Kamara enjoys some revenge upon his return
Oh, this one is going to sting for a while, and when it stops stinging, there will still be a mark. Metaphorically speaking, the Crew got snapped on the backside by a wet-tipped towel Saturday at Mapfre Stadium. Former Crew striker Kei Kamara danced away grinning like Dave Greeley.
To this point, the gorgeous patch of Fairgrounds lawn has been the only sanctuary inside the siege wall built by Major League Soccer, Crew investor-operator Anthony Precourt and their laborer, Greeley.
As the league and its owners have conspired to kill the franchise for the purposes of dragging it to Austin, Texas, the players and their longtime fans have found respite in their old stadium. Kamara breached it.
The Crew was 3-0-1 heading into its game against the Michael Arace
Vancouver Whitecaps. The team had been playing dominating, possess-and-attack soccer. A week before, it toyed with D.C. United and rolled to a two-goal victory that could have been a fivegoal victory.
Through 40 minutes, the Crew kept right on rolling in front of a staunch crowd of 9,000.
The Crew took a 1-0 lead into halftime — then, it surrendered the ball, and its attack, and exposed the center backs. The big and brutish Whitecaps wrested control, drew away for a 2-1 victory and made it known that nowhere is safe inside the siege wall.
Granted, it was folly to think the Crew was going to run the table at home this season. But this was a nasty twist: Kamara, a mercurial and sometimes malcontented player who was run out of Columbus two years ago, scored the winner in the 78th minute. Snap.
Kamara’s wicked header came a few minutes after the Whitecaps had a goal waved off by a video review. Kamara made up for it and celebrated by miming a video-review square and then jamming his index finger into his chest. He said some words with hard consonants and sneered.
Oh, this had to be sweet for Kamara.
Crew coach and sporting director Gregg Berhalter reenergized Kamara’s career when he signed the striker in 2014. Kamara scored 26 goals during the Crew’s march to the MLS Cup final in 2015. Then, he threatened to hold out until his contract was torn up and rewritten, which it was.
Kamara’s Crew career came to an end after a grotesque argument with Federico Higuain over a penalty kick. The argument occurred in the middle of a Crew collapse against Montreal at Mapfre Stadium on May 7, 2016. Kamara was traded five days later. The Crew ultimately improved.
After Saturday’s game, Kamara spent a half-hour signing autographs. He demurred on signing a homemade “Save the Crew” flag because, he said, he had signed enough. He told reporters that he loved the fans’ caustic chants (“Co-lum-bus re-ject”) and was buoyed by the booing.
Hilariously, Kamara denied his winning goal meant anything more to him than three points. Then he turned, opened the door to the visiting locker room and let loose a primal yaw. It could be heard in Berhalter’s news conference. Snap.
Oh, this one is going to sting for a while. Crew players focused on their lack of second-half focus rather than delve into anything personal. Higuain, for instance, was asked whether losing on a Kamara goal was tough to swallow — and Pipa just smiled, waved his hand at his questioner and headed off to the showers.
Suffice, Kamara is not well-loved among many of his ex-teammates and, given that he has played on 10 other teams, he has a lot of ex-teammates. Whatever. On Saturday, Kamara danced away with a smile. He had a measure of revenge, if not redemption. It stung the Crew. The fans, rallying around their team, felt it, too. Ouch.