Crew wins game, but Berhalter gets tossed
The sour taste in Crew SC’s mouth washed out in just a week.
After falling apart and surrendering a lead in the second half of a home loss last week to New York City FC, Crew SC weathered a testy final stretch and finished off a 2-0 victory over the New England Revolution on Saturday before 13,340 at Mapfre Stadium.
A ball from Ola Kamara set the table for a strike by Federico Higuain from outside the box in the 53rd minute, giving the Crew (5-4-1) its first multi-goal lead since April 1.
Crew SC held on from there, earning a fifth win that eluded the club until Aug. 27 of last season.
Saturday was the first time that Hector Jimenez, Josh Williams, Jonathan Mensah and Waylon Francis played together on the back line. Nicolai Naess moved up to the holding midfielder position and Wil Trapp pushed further up the field than normal. The lineup was untested as a unit before Saturday’s game, but it worked.
“It was a tough game and we made some changes in the lineup,” Crew coach Gregg Berhalter said. “It’s the first time this back four has ever played together, and I thought they held firm. Together with (goalkeeper) Zack (Steffen), they did a good job.”
Despite facing a few dangerous chances by the Revolution (2-4-4), Crew SC went the final 12 minutes without allowing a goal; it also went that span without Berhalter. He was ejected for “irresponsible behavior” after expressing his displeasure when New England’s Je-Vaughn Watson took down Niko Hansen in the 77th but received only a yellow card.
In a written statement to a pool reporter after the game, referee Mark Geiger said the foul did not warrant a red card because it did not progress to “endangering the safety of the opponent or using excessive force.” Geiger said Berhalter was ejected for kicking a ball
in protest of the decision.
“I was told that I came on the field and kicked the ball back into the field,” Berhalter said. “No, I did not go on the field.”
Several Crew players said they appreciated Berhalter standing up for what he perceived to be a challenge in which Hansen was clotheslined.
“We have Gregg’s back, he has our back,” Williams said. “For him to get kicked out, there had to be something there (on the foul).”
Kamara got Crew SC
on the board in the 13th minute with a far-post goal off an assist by Justin Meram, bucking a trend of four straight games in which the Crew trailed 1-0. It was a needed early spark in what became Crew SC’s third multigoal victory this season.
“I feel like we were on from minute one today,” Kamara said. “We need to have the same against Toronto (on Wednesday) because it’s a difficult team coming in.”