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Hosts Columbus Come From Behind To Beat San Jose 2-1
Guillermo Barros Schelotto notched the winner as hosts Columbus Crew came from behind to beat visitors San Jose Earthquakes.
May 28, 2009 6:28:40 AM
The Columbus Crew came back from a goal down to beat the San Jose Earthquakes 2-1 tonight at the Crew Stadium. A goal from Columbus midfielder Eddie Gaven canceled out San Jose’s lead, and Guillermo Barros Schelotto scored the match winner less than a minute into the second half.
Coming into this game, the Columbus Crew were on a five game unbeaten streak, and had the added benefit of being well rested with a bye last week. Their most recent match was a 1-1 draw with the L.A. Galaxy on May 17. San Jose, on the other hand, had lost five games in a row, with the latest being a 3-1 loss Saturday on the road against the Houston Dynamo.
San Jose coach Frank Yallop made four changes to his last lineup, giving starts to Simon Elliot, Shea Salinas, Quincy Amarikwa, and Kelly Gray. The Earthquakes are still without attacker Darren Huckerby, who has a quad strain. At the other end, Crew coach Robert Warzycha had to make a couple of changes to his backline. Frankie Hejduk had a groin strain, and Danny O’Rourke was serving a suspension, so Eric Brunner and Jed Zayner started. Andy Gruenebaum continued in goal in place of William Hesmer.
First Half
The Crew started the game looking the better of the two sides, keeping San Jose back defending for the first several minutes. However, at the quarter hour mark, San Jose began showing some sharpness on attack. They had several good looks at goal before making the breakthrough.
The first shot on target for either side came in the 15th minute, when Earthquakes’ left back Eric Denton found himself unmarked with space to go forward. He dribbled into the box and blasted the ball toward goal. Crew goalkeeper Gruenebaum had the angle right, though, and comfortably made the save.
Two minutes later, San Jose midfielder Simon Elliot sent a precise pass to Shea Salinas in the box, and the 22-year-old took a quick shot that skimmed just wide of the right post.
Three minutes after that, the Earthquakes pressed deep into the Crew’s half yet again. Forward Quincy Amarikwa won possession in midfield, dribbled into the box, and sent the ball into the path of onrushing Ryan Johnson. Johnson slid in, but the goalie had also gone to ground, bravely grabbing the ball just before Johnson could connect with it.
Finally, San Jose’s attacking pressure paid off in the 23rd minute. Denton sent a long ball from the left side of the field into the box. Amarikwa, with his back to goal, received the ball on his chest and deftly dropped it back to Johnson, who slotted the ball into the net. It was Johnson’s fifth goal of the season.
Columbus showed determination by netting the equalizer just six minutes later.
They capitalized on some defensive feebleness when the Earthquakes failed to properly clear a corner kick. Crew defender Gino Padula picked up a loose ball just outside the San Jose 18-yard box, and popped it over everyone toward the right post. Defender Eric Brunner raced to meet the perfectly flighted ball, and headed it across to the left post, where Gaven headed into the net.
The San Jose defense didn’t anticipate the play and left the Crew too much space. Goalkeeper Joe Cannon was left exposed by his defenders, and could not get across to the far post to make the stop.
For the remainder of the first half, both teams looked very dangerous on offense.
San Jose’s Elliot set up defender Kelly Gray, whose shot went just wide right. At the other end of the pitch, Crew forward Robbie Rogers received the ball from Gaven and fired a low shot that skimmed wide of the right post. Columbus defender Chad Marshall had a half-chance with a header from Schelotto’s free kick, but Cannon was there to make the save.
The first half ended all tied up at 1-1, with both sides battling to break the deadlock.
Second Half
Columbus opted for the surprise attack as the second half got underway, charging forward and only stopping when the ball was in the net. As it happened, that took under a minute.
Crew midfielder Emmanuel Ekpo received the ball from teammate Alejandro Moreno, dribbled into the penalty box, and sent a short, quick pass to Schelotto. The Argentine slid in to cleverly poke the ball away from Cannon and into the left corner of the net. It was Schelotto’s sixth goal this season.
With the lead secured, Columbus looked very confident, maintaining possession with smart passes while San Jose appeared shell-shocked. For a time, they were unable to mount any kind of cohesive attack. The one player who did remain composed was defender Jason Hernandez, who made several critical interceptions to keep his team within a goal of Columbus.
The Crew kept trying for another goal, and came close in the 62nd minute. Kelly Gray did well to intercept when Padula and Rogers tried to pass around him, but then hesitated with the ball. Rogers stole the ball from Gray’s foot and launched a shot toward goal, but it went just outside the far post.
As the final whistle approached, San Jose began show a sense of urgency on attack, keeping Columbus on defense much more, but it wasn’t enough. Their last chance came in stoppage time, when substitute Arturo Alvarez drew a foul about 30 yards out. The free kick was in a dangerous place, and Alvarez connected well with the ball, but the effort went high over the crossbar.
The matched ended with Columbus claiming a 2-1 victory over San Jose.
With this win, Columbus move up to fifth place in the Eastern Conference with twelve points, just six behind leaders Chicago. For their next match, the Crew go on the road to face the Seattle Sounders (4-2-4), who sit in second place in the Western Conference table with 16 points.
