The Columbus Crew came away with 3 points and a 3-0 victory over D.C. United on Saturday evening on what some would call a wild night.
The match was delayed 50 minutes by a scoreboard fire. That’s right a scoreboard fire. Sections in the southern part of the stadium were quickly evacuated as the Columbus Fire Department responded to the blaze, extinguishing it within minutes. I have to say it was a first for me, a scoreboard fire is not something you see everyday and thankfully so. No one was quite sure if something like this had ever happened before.
Crew President and General Manager Mark McCullers agreed.
“I’ve got to tell you that I don’t think there’s a page in our book that talks about scoreboard fires, but certainly fires in general are a part of our safety plan,” McCullers commented. “I’m really proud of our staff and the way they responded. They were calm, they were professional, and they were expert in what they did.”
The fire was the start of a crazy sequence of events, but it was a match that ended up very much in favor of the Crew. Columbus climbed the standings, the Crew attack was reinvigorated, and Andy Gruenebaum was simply stellar in goal when called upon.
The Crew made quick work of dispatching United on a night that D.C. would likely want to forget. Lady Luck abandoned the visitors; she was clearly a Crew fan on Saturday.
Dominic Oduro scored the first Columbus goal in just the 15th minute. Jairo Arrieta, who was an active part of every goal, and Eddie Gaven would get the assists on what could be best described as textbook finishing.
Josh Williams would turn a Federico Higuain corner into a Crew goal just 11 minutes later.
“I have to give all the credit to Pipa again,” Williams stated. “He puts them on a dangerous spot every time. I just reacted to the ball. I found myself in the right spot.”
Higuain would later get one of his own, converting a penalty kick in first half stoppage to give the Crew a 3-0 lead heading into the locker room at halftime.
That was all that the Black & Gold needed as they continued to fight United until the final whistle. D.C. had opportunities of their own, but everything that could go wrong, did. They had a goal waved early, several shots clanked off the post, and Gruenebaum smothered several other chances.
The win gives Columbus a full three points in the first of three consecutive home matches.
“We came out pretty strong and we talked about scoring the first goal and starting the game well and that’s what we did,” Crew head coach Robert Warzycha declared. “Guys actually did what we asked them to do. We played well in front of our home fans.”
The Crew are back in action next Saturday, May 4 against the New York Red Bulls in a match that will be televised live on the NBC Sports Network.
Subside Sports Man of the Match: Forward Jairo Arrieta, Columbus Crew
Josh Williams Audio (good for 90 days)
Robert Warzycha Audio (good for 90 days)
Mark McCullers Audio (good for 90 days)
