On a night where the weather delayed the game for almost 90 minutes, it was the Seattle Sounders who cast the darkest clouds of the night over Crew Stadium.
An Eddie Johnson header in the 14th minute made the difference in the game, as Columbus fell to the Sounders 1-0, despite playing up a man after a red card was shown to Leonardo Gonzalez in the seventh minute.
The presence of Sounder superstars Eddie Johnson and Clint Dempsey brought out a season-high number of fans for Columbus, but the raucous crowd could not spur the home side on to their third straight home victory.
The sending off came when Crew striker Ryan Finley broke away from the Sounders defense and was taken down from behind by Gonzalez with nothing but the goalie in front. The official judged the play to be a scoring opportunity and sent Gonzalez off with a straight red card.
Despite the man-disadvantage, Seattle still seemed the stronger side with Dempsey and Johnson testing the Crew backline.
In the 14th a Mauro Rosales free kick found the head of Johnson, who gingerly directed the ball far post and past Matt Lampson.
A yellow card shown to Danny O’Rourke from his foul on Dempsey in the 21st minute means the defender will miss Columbus’ next match because of accumulation.
Columbus dominated proceedings in the second half and finished the game with 21 shots, but were never able to find the finishing touch, failing to score for the seventh time this season.
It was the first time the Crew lost at home since July 20 against the New England Revolution and their second defeat in as many games.
Federico Higuain was suspended for the match and was severely missed by the home side, who lacked a touch of creativity in the midfield that was needed to get past the second-place Sounders.
Although not out of the realm of possibility, the loss makes it difficult for Columbus to make a push for the playoffs this season. With eight matches left the Crew sit eight points behind the New England Revolution for the final playoff spot.
Next up the Crew will host the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m.
Subside Sports Man of the Match: Forward Jairo Arrieta, Columbus Crew
The lack of midfield play made it a difficult night for the Crew strikers, but Arrieta found a way to leave his mark on the match for Columbus. Although he failed to capitalize on any of his chances, the forward was the most threatening player in yellow on the night. His runs into the box kept the Sounders keeper on his toes all match, and his movement down the left side was threatening, almost finding Finley for a score on multiple occasions.
