The Columbus Crew had been losers of three of their past four matches, but they scored a sorely-needed victory just before the all-star break to boost their chances of catching the playoff pack in the East.
Midfielder Chris Birchall raced onto a Jairo Arrieta pass just after halftime and beat the D.C. United defense before slotting home the game's only goal in the Crew's 1-0 victory at Crew Stadium on Saturday.
The tightly-contested defensive affair saw D.C. control possession for stretches (they held an almost 2-1 edge in possession), but fail to really test Crew goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum. Both teams managed just three shots on target, with only a second-half chance from Chris Pontius really troubling Gruenebaum.
D.C. United nearly found a late equalizer, but fullback Chris Korb blasted a shot off the crossbar in the 88th minute.
Gruenebaum recorded three saves for his seventh shutout of the season.
Here are the match highlights:
What did you think of the match? Impressed with the Crew's ability to shut down D.C. United's offense? Surprised by D.C. United's slump since coming off a two-week break?
Share your thoughts below.
Once again, the Crew scrambled up enough players to play defense, but not enough to play offense. Had we not caught DC on their heels just after the half-time break, I’m not so sure we get 3 points out of that game.
Ahh, how I miss the days of 2008….