COLUMBUS, Ohio — D.C. United came into Columbus and got a victory in a big battle of Eastern Conference leaders Wednesday night. The 1-0 win solidifies United’s position at the top of the table, as the Crew continue to tumble down.
The loss was the third in a row for Columbus, and marked the first time the Crew lost back-to-back home matches in three years. It was also the first win for D.C. in Columbus in 12 years.
The first half started out with both teams appearing on equal footing, but D.C. quickly gained an advantage, finding more attacking chances than Columbus. After Crew defender Josh Williams gave up a free kick just outside the box in the 27th minute, United forward Wayne Rooney lined up for the set piece and all 11 Columbus players stood between the ball and the net. Despite the size of the wall, Rooney curved the kick in anyways, scoring past a diving Zack Steffen.
Columbus couldn’t recover in the first half. The only real chances on goal came off deflections and lucky bounces as opposed to true shots on goal.
“From a statistics perspective, it’s difficult to look at,” Columbus Captain Wil Trapp said, “I think we need to vary the spots in which we try the crosses from….these deep crosses are easy to read and easy to head out. Bring the ball interior, and then try to penetrate again as they try to rotate into the middle I think is what we needed to do.”
The Crew started the second half stronger, but United’s defense held firm. The centerbacks cleared out all of the crosses and corners that Columbus sent in, totaling 53 in the game. Bill Hamid, the self proclaimed best American goalie, lived up to that billing. He snatched anything that came near him, preventing the Crew from scoring on any rebounds.
Columbus simply couldn’t create any meaningful shots, getting only two shots on goal in the second half. They had five total on the game despite having 44 crosses.
“I think it’s a little bit the same old story,” Crew Head Coach Caleb Porter said, “the only thing I know to do is to keep going with this group…you can’t win unless you score goals, and we’re there. We’re there to score the goals. We’re there to cross the ball.”
Scoring has been an issue all season. Wednesday’s shutout was the third of the season for the Crew. Over the last 466 minutes of play, the team only has two total goals.
“We have to look at how we’re missing the crosses. Are they crosses right? Are people in there?” Porter said, “I’m not discouraged, I’m not frustrated…you just can’t believe you can’t find the goal today. Can’t believe it.”
The schedule doesn’t get any easier. The Crew travel to Houston on Saturday, followed by another game against D.C. in the nation’s capital. Then they return home to face two of the best teams in the Western Conference, the LA Galaxy and LAFC.
“The goals will come” has been a constant refrain of the team, but to win games, they will need to actually arrive.