Crew on a roll Mensah, Kamara score as unbeaten streak reaches four
A 6-foot-2, 183-pound frame and leaping ability have given Crew SC center back Jonathan Mensah a few chances at scoring goals.
The 27-year-old designated player from Ghana had a few close calls on set pieces and free kicks over his first 19 starts, but he entered Saturday without a goal in 14 shots. A few in the Crew locker room, including his good friend and national team teammate, right back Harrison Afful, have provided some gentle ribbing.
“There are a couple of times when they put in a good ball and it comes to him and then he doesn’t make use of it, so after the game we sit and make fun of him,” Afful said with a laugh. “He has learned a lot.”
But it was Mensah laughing Saturday night after the Crew’s 2-1 victory over FC Dallas at Mapfre Stadium.
In the 71st minute, he waited on a Federico Higuain free kick from the right side and then pounced, diving to send the ball into the upper-left corner of the net and give the Crew its second goal.
Higuain assisted on both Crew goals.
“I was there at the right moment and I caught it right,” Mensah said.
Seconds after he scored, teammates swarmed Mensah in recognition of a big moment for the team. One designated player who missed more than six weeks because of a knee injury, Higuain, connected with another designated player in Mensah, who has been at times criticized for defensive blunders.
“For all the negative things that have been written about his performance, it would be nice to see some positive things written,” coach Gregg Berhalter said of Mensah. “The last couple of games, he’s been absolutely outstanding.”
The pieces came together for the Crew, just as they have throughout the current four-game unbeaten streak. The Crew has more wins than losses (13-12-3) for the first time since May 13.
For the second time in two games since the Crew has switched back to a 4-2-3-1 formation, forward Ola Kamara scored the opening goal. He finished off a centering pass from Hector Jimenez in the 50th minute for his 30th goal with the team.
“I’m more dangerous in that formation,” Kamara said. “We have to do what’s best for the team sometimes, but you can see I find more chances and bigger chances and I’m more comfortable. That’s how it is.”
Dallas’ Walker Zimmerman cut a two-goal deficit to one in the 78th minute. Dallas has gone six straight games without a win.
A stretch of three games in eight days now finished, Crew SC won’t play again until Sept. 10, when it plays Sporting Kansas City at Mapfre Stadium.
“The positive momentum is there,” Berhalter said. “It’s nice to go into a break with a win.”