Tonight’s loss means San Jose stay at the bottom of the league with only five points. Their seven losses are the most of any team. The Earthquakes’ next match will be Saturday at home against Real Salt Lake (3-5-2), who are currently fifth in the Western Conference with eleven points.
Jennifer Dawson is the San Jose correspondent for Goal.com
For more on Major League Soccer, visit Goal.com’s MLS page.
Coming into this game, the Columbus Crew were on a five game unbeaten streak, and had the added benefit of being well rested with a bye last week. Their most recent match was a 1-1 draw with the L.A. Galaxy on May 17. San Jose, on the other hand, had lost five games in a row, with the latest being a 3-1 loss Saturday on the road against the Houston Dynamo.
San Jose coach Frank Yallop made four changes to his last lineup, giving starts to Simon Elliot, Shea Salinas, Quincy Amarikwa, and Kelly Gray. The Earthquakes are still without attacker Darren Huckerby, who has a quad strain. At the other end, Crew coach Robert Warzycha had to make a couple of changes to his backline. Frankie Hejduk had a groin strain, and Danny O’Rourke was serving a suspension, so Eric Brunner and Jed Zayner started. Andy Gruenebaum continued in goal in place of William Hesmer.
First Half
The Crew started the game looking the better of the two sides, keeping San Jose back defending for the first several minutes. However, at the quarter hour mark, San Jose began showing some sharpness on attack. They had several good looks at goal before making the breakthrough.
The first shot on target for either side came in the 15th minute, when Earthquakes’ left back Eric Denton found himself unmarked with space to go forward. He dribbled into the box and blasted the ball toward goal. Crew goalkeeper Gruenebaum had the angle right, though, and comfortably made the save.
Two minutes later, San Jose midfielder Simon Elliot sent a precise pass to Shea Salinas in the box, and the 22-year-old took a quick shot that skimmed just wide of the right post.
Three minutes after that, the Earthquakes pressed deep into the Crew’s half yet again. Forward Quincy Amarikwa won possession in midfield, dribbled into the box, and sent the ball into the path of onrushing Ryan Johnson. Johnson slid in, but the goalie had also gone to ground, bravely grabbing the ball just before Johnson could connect with it.
Finally, San Jose’s attacking pressure paid off in the 23rd minute. Denton sent a long ball from the left side of the field into the box. Amarikwa, with his back to goal, received the ball on his chest and deftly dropped it back to Johnson, who slotted the ball into the net. It was Johnson’s fifth goal of the season.
Columbus showed determination by netting the equalizer just six minutes later.
They capitalized on some defensive feebleness when the Earthquakes failed to properly clear a corner kick. Crew defender Gino Padula picked up a loose ball just outside the San Jose 18-yard box, and popped it over everyone toward the right post. Defender Eric Brunner raced to meet the perfectly flighted ball, and headed it across to the left post, where Gaven headed into the net.
The San Jose defense didn’t anticipate the play and left the Crew too much space. Goalkeeper Joe Cannon was left exposed by his defenders, and could not get across to the far post to make the stop.
For the remainder of the first half, both teams looked very dangerous on offense.
San Jose’s Elliot set up defender Kelly Gray, whose shot went just wide right. At the other end of the pitch, Crew forward Robbie Rogers received the ball from Gaven and fired a low shot that skimmed wide of the right post. Columbus defender Chad Marshall had a half-chance with a header from Schelotto’s free kick, but Cannon was there to make the save.
The first half ended all tied up at 1-1, with both sides battling to break the deadlock.
Second Half
Columbus opted for the surprise attack as the second half got underway, charging forward and only stopping when the ball was in the net. As it happened, that took under a minute.
Crew midfielder Emmanuel Ekpo received the ball from teammate Alejandro Moreno, dribbled into the penalty box, and sent a short, quick pass to Schelotto. The Argentine slid in to cleverly poke the ball away from Cannon and into the left corner of the net. It was Schelotto’s sixth goal this season.
With the lead secured, Columbus looked very confident, maintaining possession with smart passes while San Jose appeared shell-shocked. For a time, they were unable to mount any kind of cohesive attack. The one player who did remain composed was defender Jason Hernandez, who made several critical interceptions to keep his team within a goal of Columbus.
The Crew kept trying for another goal, and came close in the 62nd minute. Kelly Gray did well to intercept when Padula and Rogers tried to pass around him, but then hesitated with the ball. Rogers stole the ball from Gray’s foot and launched a shot toward goal, but it went just outside the far post.
As the final whistle approached, San Jose began show a sense of urgency on attack, keeping Columbus on defense much more, but it wasn’t enough. Their last chance came in stoppage time, when substitute Arturo Alvarez drew a foul about 30 yards out. The free kick was in a dangerous place, and Alvarez connected well with the ball, but the effort went high over the crossbar.
The matched ended with Columbus claiming a 2-1 victory over San Jose.
With this win, Columbus move up to fifth place in the Eastern Conference with twelve points, just six behind leaders Chicago. For their next match, the Crew go on the road to face the Seattle Sounders (4-2-4), who sit in second place in the Western Conference table with 16 points.
Tonight’s loss means San Jose stay at the bottom of the league with only five points. Their seven losses are the most of any team. The Earthquakes’ next match will be Saturday at home against Real Salt Lake (3-5-2), who are currently fifth in the Western Conference with eleven points.
Jennifer Dawson is the San Jose correspondent for Goal.com
For more on Major League Soccer, visit Goal.com’s MLS page.
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