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Crew Comeback Puts Out Fire
Despite the Crew fans' “traitor” chants, former Crew forward Brian McBride did his best to put his old team away by giving the Fire an early 1-0 advantage. But galvanized by their first playoff action in six years, the Crew rebounded to score twice and reach the MLS Cup final.
Nov 13, 2008 10:02:10 PM
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Crew versus Fire
First Half
The opening moments of the Eastern Conference Finals in Columbus found both teams looking to play to their respective strengths, speed and creativity on the wings.
The Fire tried to get the ball from the right to left, often using Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Chris Rolfe to connect the ball through to Justin Mapp. Mapp found space down the left side all night going against Crew Captain Frankie Hejduk, who he had a clear size advantage over.
The Crew also attempted to expose the right side of the Fire defense by constantly looking for left wing Robbie Rogers. Rogers hit several dangerous crosses, targeting Alejandro Moreno, but then also pulled the ball back several times to find Guillermo Barros Schelotto, who proved to be the most dangerous Crew player all night.
John Thorrington and Justin Mapp provided both goal scoring chances for the Fire in the opening stages. They both looked to play off tightly marked men like Blanco and Brian McBride and each got a good look at the goal, but neither shot tested Crew goalie William Hesmer.
The Crew bounced back after a somewhat shaky start and started finding Schelotto with his back to goal. Schelotto either drew a foul or turned the defender almost every time, creating essentially every good scoring chance the Crew had in the first half.
Yet it was the Fire who started to gain more possession and had more players coming into the play to support. The Crew seemed more content for a quick release and a counter attack. The deadlock was broken in the 29th minute, after a solid possession full of gorgeous one-touch passing ended with a heel pass from Blanco that found Mapp down the left side in space. Mapp hit a perfect ball right to the head of the ever dangerous McBride, who found himself in between the two central defenders for Columbus and calmly put the header into the side netting past Hesmer, who looked lost on the play.
The Crew almost answered instantly, off a Schelotto free kick that just needed a touch from Brian Carroll to find the net. Schelotto continued to create and show why he deserved the tight marking that he received all game. He blocked a clearance in the 19th minute and got a shot off, grazed the crossbar with a shot in the 26th and in the 39th minute niftily beat Fire defender Gonzalo Segares in the box and put the ball right across the goal-line.
Second Half
Crew had their backs to the wall, but had the advantage of playing with the support of the home fans.
Just two minutes into the half, yet another Schelotto free kick found Chad Marshall, who simply beat the smaller McBride to the ball and put his header off the bottom of the crossbar and in.
Just like that the entire match turned upside down. Columbus did not let up, continuing to pressure the Fire defense, forcing uncharacteristic messy turnovers from Chicago. Eddie Gaven found a little space down the right side in the first half and was free down the wing for what seemed like every Crew possession.
Gaven’s hard work paid dividends for the Crew when they took the lead with another goal in the 55th minute. The ball came first from Schelotto’s head to Alejandro Moreno, who flicked it in over the top of the Fire defense and found Gaven running on. Gaven did not disappoint and drove the ball into the low far post past a sprawling Jon Busch.
Even with the lead and all the momentum, the Crew continued to press. Chicago struggled to find the midfield and lost many long balls easily to the Columbus defense. The Fire attack stalled and chances were hard to come by. Clicking on all cylinders, the Crew no longer had to rely on just Schelotto and Rogers, but were distributing the ball all over the pitch and had the Fire defense struggling to cover all the open space. It was an unexpected turn for Chicago, who shut out the Revs twice in the semifinals to get here.
Eventually the Fire responded. Blanco found McBride open in the box, much to the surprise of Hesmer, who had to get down quickly to thwart the best chance Chicago had at knotting the score.
However, the Crew defense remained solid. Hejduk and Marshall kept them organized all night. Chicago looked to get Rolfe, McBride and Blanco on the left side of the field to try and create something, but the space the Justin Mapp had used throughout the first half had disappeared.
As the Crew continued to look energized the Fire looked increasingly tired. Chicago has little excuse for falling apart in the second half. They had a week to prepare for the match while the Crew had just five days.
Marco Pappa entered the game in the 90th minute for Chicago and instantly got a great shot off for Chicago, testing Hesmer for the last time. It wasn't enough, though, as the Crew claimed their ticket to the MLS Championship game in Los Angeles next Sunday.
"We knew we were at home and we had to give it our all in the second half. We earned the victory," said Crew star Schelotto. "We are happy with how far we've come, but there still remains (the final), where we have to win to claim the title."
After the game McBride commented about the treatment Crew fans gave him.
“Fans will be fans, but I had a great run while I played here and have a lot of respect for the franchise. When it isn’t us that is playing them I can still be a Crew supporter.”
For the Fire it marks the end of a great season, yet with an aging roster one wonders if Chicago has lost its chance to win an MLS Cup with this roster.
