For a team that has yet to win a match in the USL PRO League no one expected the Dayton Dutch Lions to even keep up with a hot Columbus Crew squad. And yet in spite of all the experts the Lions stunned the Columbus Crew 2-1 in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. It was the first matchup between two Ohio teams in the modern era of the cup, and the second straight year that Columbus has lost their first match in the tournament.
Goalkeeper Matt Williams played a brilliant first half, saving everything the Crew could muster offensively. Chris Birchall in particular kept putting chance after chance towards to goal for Columbus but was out-dueled by the young keeper from the University of Cincinnati. The fantastic goalie play continued on into the second half as Williams made a great save off of a point blank blast by Justin Meram in the 61st minute.
The perfect defense could not last forever though. In the 63rd minute Shane Smith was called for a handball in the penalty box. Costa Rican striker Olman Vargas took advantage and calmly stepped up to give the Crew the lead 1-0. Columbus continued their onslaught on goal heading into the final 15 minutes of the match, but that’s when things got interesting.
In the 79th minute substitute Gerrit-Jan Bartels scored on a poor pass in the middle third by the Crew which led to an open run and assist for Gibson Bardsley. 2 minutes later, in the 81st, Bardsley did it himself on another poor defensive effort by the Crew putting the Lions up for good. Desperate for another goal Columbus put up a fight to the end but to no avail as Dayton’s defense held strong and kept the Crew out of the back of the net.
“We lost the match,” Crew head coach Robert Warzycha said when asked about his team’s performance.
It was the 2nd win for Dayton in this year’s U.S. Cup after beating Chicago Fire PDL last week. Next up the Lions will head north to play the Michigan Bucks who upset the Chicago Fire in extra time.
