Meram’s blast in second half gives Crew two-game winning streak
A nearly healthy Justin Meram was a welcome sight for Crew SC.
The 28-year-old midfielder played on a sore ankle before the Gold Cup break and admitted last week to being banged up of late, perhaps taking away some of his explosiveness.
Another knock for Meram, this one not physical, came Tuesday when he was left off the 24-player MLS All-Star Game roster despite having eight goals and six assists through 20 games.
He said he is still getting back into shape
— he was worn out by the time Cristian Martinez replaced him in the 75th minute — but he provided enough of a spark on offense to put Crew SC over the top on Saturday night.
Meram scorched a 65th-minute shot off Philadelphia Union defender Josh Yaro and into the net for the only score in a 1-0 win in front of 17,418 at Mapfre Stadium.
The win was Crew SC’s third in four games and, including an exhibition Monday against German club Eintracht Frankfurt, a third straight 1-0 win.
The Crew’s recent switch to three center backs has led to fewer chances on offense but a stronger defense. The team has not allowed a goal in Major League Soccer play in 206 minutes. The win allowed the Crew (10-10-1) to jump Orlando City for sixth place in the Eastern Conference.
“It’s good because I think sometimes we play so pretty and we don’t win games, and we score a lot of goals and we still end up tying or losing,” Meram said. “It’s kind of refreshing to get these 1-0 wins. Our defense played exceptional. I’m very proud of them.”
The win was the third in four MLS games for Crew SC, which put together a second straight win for the first time since a three-game winning streak between March 18 and April 1. Given the location and the circumstances, and several absences from Philadelphia (6-9-5), it was an important win in the tightly packed Eastern Conference.
The offense didn’t provide too many fireworks — the Crew had six shots on goal — but the defense kept the Union from taking any.
“I think it gave us confidence. It was a total team performance, very solid defensively and it gives you confidence that we’re eventually going to break through, eventually going to keep going,” coach Gregg Berhalter said. “It was a really GAME WRAP-UP
Man of the Match Justin Meram, MF, Crew SC: Scored lone goal
Game summary Philadelphia 0 0—0 Columbus 0 1—1 Second half: Columbus, Meram (Artur), 65th. Shots: Columbus 4-5-9; Philadelphia 1-1-2. Shots on goal: Columbus 2-4-6; Philadelphia 0-0-0. Saves: Columbus, Steffen 0-0-0; Philadelphia, McCarthy good, compact unit and I thought we made it very difficult for them.”
The road will soon get
2-3-5. Fouls: Columbus 1-10-11, Philadelphia 7-1017. Corner kicks: Columbus 7, Philadelphia 4. Offsides: Columbus 4, Philadelphia 2. A: 20,391.
Yellow Cards: Elliott, Philadelphia, 68th.
Lineups: Philadelphia— John McCarthy; Jack Elliott, Raymon Gaddis, Giliano Wijnaldum (Fabinho, 75th), Joshua Yaro; Ilsinho (Charlie more difficult for Crew SC, starting Wednesday against the Union in Chester, Pennsylvania, to Davies, 69th), Alejandro Bedoya, Marcus Epps (Warren Creavalle, 81st), Haris Medunjanin, Adam Najem; Jay Simpson. Columbus—Zack Steffen; Lalas Abubakar, Harrison Afful (Hector Jimenez, 46th), Alex Crognale, Jonathan Mensah, Jukka Raitala; Artur, Kekuta Manneh, Wil Trapp; Ola Kamara (Adam Jahn, 86th), Justin Meram (Cristian Jesus Martinez, 75th). kick off a three-game trip.