It’s hard to imagine a team facing a must-win scenario with more than half of their games remaining, but on Saturday night against the Montreal Impact that is exactly what the Columbus Crew did.
After dropping points in four of their last five matches and falling five points off the pace for the fifth and final playoff position, the Crew needed to pull off an upset against first place Montreal if they hoped to keep their playoff goal alive.
And they achieved just that.
The Columbus players came out with perhaps their most impactful 90 minutes of soccer and walked away with a 2-0 victory.
In front of a raucous crowd the Crew dominated the opening proceedings and didn’t wait long to open the scoring with Matias Sanchez finding the back of the net in just the sixth minute.
The goal came when Dominic Oduro was fouled on a pass to Sanchez near the top of the box, but the official played advantage for the Crew. Sanchez’ shot deflected off Impact defender Jeb Brovsky and caught the keeper diving the wrong way to give Columbus the 1-0 lead.
It was the first goal as a member of the Crew for Sanchez who joined the team in the offseason from Argentinian side Estudiantes.
Oduro was the provider of the second score for Columbus in the 22nd minute when he dispossessed an indecisive Collen Warner in the midfield and used his speed to break away from the charging defenders. With just the keeper to beat the Ghanaian striker slotted the ball into the goal to give Columbus a two-goal lead.
The Crew has been plagued by injuries yet again this season with both Eddie Gaven and now Glauber out for the year; a few changes were made to the starting 11.
Josh Williams moved into central defense and the return of Chad Marshall anchored a solid defensive performance despite the loss of Glauber.
Next up Columbus will host eighth place Chicago Saturday at 8 at Crew Stadium.
Subside Sports Man of the Match: Dominic Oduro, Columbus Crew
Moved up top for the match as a replacement for Jairo Arrieta (who is away on international duty with Costa Rica), the Ghanaian was the most impressive player on the pitch for the 90 minutes. His speedy runs helped him set up a goal and score another, not to mention the numerous chances that were just off target on the night. His ability to push the pace, as well as beat defenders to Higuain crosses made the difference for the Crew, who desperately needed the win.
