Top Stories

Columbus Crew at Kansas City Wizards: Match Night Commentary

Kansas_city_logo2008_016_2

The Supporters Shield winning Columbus Crew kick off its first playoff appearance in three years on the road against the Kansas City Wizards in the Eastern Conference playoffs tonight.

Both teams come in on strong end-of-season runs, though the Crew come in sporting the league’s best record. Can Kansas City build up a lead in game one? Will the potent Crew attack find gaps in KC’s defense?

I am doing a running commentary of the match. If you will be watching the match, please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.

Enjoy the action.

—————————–

FINAL– Columbus will have to feel VERY good going back to Crew Stadium for game two even on goals with KC. The Wizards will have to win in Columbus, and do so without Herculez Gomez.

—————————–

FINAL– Crew 1, Wizards 1 and the Crew find a late goal.

A second thought about the red card. My first view of the red card was that it wasn’t a red, but after watching it over Gomez followed through with his trailing leg pretty harshly so it’s more understandable.

—————————–

94th minute– Jewsbury’s free kick blasts off the wall.

—————————–

94th minute– Who will take the free kick for KC?

—————————–

93rd minute– WOW, foul at the top of the box and a COMPLETE DIVE by Ivan Trujillo. WOW.

—————————–

91st minute- GOAL CREW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOW. Steven Lenhart taps in a loose ball.

—————————–

90th minute– Four minutes of stoppage time.

—————————–

88th minute– Ekpo does come in and enters for Robbie Rogers. Ivan Trujillo is coming in for Claudio Lopez as well.

—————————–

87th minute– I have to say that I’m stunned that we haven’t seen either Ekpo or Noonan in this match yet.

—————————–

86th minute– Crew not showing much urgency considering the score and the fact that they’re a man down.

—————————–

79th minute– You know, now that I’ve seen Michael Harrington’s Fauxhawk in HD, I still think it looks questionable.

—————————–

77th minute– When are we going to see Noonan and Ekpo? Evans is not playing well and should come out.

—————————–

76th minute– I really don’t see how that was a straight red card. Not at all. A yellow. Now the Crew have a big edge for the final 14 minutes.

—————————–

75th minute- RED CARD on Herculez Gomez!!! Wow. Gomez was on the ground and stuck a leg out on Padula. Rogers came on Gomez on a clean tackle and when Padula raced in to get the ball, Gomez stuck the leg out late and caught him.

—————————–

74th minute– Schelotto probably regrets not just blasting that one near-side.

—————————–

73rd minute– WOW, Schelotto had a clear look from six yards out but sends his low shot just a yard wide. What a chance.

—————————–

71st minute– Moreno comes very close, but sends his shot just a foot wide

—————————–

69th minute– Wolff in for Abe Thompson.

—————————–

68th minute– Josh Wolff is set to come in.

—————————–

67th minute– Hejduk forces Hartman to get his hand on a long-range shot. The Crew corner goes nowhere.

—————————–

65th minute– Columbus is playing well but can’t find the net.

—————————–

62nd minute– SChelotto comes SO CLOSE. He hit a 35-yard shot off the crossbar. Wow.

—————————–

61st minute– Brad Evans with another terrible turnover that leads to a KC counterattack. Arnaud’s shot goes wide. Somebody wake Evans up.

—————————–

60th minute– I must say that seeing Eddie Gaven with a buzz cut and beard is a strange sight.

—————————–

59th minute– Chad Marshall misses a header on an open net after Hartman ran out to punch a cross away.

—————————–

57th minute– Gomez with a good shot, Hesmer saves. KC smells blood and the Crew looks nervous.

—————————–

54th minute– Great sequence by Arnaud, who took a Brad Evans turnover and started the counter, then raced all the way down and headed home the go-ahead goal. Wizards 1, Crew 0.

—————————–

53rd minute- GOAL WIZARDS!!!! And it’s Arnaud with the crashing header off a perfect Claudio Lopez cross.

—————————–

51st minute– Gomez with a nice ball in to Thompson but Marshall gets in to block it. KC corner is punched out by Hesmer, who took a hit.

—————————–

50th minute– Rogers and Conrad have some words after a clash.

—————————–

49th minute– Nice Where’s Waldo sighting of Alfonso Mondelo in the stands.

—————————–

48th minute– Schelotto springs Rogers down the left, his cross finds Gaven, but Moreno can’t do much with Gaven’s header pass. Nice sequence though.

