashe 77), Ricardo Clark, Dwayne De Rosario, Brad Davis, Franco
Caraccio (Geoff Cameron 87), Brian Ching.
Substitutes Not Used: Kyle Brown, Chris Wondolowski, Tony Caig,
Craig Waibel
Columbus Crew -- William Hesmer, Frankie Hejduk, Chad Marshall,
Danny O'Rourke, Gino Padula (Ezra Hendrickson 66), Robbie Rogers,
Brian Carroll, Adam Moffat, Eddie Gaven (Brad Evans 84), Guillermo
Barros Schelotto (Andy Iro 94+), Alejandro Moreno.
Substitutes Not Used: Jason Garey, Andy Gruenebaum, Nicolas
Hernandez, Stefani Miglioranzi
Columbus Crew Houston Dynamo
total shots: 9 (3 tied with 2) 15 (Dwayne De Rosario 5)
shots on goal: 3 (Alejandro Moreno 2) 6 (5 tied with 1)
fouls: 15 (Adam Moffat 3) 12 (4 tied with 2)
offsides: 2 (Guillermo Barros Schelotto 2) 3 (Franco Caraccio 2)
corner kicks: 5 (Guillermo Barros Schelotto 4) 4 (Brad Davis 2)
saves: 6 (William Hesmer 6) 2 (Pat Onstad 2)
Misconduct Summary:
HOU -- Bobby Boswell (caution; Tackle from Behind) 28
CLB -- Adam Moffat (caution; Professional Foul) 48
CLB -- William Hesmer (caution; Delaying a Restart) 91
CLB -- Frankie Hejduk (caution; Delaying a Restart) 96
referee: Terry Vaughn
Referee's Assistants: Chris Strickland; James Conlee
4th official: Andrew Chapin
time of game: 1:52
attendance: 15,271
weather: Clear -and- 66 degrees
All statistics contained in this boxscore are unofficial
