Mike Grella hadn’t played in a Major League Soccer match since June 3, 2017 and he hadn’t played a match at all for Columbus Crew SC before Saturday and the Black & Gold’s 2-1 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes.
After suffering a knee injury and undergoing months of rehab, Grella made his first appearance for Crew SC off the bench after leaving the New York Red Bulls as a free agent during the offseason. He entered the match during the 65th minute and netted a game-winner during the 84th minute.
Crew SC midfielder Pedro Santos found an open Grella on the left side late in the match with the score tied 1-1. The newcomer made use of the space and made a move right before firing left and giving the Black & Gold the win, making 10 long months of rehab worth it.
“In the back of my mind I felt, ‘maybe I could get a goal,’” Grella said. “I thought I’d play well, I’d do what I could. But I knew that as soon as I crossed the line after such a long injury, many times throughout this period I thought that I’d never play again. When I crossed the line today to get in the game I knew that I had already accomplished something really good.”
In the 27th minute, Crew SC defender Harrison Afful was standing all alone on the right side of the field. Midfielder Federico Higuain found Afful, who made sure to stay on sides and smashed home a goal to take an early 1-0 lead. The goal was his first of the season.
“It was a great play,” Crew SC Head Coach and Sporting Director Gregg Berhalter said. “A great move and great finish by Harrison. I’m on him. I ride him all the time about getting shots on goal and making the final pass. But, Harrison’s a competitor. And I’m really happy for him as well to get that goal.”
Higuain continues to thrive as a passer this season, assisting on his fourth goal of the year, leading Crew SC. The midfielder is fresh off agreeing to a one-year contract extension during the week to guarantee that he will remain with the club through the 2019 season.
For the second week in a row, the Black & Gold conceded an equalizer near halftime. With defender Lalas Abubakar and goalkeeper Zack Steffen caught out of position, San Jose forward Danny Hoesen headed home a far-post goal off a cross from midfielder Florian Jungwirth.
Crew SC was superior in terms of offense during the match with San Jose, recording more total shots (14-9), shots on goal (3-1) and shots off goal (7-6).
Prior to the win, Crew SC had lost three of four matches and had only registered three goals in the entirety of that stretch. The month of April was a difficult one for Columbus after a strong start in March.
“At the end of the day you come out with three points and it’s one of those things that feels better because you got the win,” Berhalter said. “We still want to improve. We still have things to work on, but it was important to get the win tonight.”
Crew SC’s all-time record against San Jose now stands at 20-15-7. In terms of home matches in Columbus, the all-time tally is 14-3-3 in favor of the Black & Gold.
Columbus (4-3-2, 14 points) pushed up towards the top of the MLS Eastern Conference standings while San Jose (1-4-2, 5 points) remained near the bottom out west.