—————————–

47th minute– And we’re back.

—————————–

HALFTIME– Here’s Onalfo at halftime:

"It’s 0-0, it’s a playoff game, these games come down to a play or two," Onalfo said. "It’s been a very even half and we just have to keep plugging away, and as the half progresses, continue to take more risk and make sure we capitalize on the chances that we have."

—————————–

HALFTIME– We are scoreless at halftime. Onalfo is doing a halftime interview, probably just so he can show off his sharp outfit on HD.

—————————–

45th minute– one minute of stoppage.

—————————–

43rd minute– Schelotto comes OH so close. WOW. Long ball into the area, Schelotto beats Hartman and chips it, but it went over the bar.

—————————–

41st minute– Rogers with some nice moves in the area, but has too many defenders around him.

Gino Padula just got hit by Jack Jewsbury and is down.

—————————–

40th minute– Robbie Rogers complaining for a yellow card after a foul on him. Never mind the fact that he dragged his trailing leg to draw that foul. That aside, Rogers has looked good early on.

—————————–

37th minute– It is a bit strange to see the atmosphere at CommunityAmerica Ballpark. It’s like this game is being played in the middle of a carnival.

—————————–

36th minute– The Crew offense just looks more effective than the Wizards. They do a better job in possession and I think that will be why they ultimately win this series.

—————————–

32nd minute– Until now. Frankie Hejduk with a shot from 19 that forces a full-stretch save from Hartman. Nice save.

—————————–

32nd minute– No chances to speak of yet.

—————————–

29th minute– Kevin Souter with a dangerous ball in to Thompson, but Hesmer runs out and gets a hand on to it.

—————————–

27th minute– Wizards with a good stretch of possession but can’t get a shot on goal.

—————————–

25th minute– Can I just say that I wish every game I watched was in HD.

—————————–

23rd minute– It is 0-0 at KC.

Comments

  1. Best response to a questionable red card ever.

    “I put my team in a bad position. I put the referee in a position where he had to make a tough call and unfortunately it didn’t go our way. I’m just extremely disappointed in myself for the position that I put my team in.”

    Great understanding of the fact that he put the referee in the “position” to possibly give a red card. It shouldn’t have been, but Herc knows it was a dumb move. That’s classy stuff.

    Reply
  2. Go Crew! Headed back to Columbus from NC for the 2d leg next week – and I hope we’ll be back up there then *next* week, too 🙂

    Reply
  3. lenhart is no sucky player.. He’s a fabulous poacher , great player.. And cool ! Been follwing since he scored against gals when he had an Afro. I love this team and hate my local team with all my heart cause I don’t identify myself with them..nyrb or better yet the joisy red bulls..

    viva Columbus viva el guille.. This team has personality

    Reply
  4. Schelleto gets free in the box, but his touch drifts him wide and he can’t put it on goal. Columbus is looking relentless, but can they get the break thru?

    Reply
  5. Heydude again just over! I almost thought it was a replay of the first half. They say Hartman tipped it, but I don’t think it was going in. Nothing comes of the corner.

    Reply
  6. Half time. Decent game so far, Columbus with the best two chances. I think the KC defense is playing well to limit the really dangerous chances, considering how often the Crew have been knocking on the door. Seems like a matter of time before they get a goal. Rogers has been very active.

    Reply
  7. Crew:

    * 1 – William Hesmer (GK)

    * 2 – Frankie Hejduk

    * 3 – Brad Evans

    * 4 – Gino Padula

    * 5 – Danny O’Rourke

    * 7 – Guillermo Barros Schelotto

    * 10 – Alejandro Moreno

    * 12 – Eddie Gaven

    * 14 – Chad Marshall

    * 16 – Brian Carroll

    * 19 – Robbie Rogers

    KC:

    * 1 – Kevin Hartman (GK)

    * 2 – Michael Harrington

    * 4 – Abe Thompson

    * 7 – Claudio Lopez

    * 12 – Jimmy Conrad

    * 14 – Jack Jewsbury

    * 20 – Tyson Wahl

    * 21 – Herculez Gomez

    * 22 – Davy Arnaud

    * 25 – Jonathan Leathers

    * 26 – Kevin Souter

    Reply
  8. Nice up and down game so far. Columbus is consistently causing trouble, but KC just got into the act with a dangerous attack, but no one has put a really good shot on goal.

    Reply

Leave a Reply to eric Cancel reply