Zardes hurts hamstring in loss to Red Bulls
HARRISON, N.J. — A 1-0 loss to the New York Red Bulls (6-9-4, 22 pts.) — a team that was winless in seven games — Wednesday at Red Bull Arena was the fifth straight defeat for the Crew (6-8-6, 24 pts.).
Forward Gyasi Zardes and winger Kevin Molino missed two of the best scoring chances the Crew has had all season. Nineteen-year-old John Tolkin scored his first professional goal in the 33rd minute, which stood as the winner for the Red Bulls.
The loss sent the Crew to a new low with little optimism ahead of a Saturday match at Lower.com Field against a confident Seattle Sounders team which has revenge in mind after last season's MLS Cup loss to the Crew.
But this version of the Crew is much different. The Crew, the reigning MLS Cup champion, is in real danger of missing the postseason.
The team is only three points out of playoff position but seven points away from feeling safe in the top five with 14 games remaining.
“Obviously we're not getting results and the finger's going to be pointed at me. Keep pointing it at me,” coach Caleb Porter said. “I got to correct it. I got to sort it out. We're now in a tough situation. We've dug a hole. Got to turn around two days from now and play one of the best teams in the league. Our backs are against the wall. We're going to find out what we're all made of, myself, the players, our culture, everything.”
Porter disappointed in fight of Crew
After the debacle of allowing more than three goals in three straight games, the defense seemed to be — at the very least — competent. The attack created enough quality chances to win the game.
But all of that was secondary to Porter.
“We're better than this,” he said. “I was most disappointed first half just in the fight. You know when you play Red Bulls there are simple things you have to do at a minimum. The first thing is to roll up your sleeves and fight and dig out first and second balls.
“What they did was exactly what we thought they would do, just didn't have enough intensity first and foremost.”
Zardes injures hamstring
After Zardes missed his breakaway chance against Coronel, Zardes fell to the ground in the box and immediately grabbed his left hamstring.
Zardes, who rarely will fake an injury or take a dive for a foul call, stayed down for a few minutes before he gingerly walked off the field with the training staff.
Porter will likely provide an injury update on Zardes on Friday. jmyers@dispatch.com @_jcmyers
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RED BULLS 1, CREW 0
Columbus 0 0 - 0
New York 1 0 - 1
First Half: 1, New York Red Bulls, Tolkin, 1 (Fabio), 33rd minute. Shots: Columbus 9; New York 16. Shots on goal: Columbus 3, New York 5. Blocked shots: Columbus 4; New York 2. Saves: Room 4; Miguel 3. Corner kicks: Columbus 3; New York 6. Offsides: Columbus 2; New York 2. Fouls: Columbus 7; New York 10. Yellow Cards: Klimala, New York Red Bulls, 55th; Hurtado, Columbus, 84th. A: 10,002.
Lineups - Columbus: Eloy Room; Harrison Afful, Waylon Francis (Pedro Santos, 51st), Aboubacar Keita, Jonathan Mensah; Liam Fraser, Alexandru Matan (Derrick Etienne, 51st), Kevin Molino (Erik Hurtado, 75th), Darlington Nagbe; Bradley Wright-phillips, Gyasi Zardes (Lucas Zelarrayan, 45th+1). New York: Carlos Miguel; Kyle Duncan, Andrew Gutman, Sean Nealis, Andres Reyes (Frankie Amaya, 46th), Amro Tarek (Mandela Egbo, 73rd), John Tolkin; Wikelman Carmona (Caden Clark, 71st), Sean Davis; Fabio (Daniel Royer, 71st), Patryk Klimala (Tom Barlow, 61st).