The Columbus Crew recorded a much needed win against the Chicago Fire 3-0 Saturday evening.
“We owed it to ourselves to go win the game and I think that served as notice to Chicago and the other teams that are ahead of us in the playoffs, that there are a few games left and we are coming hard,” Crew Interim Head Coach Brian Bliss stated.
Columbus took advantage of a red card shown to Fire defender Bakary Soumare in the 29th minute, scoring twice in the second half to go with a 15th minute firecracker by midfielder Dominic Oduro for the three-goal lead.
The Crew’s first goal came at the end of a spell of possession by Columbus when forward Jairo Arrieta’s touch pass found Oduro on the right side of the box with just the keeper to beat. Oduro’s shot rocketed far post past Fire goalkeeper Sean Johnson to give the Crew the one-goal advantage.
Momentum only continued to build for the home side in the 29th when Arrieta found himself with open field in front of him, but was brought down from behind by Soumare. The official showed the Fire defender straight red for the foul, and the Crew found themselves with a man advantage for the final hour of the match.
Columbus’ second goal came when Arrieta was brought down in the box by Johnson for a penalty, with Higuain capitalizing and doubling the Crew lead.
Just six minutes later midfielder Tony Tchani setup midfielder Bernardo Anor, whose low shot found the back of the net and put the match away for good.
The victory was vital for the Crew’s playoff hopes. Now on 38 points, Columbus finds itself two points behind the fifth-place New England Revolution. The top-five teams in the Eastern conference qualify for the postseason.
It was also the Crew’s second straight win, and third in four matches since Brian Bliss was appointed interim manager on Sept. 2.
Next up Columbus hits the road to take on FC Dallas on Sept. 29 at 8:30 p.m. before returning home to face off against second-place Sporting Kansas City Oct. 5 at 7:30 p.m.
Subside Sports Man of the Match: Jairo Arrieta, Columbus Crew
The Costa Rican forward was at the top of his game against Chicago, recording an assist on the first goal and earning the penalty that led to the second. His runs off the ball were consistently dangerous and he was incredibly unlucky to not find the back of the net in the match. If Arrieta can continue his play as a setup man for players like Oduro and Higuain it will be hard to beat Columbus moving forward.
