By TRAVIS CLARK
The Columbus Crew once again came away empty handed in a Group C match against Cruz Azul. Two first half goals from the visitors were enough as Columbus fell 2-0. The home side came out with an attacking 3-5-2 with Guillermo Barros Schelotto pulling strings going forward. It worked well and created chance after chance early on, but unable to find the back of the net.
However, the Crew were unable to turn their pressure into goals, and they found themselves down two goals at the half, as Pablo Zeballos and Alejandro Vela scored for Cruz Azul. Despite going down, Columbus kept the pressure on, and bombarded Cruz Azul's net. Schelotto himself hit the woodwork on two free kicks, and Cruz Azul goalie Yosgart Gutierrez had to come up huge, denying Columbus on a number of occasions to preserve the clean sheet.
In all, the Crew managed 22 shots, though their inability to convert means Cruz Azul clinches a quarterfinal berth with two games remaining. Columbus still has a solid chance of going through, needing to defeat Saprissa on Tuesday to make it through.
Rapids tally late, tie with San Jose
In need of three points to keep pace with the rest of the league, Colorado hosted San Jose Wednesday night. The two sides battled through a goalless first half, before Chris Wondolowski opened the scoring with a penalty in the 54th minute.
A loss would be a real blow, and Colorado were unable to beat Joe Cannon for almost the entire second half. Omar Cummings found space and cut back in the box, only to get hacked down by San Jose defender Jason Hernandez. Conor Casey stepped up to the spot and grabbing a precious point for Colorado.
Back-to-back draws against the lowly Quakes can't mean good things for Colorado, who must now go on the road to secure a playoff spot. Three of their last four games are away from Dick's Sporting Goods Park
Here's a clip of Cummings drawing the penalty and Casey's equalizer:
Chivas USA falls to Guadalajara
Last night the first-ever ChivaClasico took place at the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles, with the Mexican club dropping their American counterparts by a score of 2-0. The game remained scoreless until late, when Omar Arellano struck twice in five minutes to earn the win for the mother club.
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What did you think of last night's action? Disappointed the Crew couldn't at least draw? Think the Rapids will make the playoffs? Make it out to the ChivasClasico? Share your thoughts below.
I have to agree that MLS players have always been known to whine too much about every whistle. The fact is, Mexican teams usually impose their game on the MLS teams, which will lead to frustrations and unnecessary tackles that lead to cards.
I personally can’t wait until next Wednesday, when Pachuca goes to Robertson Stadium to face the Dynamo. The only rivalry between a Mexican team and a MLS team. The Dynamo are also off this weekend, and unlike the first match, will have the services of Holden, Clark, Ashe, and Hainault. I just hope Dom puts the starting IX against Pachuca, a win would almost guarantee the Dynamo first place in Group A.
All the whining about CA players not getting carded yet nobody mentions Alejandro Moreno elbowing CA gk Gutierrez in the face.
I also love all the anti-American conspiracies.
Has anybody here watched MLS games? The refs let players get away with murder and thus the players become used to that kind of rough play.
It’s no coincidence that the USMNT has the same problem.
CSD,
I didn’t see a replay but I don’t think that O’Rourke even got that player on the tackle, it looked like in front of me that he got the ball. Azul was just whining about it. they were falling down all night when they brushed someone. That was just him crying about a good tackle and losing the ball.
I concur the officiating tends to be very helter-skelter in the CONCACAF Champions League. I just don’t believe in one sided conspiracy theories in sports. Unfortunately the players don’t know what they can and can’t do when there is no refereeing consistency.
In the Houston vs Arabe Unido game one of the Arabe Unido players with the ball was tripped got up got the ball back and had possession until 3 Dynamo players surrounded him and bumped him off the ball. The ref gave him a yellow card for diving. That call made no sense on multiple levels.
Some people here just find excuses for loses.
Columbus had all the opportunities in that game last night so it is their own fault they lost. The officiating was undeniably horrible though. I really try to be objective even with teams I cheer for but I was there at Crew Stadium and witnessed the lead official miss a countless number of calls. I don’t know about the supposed Mexican bias but I could see why people think that after last night. At one point a Cruz Azul defender slid in from behind and tackled O’Rourke ( I think) after the play was dead yet the ref didn’t issue a red card, yellow card, or even a verbal warning. That’s unbelievable. The MLS refs I usually see look so much better now after last night’s display.
andy, i’m not saying no one cares about this game. Point is if you look at the group standing now, its pretty clear which teams are better (Mexican Clubs). Just like the Carling up, most of the time its the big dogs in the PL that ends up winning the thing. Unlike Chamions League, where you have clubs from LaLiga, Premier League or Seria A winning every other year. There is no balance in Concacaf. I doubt you will see a team from Panama or MLS winning Concacaf champions league.
Man, that was a tough one to take. Good game, and I always expect FMF teams to play “hard”, especially when reserves are trying to impress you have to expect it.
This game shows why its going to be so hard to improve MLS going forward. The players couldn’t finish and looked impatient after Cruz Azul went up by two. MLS seems very inconsistent and this isn’t something that will just magically fix itself with another few expansion teams coming into the league and stretching depth even further. I’m not worried about losing Robbie Rogers to Europe anymore, though, at least for now.