The Crew move on to the MLS Cup Final. They will face the winner of the Western Conference Semi-final match between New York Red Bulls and Real Salt Lake.
--Ryan Kirby, Goal.com
First Half
The opening moments of the Eastern Conference Finals in Columbus found both teams looking to play to their respective strengths, speed and creativity on the wings.
The Fire tried to get the ball from the right to left, often using Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Chris Rolfe to connect the ball through to Justin Mapp. Mapp found space down the left side all night going against Crew Captain Frankie Hejduk, who he had a clear size advantage over.
The Crew also attempted to expose the right side of the Fire defense by constantly looking for left wing Robbie Rogers. Rogers hit several dangerous crosses, targeting Alejandro Moreno, but then also pulled the ball back several times to find Guillermo Barros Schelotto, who proved to be the most dangerous Crew player all night.
John Thorrington and Justin Mapp provided both goal scoring chances for the Fire in the opening stages. They both looked to play off tightly marked men like Blanco and Brian McBride and each got a good look at the goal, but neither shot tested Crew goalie William Hesmer.
The Crew bounced back after a somewhat shaky start and started finding Schelotto with his back to goal. Schelotto either drew a foul or turned the defender almost every time, creating essentially every good scoring chance the Crew had in the first half.
Yet it was the Fire who started to gain more possession and had more players coming into the play to support. The Crew seemed more content for a quick release and a counter attack. The deadlock was broken in the 29th minute, after a solid possession full of gorgeous one-touch passing ended with a heel pass from Blanco that found Mapp down the left side in space. Mapp hit a perfect ball right to the head of the ever dangerous McBride, who found himself in between the two central defenders for Columbus and calmly put the header into the side netting past Hesmer, who looked lost on the play.
The Crew almost answered instantly, off a Schelotto free kick that just needed a touch from Brian Carroll to find the net. Schelotto continued to create and show why he deserved the tight marking that he received all game. He blocked a clearance in the 19th minute and got a shot off, grazed the crossbar with a shot in the 26th and in the 39th minute niftily beat Fire defender Gonzalo Segares in the box and put the ball right across the goal-line.
Second Half
Crew had their backs to the wall, but had the advantage of playing with the support of the home fans.
Just two minutes into the half, yet another Schelotto free kick found Chad Marshall, who simply beat the smaller McBride to the ball and put his header off the bottom of the crossbar and in.
Just like that the entire match turned upside down. Columbus did not let up, continuing to pressure the Fire defense, forcing uncharacteristic messy turnovers from Chicago. Eddie Gaven found a little space down the right side in the first half and was free down the wing for what seemed like every Crew possession.
Gaven’s hard work paid dividends for the Crew when they took the lead with another goal in the 55th minute. The ball came first from Schelotto’s head to Alejandro Moreno, who flicked it in over the top of the Fire defense and found Gaven running on. Gaven did not disappoint and drove the ball into the low far post past a sprawling Jon Busch.
Even with the lead and all the momentum, the Crew continued to press. Chicago struggled to find the midfield and lost many long balls easily to the Columbus defense. The Fire attack stalled and chances were hard to come by. Clicking on all cylinders, the Crew no longer had to rely on just Schelotto and Rogers, but were distributing the ball all over the pitch and had the Fire defense struggling to cover all the open space. It was an unexpected turn for Chicago, who shut out the Revs twice in the semifinals to get here.
Eventually the Fire responded. Blanco found McBride open in the box, much to the surprise of Hesmer, who had to get down quickly to thwart the best chance Chicago had at knotting the score.
However, the Crew defense remained solid. Hejduk and Marshall kept them organized all night. Chicago looked to get Rolfe, McBride and Blanco on the left side of the field to try and create something, but the space the Justin Mapp had used throughout the first half had disappeared.
As the Crew continued to look energized the Fire looked increasingly tired. Chicago has little excuse for falling apart in the second half. They had a week to prepare for the match while the Crew had just five days.
Marco Pappa entered the game in the 90th minute for Chicago and instantly got a great shot off for Chicago, testing Hesmer for the last time. It wasn't enough, though, as the Crew claimed their ticket to the MLS Championship game in Los Angeles next Sunday.
"We knew we were at home and we had to give it our all in the second half. We earned the victory," said Crew star Schelotto. "We are happy with how far we've come, but there still remains (the final), where we have to win to claim the title."
After the game McBride commented about the treatment Crew fans gave him.
“Fans will be fans, but I had a great run while I played here and have a lot of respect for the franchise. When it isn’t us that is playing them I can still be a Crew supporter.”
For the Fire it marks the end of a great season, yet with an aging roster one wonders if Chicago has lost its chance to win an MLS Cup with this roster.
The Crew move on to the MLS Cup Final. They will face the winner of the Western Conference Semi-final match between New York Red Bulls and Real Salt Lake.
--Ryan Kirby, Goal.com
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