Win has Crew upbeat heading into break
ATLANTA — The music blaring in the background inside the Crew’s locker room at Mercedes-benz Stadium during Caleb Porter’s press conference said more than Porter or any player following a 2-1 win at Atlanta United.
The Crew had one win and just six points in nine games entering Saturday’s game. A loss to Atlanta would have meant just one point in the past four games and an even greater gap between the Crew and the playoff line more than a third through the season.
With some timely execution, the Crew (4-5-4, 16 points) are now just two points out of playoff position heading into an international break.
The one negative is the Crew all of a sudden have injury issues to resolve before their next game June 18. Lucas Zelarayan missed the game with a thigh injury and Luis Diaz is out with a fractured wrist. Pedro Santos (hamstring), Yaw Yeboah (hamstring) and Artur (calf) were injured against Atlanta.
But the Crew found reason to celebrate, having ended a shaky and challenging first 13 games with a complete team win.
“We knew these first 13 games were going to be difficult with seven of those on the road and playing — I think it was seven of the top 10 teams in the league we’ve played,” Porter said. “We knew it was going to be difficult. We had targeted five wins, which would have put us at 1.5 points per game. We’re slightly under that ... but not far off.”
By the end of games on Saturday, the Crew had played six of the top 10 teams with the most points. The Crew have one less game played than most of the teams in the East, as well.
When the Crew return after the break, they will have four road games in the first six games.
“It’s a huge game to get a result going into this break,” Erik Hurtado said. “Definitely needed these points. Got a lot of confidence from this. Just seeing how happy the guys are getting these three points, this is what it’s all about. Just happy to be a part of this group and we push forward.”
The script on the Crew’s season was
flipped completely against Atlanta. Scoring had been a challenge, especially registering the first goal. Their ability to create chances off set pieces and execute in one-on-one situations had been particularly poor, as well.
Santos’ corner-kick was perfect for Jonathan Mensah to head home in the first minute, and Hurtado displayed individual skill taking on defender Alex De John for his 45th-minute goal. Goalkeeper Eloy Room had his best game of the year with a couple of great saves in stoppage time after Atlanta trimmed the deficit.
The Crew had coughed up a goal to spoil a win in that exact situation earlier this year at San Jose. Holding on this time, Room said, gave the Crew a boost.
“This could be a turning point in the season,” he said. “I think this is really important points not only for the team but the whole club.” jmyers@dispatch.com @_jcmyers
CREW 2, UNITED 1
Columbus 2 0 - 2
Atlanta 0 1 - 1
FIRST HALF: 1. Columbus, Mensah 1 (Santos) 1st minute; 2. Columbus, Hurtado 2 (Etienne) 45th.
SECOND: 3. Atlanta, Dwyer 3 (Franco) 90th+1.
Yellow cards: Columbus, Sands (foul) 61st; Atlanta, Moreno (simulation) 45th+5, Ibarra (foul) 45th+10, Franco (foul) 89th; Dwyer (other reason) 90th+2. Red card: Almada (foul and abusive language) 90th+7. A: 42,504.
Shots: Columbus 9, Atlanta 22. Shots on goal: Columbus 3, Atlanta 9. Saves: Columbus, Room 8; Atlanta, Shuttleworth 1. Fouls: Columbus 7, Atlanta 18. Offsides: Columbus 2, Atlanta 1.
Corner kicks: Columbus 7, Atlanta 9.
Lineups: Columbus - Room; Degenek, Mensah, Moreira; Artur, Etienne (Williams 76), Morris, Nagbe, Santos (Sands 24); Hurtado (Berry 76), Yeboah (Igbekeme 53). Atlanta Shuttleworth; De John, Franco, Hernandez (Ambrose 7, Campbell 47); Almada, Moreno, Rossetto (Martínez 47); Araújo, Cisneros (Dwyer 68), Ibarra (Hyndman 68), Lennon.