Meram leads way with goal, assist as Crew moves past ugly loss
Midfielder Justin Meram spun his frustration at being removed Friday in the first half of Crew SC’s brutal loss at Toronto FC.
In the process, he guaranteed a win two days before the Crew played the Seattle Sounders on Wednesday night.
“I’m going to play at a high level to get a win, and we will get a win,” Meram had said.
Meram sounded confident in making the prediction. He sounded just as confident moments after a 3-0 victory over Seattle at Mapfre Stadium.
“I told you guys I don’t remember what happened on Friday,” Meram said. “I knew we were going to bounce back, and that’s why I guaranteed the victory.”
Meram was in top form against the Sounders (4-6-4) in front of a crowd of 12,773. The 28-year-old had a goal and an assist as the Crew
( 7- 7- 1) cruised to its seventh win, a total it did not reach until Sept. 25 last season.
The win at least in part dulls the sting of an embarrassing 5- 0 loss to Toronto, the Crew’s worst in Major League Soccer play.
“We knew right away that the guys were different this week,” coach Gregg Berhalter said. “The pride was hurt, but it was more than that. I think it was focus and intensity in the training sessions. What you saw, it wasn’t perfect, but it was guys competing.”
After failing to produce a shot on goal Friday, the Crew had three in the first half and scored twice, giving the club a halftime lead for the first time since May 13.
Hector Jimenez intercepted a pass and slid to avoid a Sounders clearance in the 10th minute. Collecting the ball near the top of the box, Federico Higuain took a touch then sent a right- footed shot to the bottom left corner of the net.
The goal ended a scoring drought of nearly 170 minutes that extended to a 2- 1 loss to the New England Revolution on May 21.
Meram faced little resistance in scoring the Crew’s second goal 11 minutes later. Just 15 games into his season, Meram matched his career high with his Had goal and assist, a notable turnaround from Friday at Toronto
1, Columbus, Higuain, 5 (Jimenez), 10th minute. 2, Columbus, Meram, 8 (Trapp), 21st. 3, Columbus, Kamara, 8 (Meram), 59th. Adekoya, Seattle, 3rd minute; eighth goal.
Crew forward Ola Kamara was unlucky not to add a third in the 51st minute, ringing the right post after receiving a pass from Meram near the right edge of the box. He made up for his near miss eight minutes later, taking a pass from Meram just left of the middle of the box and beating goalkeeper Stefan Frei to extend the lead to 3- 0.
Five days after a Mensah, Columbus, 67th. Seattle 6, Columbus Seattle 3, 12. Columbus 5. Seattle 6, Columbus 3.
Seattle 1, Columbus 2. Seattle, Frei 2; Columbus, Steffen 3. 12,773.
Seattle—G Frei; D Alfaro, Alonso, Delem, Fernandez, M Fisher (Evans, 64th), Jones (Torres, 74th), Roldan, Svensson; F Adekoya (Tolo, 64th), Lodeiro.Columbus— G Steffen; D Mensah, Raitala, Williams, Artur, M Finlay, Higuain (Crognale, 83rd), Jimenez (Afful, 69th), Trapp; F Kamara, Meram (Manneh, 74th). humbling substitution, Meram played a key role in helping the Crew to three points in the standings.
“He’s an important part of our group and an important part of what we do. We believe in him 100 percent,” Berhalter said. “For this team to be successful, Justin Meram has to be successful.”