The final game of the MLS regular season is set to kick off and the match will determine which team is the last one to qualify for the playoffs. D.C. United is at Crew Stadium today to take on the Columbus Crew (5pm) and D.C. needs a win today to clinch the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference playoffs as a wild-card. A D.C. United loss or tie and the Red Bulls will clinch the berth, and the first-round playoff series with defending champion Houston that comes with it.
I will be looking to provide a running commentary throughout the match (internet connection withstanding). If you plan on watching the match, or are desperate to know how the matchis going, please feel free to share your thoughts and opinions on the match in the comments section below.
Enjoy the match (lineups after the jump):
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FINAL– Red Bulls fans love the Columbus Crew tonight, and especially love Brad Evans for ending D.C. United’s season and giving them playoff life when it seemed impossible to think of the postseason after Thursday.
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FINAL- Crew 1, D.C. United 0. And the Red Bulls are in the playoffs!!
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91st minute– Stoppage time now.
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87th minute– Time is running out on DC.
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86th minute– DC off the post AGAIN. WOW
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85th minute– DC with a dangerous free kick opportunity.
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83rd minute– Crew pouring it on and D.C. not looking like they can muster two goals in the final seven minutes.
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81st minute– Crew fans are chanting, "No more playoffs!" Red Bulls fans are loving the sound of that. Much better than they did hearing that on Thursday.
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80th minute– Ten minutes left in the D.C. season.
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79th minute– Evans blasted it from about 22-yards out and now D.C. needs two goals to qualify for the playoffs. The New York Red Bulls are in right now if the score holds.
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78th minute– GOAL CREW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Brad Evans with the long-range blast!!!!
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77th minute– Gonzalo Peralta has come on for Namoff, who is injured.
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75th minute– D.C. has hit the woodwork three times (at least). Unreal. 15 minuts left.
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74th minute– DC OFF THE POST!!! Khumalo from point-blank range hits it off the crossbar. WOW
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73rd minute– SAVE HESMER!!! Guerrero with a dangerous shot that Hesmer stops.
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72nd minute– Emilio with a dangerous turn and shot at the top of the box, but it goes high. Wow.
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71st minute– D.C. replaced Doe with Boyzz Khumalo.
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68th minute– Crew with some possession here. D.C. could be running out of gas a bit.
Alejandro Moreno with a shot that just misses.
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65th minute– DC corner is wasted, goes right to Hesmer.
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63rd minute– D.C. with another good chance that goes begging. Fred with a great move to get into the box but his left-footed shot is right at Hesmer.
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60th minute– WOw, Moreno with a WIDE-OPEN look but sends his shot well high. a 17-yard shot goes begging.
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59th minute– Marshall clears away the corner. He’s been a beast today.
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58th minute– D.C. corner.
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56th minute– Schelotto’s free kick is so dangerous but nobody can latch onto it. Takes a bounce just in front of goal. WOW.
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55th minute– Guerrero should slide into the back, keeping D.C. in a 4-4-2 for now.
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54th minute– Jaime Moreno for McTavish. D.C. is going for it.
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52nd minute– Brad Evans with a long-range blast right at Crayton.
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50th minute– Corner goes out. No help. D.C. down to 40 minutes.
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49th minute– Crew corner
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48th minute– Namoff took a knock but looks to be coming back.
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46th minute– We are under way in the second half.
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HALFTIME– Good stuff from Fred, Quaranta and Emilio in the first half, though that defense worries me. The Crew hasn’t really shown much, though Chad Marshall has looked strong , while Alejandro Moreno has been very active.
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HALFTIME– Red Bulls fans concerned about the disparity of shots and possession in favor of D.C. should relax. It’s clear that the Crew wanted to withstand the early pressure and stay sound defensively. I think we should expect more of an attack from Columbus in the second half. As D.C. gets more desperate, the Crew will be in a better position to burn them.
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HALFTIME– Jaime Moreno should come on at halftime, most likely for Doe. I don’t think D.C. is ready to go to a three-man defense at halftime, but they may have to eventually if a goal doesn’t come.
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HALFTIME– Columbus looked content to sit back and pick spots to counter. There’s obviously no pressure on them but a Crew goal would put D.C. in serious trouble.
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HALFTIME– Emilio had Hesmer off his line but sends his shot off the post just before halftime. WOW. That one had to hurt.
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46th minute– EMILIO OFF THE POST!!!!!!!!!!!!
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44th minute– D.C. comes close again with Emilio but still no goal. First half is almost over.
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40th minute– It will be interesting to see the impact Jaime Moreno has on this match when he comes on in the second half.
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38th minute– D.C. starts to push forward, but can’t find the final pass for a good shot.
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33rd minute– Crew pressing with a few shots near the area. D.C. is on the back-foot now.
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32nd minute– McTavish with a yellow for a foul on Gaven.
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31st minute– Columbus has settled down a bit now and is starting to move the ball around a bit.
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28th minute– Still scoreless. D.C. still needing a goal.
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23rd minute– Hey, a Schelotto touch. Stop the presses.
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21st minute– Louis Crayton doing the run out of the box thing again. He’s been burned by that before and could be again.
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19th minute– Emilo forces Hesmer into a save. D.C. is pressing hard so far.
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17th minute– Waiting for the Crew attack to wake up. Anybody seen Schelotto yet?
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13th minute– Namoff heads one off the post!!!
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12th minute– D.C. is pressing but you get the sense that the Crew will burn them on the counter one of these times.
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7th minute– Fred with a nice run but Gino Padula with a great defensive play to stop him.
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5th minute– We are under way.
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PRE-GAME– Look for Columbus to attack early and often. Much like the Chicago Fire last Thursday against the Red Bulls, the Crew has no pressure and is at home and should play some fearless attacking soccer against a short-handed D.C. team that will surely feel the pressure of the task at hand.
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PRE-GAME– Red Bulls fans have to be happy to see the Columbus Crew field a full-strength squad, while D.C. United has captain Jaime Moreno on the bench, as well as key defender Gonzalo Martinez.
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PRE-GAME- Here are the lineups:
COLUMBUS CREW
————–Moreno———————-
—————————Schelotto———-
Rogers————-Evans————-Gaven
——————–Carroll——————–
Padula—–Marshall—O’Rourke—-Hejduk
——————–Hesmer——————-
BENCH- Gruenebaume, Iro, Oughton, Garey, Noonan, Ekpo, Hendrickson
DC UNITED
—————Emilio————Doe—————–
————————-Fred————————-
Guerrero————————————Quaranta
————————Simms———————–
Burch— —–Janicki—–McTavish——–Namoff
———————-Crayton————————
BENCH- Wells, Peralta, Vide, Dyachenko, Khumalo, Martinez, Moreno