Opening-minute goal dooms Crew
D.C. United 1, Crew 0
Crew SC witnessed a change in momentum for the second straight week after conceding a goal.
Again, it wasn’t enough to change the scoreline or the trajectory of a sudden rough patch.
The sting of a goal by Ulises Segura in the opening minute was enough to last the final 89, and the Crew lost 1-0 to D.C. United on Saturday in front of 12,396 at NavyMarine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland.
A Paul Arriola red card early in the second half and a flurry of chances after the 60-minute mark couldn’t help the Crew turn the corner. Two weeks ago, a loss to Vancouver after a 3-0-1 start was a wake-up call. Last week, Columbus came away from a 1-0 loss to Chicago feeling unlucky.
On Saturday, the Crew took a third straight loss for the first time since May 2014 and enters a two-game homestand looking to regain some of the confidence it produced The Crew’s Pedro Santos gets past a leaping Yamil Asad and Joseph Mora of D.C. United.
in bulk last month.
“I think that it’s never nice to lose three games in a row. It’s not something that we’re proud of. It’s not something we want to do,” coach Gregg Berhalter said. “I think some confidence has been taken from us, and rightfully so. You don’t lose three games in a row and stay 100 percent, confidencewise. So, our job next week is to build that back up.”
The Crew had every opportunity to get a head start on that assignment in the second half. After a quick review following a foul of Artur from behind, referee Ismail
Elfath showed Arriola red in the 51st, leading to the Crew’s best chances of the game.
Finishing them against former Crew keeper Steve Clark, however, wasn’t as easy. He knocked away a Pedro Santos header on target in the 61st and reacted just in time five minutes later to deny a Gyasi Zardes header. A portion of the ball crossed the line, but was stopped inches shy of Zardes’ fifth goal. Clark finished with five saves.
The Crew curled in an endless supply of crosses to close out the game, but D.C., packed in tight until the final Man of the match
Steve Clark, GK, D.C. United: Made five saves in team’s first win of 2018
Game summary
Columbus 0 0—0 D.C. 1 0—1 First half: 1, D.C. United, Segura, 1 (Arriola, Acosta), 1st minute.
Shots: Columbus 5-19—24, D.C. 5-0—5. Shots on goal: Columbus 1-4—5, D.C. 1-0—1. Saves: Columbus, Steffen 0-0—0; D.C., Clark 1-4—5. Fouls: Columbus 6-7—13, D.C. 9-7—16. Corner kicks: Columbus 6, D.C. 2. Offsides: Columbus 3, D.C. 1.
Yellow Cards: Higuain, Columbus, 23rd; Clark,
whistle, held firm for its first win of the season.
“It was just an offense vs. defense drill, pretty much. And I think we were a little bit too predictable in how we were trying to get chances,” captain Wil Trapp said. “We should have mixed it up a little bit, tried to take a couple more shots from outside instead of just whipping crosses in on top.”
The Crew was quickly on its heels, ceding possession and then a goal in just 44 seconds. D.C. United, 84th; Mensah, Columbus, 84th. Red Card: Arriola, D.C. United, 51st. A: 12,396.
Lineups: Columbus - Zack Steffen; Harrison Afful, Jonathan Mensah, Milton Valenzuela, Josh Williams (Mohammed Abu, 73rd); Artur, Federico Higuain (Hector Jimenez, 82nd), Cristian Martinez (Adam Jahn, 63rd), Wil Trapp; Pedro Santos, Gyasi Zardes. D.C. - Steve Clark; Steve Birnbaum, Frederic Brillant, Joseph Mora; Luciano Acosta (Kofi Opare, 73rd), Paul Arriola, Yamil Asad, Nick DeLeon, Junior Moreno (Chris Durkin, 46th), Ulises Segura; Patrick Mullins (Oniel Fisher, 64th).
Taking a feed from Arriola, Segura onetimed an 18-yard shot into the net for his first MLS goal.
D.C. then played behind the ball, and the Crew was again behind the eight ball in a second straight shutout loss.
“These guys, they know what they’re capable of,” Zardes said. “They have faith. We just take it game by game.”