From Bad to Worse

By: Matt | April 4th, 2009

Wow, that was ugly. Everything that could have went wrong on Thursday night went wrong for the Crew in their match against Real Salt Lake. From the 2nd minute, the Crew would have to play from behind when a Real Salt Lake free kick saw Will Hesmer punch the ball out, but right to an unmarked Robbie Findlay who buried the ball into the net. Not a good way to start out a road match. However, if there is a team that has shown it can play from behind, it is the Crew. It seemed like they would be on the comeback trail, as they started to control the match for a fifteen minute time period. Robbie Rogers and Eddie Gaven controlled the ball on the wings and the Crew created a few chances. Finally in the 22nd minute, they made one of these chances pay when Gino Padula’s initial cross was not cleared by RSL and eventually found the feet of Jason Garey who evened the game up for the Crew. Unfortunately, this would be the end of any positive play by the Crew. Just seven minutes after leveling the match, the screws came loose from an area that is usually most secure for the Crew. Will Hesmer tried to clear a ball long, but instead sent a weak grounder straight to Findlay again, who danced around Hesmer easily and scored in the empty net. It was the second goal for Findlay that the Crew deserved an assist for. Findlay finished his hat-trick in the second half in the 62nd minute and then part time Strike Anywhere lead vocalist Kyle Beckerman put a fourth goal on the Crew with a long strike. After 90 minutes, the whistle mercifully ended the Crew nightmare on a disappointing game. A 4-1 defeat is never fun, but just how could it have gotten worse for the Crew? Well, Jason Garey had to be carried off the pitch late in the game after an ankle sprain to his right ankle to add the a growing list of unavailable players for the Crew. So what went wrong?

Yet again, the Crew were without Frankie Hejduk after featuring in the previous night’s US World Cup Qualifier and spent most of the match without last season’s leading scorer Alejandro Moreno. Are those two keys cogs in the Crew machine? You bet. Should their absence result in a 4-1 gubbing. Hell no. Will Hesmer certainly has his share of blame in this match, being unable to clear the first goal for Real Salt Lake and unintentionally giving an ugly assist to the Royals for their second. While Hesmer is usually solid, I noticed in the match against Toronto that many of Hesmer’s goal kicks were poor, going straight to the opposing keeper or flying helplessly out of play. They certainly were not as bad as the one Hesmer took on Thursday.

Gino Padula also looked very slow and very old on Thursday as well. One must wonder if last weekend’s own goal was on Padula’s mind, because he certainly seemed tentative and played poorly. Danny O’Rourke also seemed to struggle during the match. As I said before the season, O’Rourke has come a long way in his play as a center back, but it seems like he regressed Thursday night. Emmanuel Ekpo continues to struggle in the middle of the field. He really belongs on the wing, as he has shown clearly that he cannot tackle and possess the ball long enough in the middle.

The Crew must have short memories and forget about Thursday night quickly as they have to travel to LA to take on an undefeated Chivas squad on Sunday. Pat Noonan will still be unavailable with back problems and Jason Garey will be missing after the ankle sprain he suffered on Thursday. The good news for the Crew is the return of Frankie Hejduk and Alejandro Moreno. The two key players for the Crew should be 100% and ready to go Sunday. Robbie Rogers has been hobbled by a hamstring problem, so hopefully he got some time to rest it before tomorrow’s match. The Crew’s attack just isn’t the same with Rogers hurt. Hopefully the return of Moreno and Hejduk can help the Crew improve their performance from last Thursday, though it will not be hard to improve it.