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Crew and Earthquakes battle to a hard-fought draw

Federico Higuain

By VINCE MADURI

The Columbus Crew and San Jose Earthquakes battled to a 1-1 draw Saturday in a game neither team looked at their best offensively and defenses ruled.

Justin Morrow tied the game at one apiece in the 73rd minute after the Earthquakes had fallen behind just five minutes earlier.

Morrow pushed far up the field and was not accounted for by the Columbus defense.  Ramiro Corrales found Morrow out wide left and the defender fired the tying goal passed Crew goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum.

Five minutes earlier, Ramiro Corrales had lost his marker, Brazilian defender Glauber, on a Columbus corner.  Federico Higuain found Glauber, who headed the ball passed Jon Busch for the opening goal.

Over the last 15 minutes of play, Columbus pushed for the winning goal, but couldn’t create anything substantial as Higuain was not quite at his best in this match, and the Argentine playmaker never seemed to be on the same page with Jairo Arrieta.

Chris Wondolowski struggled to find space as Chad Marshall marked the reigning MVP most the game.  Wondolowski had one terrific opportunity to open the scoring in the 61st minute when he found space about five yards from goal, but Tyson Wahl slipped in front of the striker to block the shot and the rebound was cleared by Marshall.

Overall, the match probably deserved a tied result with possession being split 53% in favor of the Crew and shots on goal being completely split with five to each team.

Both teams start the season 1-1-1, still looking to hit their strides.

Here are the match highlights:

 

Comments

  1. I think the Crew are just going to keep improving as the season rolls on, a lot of new faces to gel together. Danny O’ is looking pretty fit this year, which should help.

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  2. this was a game for the taking alright, and i agree that with a little more composure/experience Garza puts that ball across and the Quakes go home winners. aside from that, our passing was impressive- some good improvement from Baca over last week as well.

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  3. Typically crappy March weather in OH. 35 and windy, some drizzle. Not a bad crowd considering. Wind had an impact on both teams’ performance.

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  4. Quakes defensive shape was very good. The midfield combination passing looked to be in midseason form, really nice stuff in tight spaces. Great to see Jahn get the start. He was absolutely gassed though at 60 min. it was a good effort for a first start. Too bad Corrales went to sleep on Glauber. It nearly ruined a great defensive effort. I feel bad for Garza, the moment was just too big for him. Still, I would like to see him get 90 min to work the nerves out. Great to see Hernandez pick his game up, he was solid. A well earned road point.

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