@ gj, North American Carling Cup? You didn’t see Guillermo sky the ball or O’Rourke straddling the CA player screaming at him? I’m happy our guys care about this tournament that’s about nothing but pride, they’re not making any cash from Concacaf.
I only watched the first half, but Rogers was very wasteful with his service.
Cruz Azul should have had a player sent off with that elbow to Lenhart, but when in Mexico…
The Columbus centerbacks looked like hot garbage on the goals too.
Ives, should we call the CONCACAF Champions League something else. Maybe North American Carling Cup?
(SBI-Good one.)
@ CSD, who said:
“I guess you missed the sequence prior to the elbow in the box when a Columbus player went in studs up and could have broke a player for Cruz Azuls leg and didn’t get a card. ”
Re-read my post:
“O’Rourke probably should’ve had one for the pushing right before it, but by then, there were 3-4 other Azulis who should’ve been carrying yellow.”
O’Rourke’s pushing and shoving incident was the result of that tackle. Yes, he had studs exposed, but it was not studs-up like the tackle on Eduardo was. At some point, the physiology of leg angles takes over and the studs aren’t pointed at the ground.
The real problem was the head-butt pushing match afterwards. But again, by then O’Rourke had been hit in the head twice with flying arms that never even merited a discussion from the ref.
And the hit to Lenhart’s head wasn’t some random arm, it was a deliberate shot, and you can see the Mexican player line it up as the ball is coming in. It looked just like Andy Herron’s shot to Jay Heaps in ’07.
Ives,
The Quakes are a bit more solid now, not easy to break down. It’s a vast improvement. Don’t count the Rapids out on account of their last two games, they still look pretty lethal once into the attacking 3rd. cheers
FYI..Mexican teams win CONCACAF Champions League matches because they have the best teams in the region and by far the most resources available to them to improve their clubs. If Chad Marshall and Hejduk are in that match last night I think it ends up a 0-0 tie. Both goals were gifts by Columbus given up by a confused defense.
Brant,
I guess you missed the sequence prior to the elbow in the box when a Columbus player went in studs up and could have broke a player for Cruz Azuls leg and didn’t get a card. Cut out the World soccer refs are out to get us crap. Columbus players jumped into the Cruz Azul keeper on numerous occasions and the ref didn’t pull a card. The ref was letting things go early and it escalated in the box with a arm extended to the face it was not a vicious elbow even if the hacks on FSC go on about it for 10 minutes.
Not only a great penalty for Casey, but it puts him alone atop the single season goal leaderboard in Rapids history with 15.
Wow… that could have been a real mindf### for Casey after having the last PK just barely get by Cannon (who had guessed right), but Casey leads him the wrong way and puts it in the net.
wait, why were chivas usa playing a friendly when they have three games in hand and need to play six in the next calendar month?
Sorry Gilby, both PK’s were legit. Tell your players to stop fouling in the box in stoppage time.
The Crew dominated the second half, but Azul had their feet off the pedal by then.
Still, gotta love a 3-5-2 from an attacking perspective.
That’s a little deja vu for the Rapids at least this time they deserved the penalty.
How come Ramon Nunez wasn’t this good when he was in MLS?
Is this a statement about Ramon or MLS or not much of a statement at all?
Despite all the filthy play, Cruz Azul looked like the much better team. Let’s face it. We’re the rich country. They are the developing countries. All of our players can ‘probably’ find another decent paying job outside of soccer. In these other countries it’s not always the case. They play much dirtier, but also with tons more passion.
Granted… the refs should be much better. But we should also be able to come up with something that resembles a soccer match at this point. Empty looking stadium, national team players who can’t cross the ball, no passion, no fight. It all seems so 1993.
First off, the elbow to Lenhart’s face should’ve been a red card for the Azuli who did it. It was pro-wrestling move that deserved a pro-wrestling response.
Second, Hesmer should’ve had a yellow card for the retaliation on it all.
O’Rourke probably should’ve had one for the pushing right before it, but by then, there were 3-4 other Azulis who should’ve been carrying yellow.
When the defense has to back off because they know the refs are quick with the cards on the Americans and will never, ever give one to the favored sons of CONCACAF soccer (the Mexicans) then yes, scoring on the Americans looks easy.
I’ll tell you what, tho – if I’m Columbus, the next Mexican that takes a swing at any of my guys gets gang-tackled by Brunner, O’Rourke, Moffatt, and Padula. If they’re getting screwed anyway, they might as well make the opponent think twice about coming in hard because of the personal pain that will befall him. I’m not one to advocate street justice, but that crap last night was HORRIBLE. Columbus was forced to play scared on defense because they’d been burned by Brunner’s red card in Mexico and the ref calling a dreadfully uneven game in this one.
Finally, can someone, ANYONE, explain how Jair Marrufo was the 4th official on this game?!
He was suspended by his own country for being a sh!tty ref, so let’s send him back to work a game not only involving that league, but with one of the teams where his integrity was completely abandoned in the line of his professional duties.
It’s funny how a Chivas vs. Chivas was more entertaining, more competitive, and a much higher skill level than any of the Concacaf Champions League matches this week.
Robbie Rogers=sucks.
Thanks for nothing, ‘Quakes.