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After being held shotless for 90 minutes, Columbus Crew forward Gyasi Zardes got the opportunity he needed during injury time and made it count.
In the 91st minute, Harrison Afful spotted Zardes and lobbed the ball his way. The pass was originally intended for Patrick Mullins, but Mullins was offsides so he let the ball fall to Zardes, who put it past Willis for the game’s only score of the night and a 1-0 Crew SC victory over the Houston Dynamo.
“I saw Patrick make a good run and I just screamed, ‘Leave it, leave it,’ cause I thought he was going to flick it on,” Zardes said after the game. “I took a touch and put it on frame.”
Houston (7-10-6, 27 points) entered the match against the Crew (11-7-6, 39 points) on a five-game winless streak in MLS — now six — but started the night on the front foot — despite having played 120 minutes in Wednesday’s U.S. Open Cup semifinal bout.
And they did it without head coach Wilmer Cabrera, who was serving his one-game suspension after receiving a red card in Houston’s last MLS match. In his place was Dynamo assistant coach Michael Dellorusso.
During the first 20 minutes, Romell Quioto had two shots, but both were easily saved by Crew keeper Zack Steffen. The Dynamo pressed the Crew high up the field for the majority of the first half, which made it difficult for Federico Higuain and Pedro Santos to get on the ball.
The Crew got their first shot on target in the 29th minute when midfielder Pedro Santos drifted to the middle of the pitch to receive the ball. Santos quickly let it rip from 30 yards out, but his left-footed effort hit the post.
It was the closest either side came to scoring in the first half. Shortly after halftime, Columbus got another opportunity to take the lead.
In the 52nd minute, the Crew got out on the run. Mike Grella slipped a ball into Higuain, who found himself in the box. Higuain only had Wilis to beat and shot it right at him for an easy punch clearance.
The high-pressure Houston applied to the Crew in the first half was nonexistent in the early part of the second half. Perhaps the heavy minutes the players logged Wednesday started to come into play.
“We know they played three games in a week,” Zardes said. “So that’s crucial. We had to play the full 90 with high intensity, keep it moving side to side, and sure enough, the game opened up in the second half.”
In the 58th minute, Manotas came close to single-handedly changing the complexion of the game when he went on a solo run.
Manotas got the ball near the middle of the field and sprinted toward the goal with Crew defender Jonathan Mensah doing his best to stop him. Manotas spun around him and got a shot off that was going to the back of the net until Steffan got low to keep it out.
Newly-acquired midfielder Justin Meram, who returned after being traded to Orlando City during the offseason, made his debut and was an immediate impact for the Crew.
“I was nervous for sure, a different kind of nervous as this is my first game since coming back,” Meram said. “Honestly, once I got my first couple touches, I will be honest, it all felt pretty natural being back in my element; a lot of the guys I know how to play with and combine with, and we created some dangerous chances early on.”
Those chances did in fact come quick. Meram connected with Higuain within a minute of entering the match. Higuain found himself on the right side of the box but his shot was disposed of by Willis.
Houston came close to breaking the deadlock in the 72nd minute.
Dynamo centerback Leonardo headed the ball back into the box. It fell to Andrew Wenger, who set himself up for a shot. Amid a crowded box, he got the shot off, but Steffan showed his athleticism in making the save.
A Dynamo trend this season has been to concede goals on the road after the 80th minute when the Orange are in a position to take points. And that trend continued Saturday with Zardes’ goal.
“The credit goes to the guys for the way they executed, and for the way they hung in there, and kept playing, and Harrison [Afful] gave a great ball for the goal,” Crew head coach Gregg Berhalter said. “Good running by Gyasi [Zardes] in the penalty box, and a good goal.”
Instead of walking away with a point, the Dynamo leave Columbus with more questions than answers, and more likely than not will drop further in the Western Conference standings.