Columbus Crew vs. FC Dallas: Rematch Report

By: James | September 6th, 2008

Crew 2, Hoops 1
Dallas: Cunningham(Guarda) 35
Columbus: Moreno(Marshall, Barros Schelotto) 37, Gaven(Barros Schelotto)40

On the road in Dallas, the Crew pulled off another come-from-behind win. Columbus completed their August run at 3-1-0, winning the last 3. Schelotto assisted on 5 of the 6 August goals, and made the 6th from the spot against Real Salt Lake. He earned Player of the Month honors, and there’s been a lot of speculation that he’ll be tapped as season MVP even though he wasn’t named to the All-Star team.

Columbus sits at the top of the table on 40 points, with New England just 2 points back. September is bookended by meetings between the East’s top twosome, first in Columbus on September 6 and again in Foxboro on September 27. Those games will be critical winning the Supporters’ Shield.

In Dallas, Columbus handled the Hoops better from the starting gun than they did in Columbus two weeks before. In their first meeting, the first half was dominated by Kenny Cooper, Jeff Cunningham and the Dallas midfield. This time Columbus held possession better in the midfield than any road match since they thumped Kansas City in June.

There were a few moments of concern against Dallas, however. Of course, Cunningham found the net first, but being down a goal before the half is a pretty comfortable territory for the Crew. I felt more nervous about a couple other near misses that came in the half. The old vulnerabilities in the back line may be lying dormant, ready to pull the rug out from under a sure win.

In this match it came down to Andy Iro overcommitting a couple times, and not always taking the best position to absorb the Hoops attack. On the other hand, he showed good speed and made a vigorous defense. Where I supported Iro’s move to central defense just a few weeks ago, with Danny O’Rourke swapped to the left, now I think O’Rourke looks better in the center. He’s has made huge strides in understanding the position and was worked hard to control his temper. It will be interesting to see how Sigi chooses to cover Hejduk’s absence for National Team play in September. Will O’Rourke play in center with Iro on Hejduk’s side? The reverse? Will we see Jed Zayner in for Frankie instead?

Chad Marshall contributed to another goal this week off of a corner kick. Despite Marshall starting well back from the far post, Schelotto directed the ball to Marshall who got his head on it. It was too far out to make it in the net on its own, but it did make it to Alejandro Moreno’s head and was knocked in. Schelotto give the Crew to confidence and guile to score on an insane percentage of set pieces.

Columbus’s midfield looked solid and linked well between defense and offense. Brian Carroll made less of an impression than he normally does but contributed to the improved possession. Brad Evans likewise was solid but as key to the game as he often is. The interesting thing there is that perhaps it shows better cohesion throughout the pitch, with the central midfielders seemlessly connecting to the offense and helping stuff opponent advances with good positioning.

Eddie Gaven had a great game. He recorded his first goal of the season through solid positioning off of a brilliant Schelotto cross. Earlier in the season Schelotto would play balls into the box that wouldn’t find a single Crew player in position to finish. Emmanuel Ekpo was among the first to read Schelotto’s intentions. Now, week after week, Schelotto’s entire team is playing up to his game vision. Evans, Carroll, Marshall, and now Gaven, have finished brilliantly on plays Schelotto began brilliantly. I’ve been hoping that Gaven would get a goal and finally unlock his ability to finish. I hope he’s good for three more.