Healthy Ekpo sparks Crew
Midfielder's blast helps Columbus earn three points
He warmed up prior to the match but the coaching staff decided it wasn't worth the risk for the Nigerian Olympic team member.
In retrospect, it was a very good call. The Crew tied the Galaxy 3-3 and Ekpo was healthy enough Saturday to play a starring role in the Crew's 2-1 victory against the Colorado Rapids at Crew Stadium.
His mad dash from midfield and ensuing strike to the lower left corner not only was his first MLS goal but the winner in the 70th minute.
"I'm very happy for my first goal. The goal helped us get three points," he said.
It was a thing of beauty. He dribbled about 50 yards past six Colorado players before firing from just outside the penalty area.
"I knew they were chasing me. I had to be quick with my shot," he said.
There's no way he could have made that run against the Galaxy because of the injury.
"When I was watching from the bench I was kind of disappointed," he said. "I missed playing a lot. If I had played that game I might have made a positive impact but I might also have gotten hurt worse. I'm glad to be playing again."
The Crew are just beginning to see his value. Ekpo did not join the club until April 20 and his 77 minutes vs. the Rapids give him only 318 for the season.
"When you add up his minutes, I don't know exactly what it is, but it's probably around 300 minutes," coach Sigi Schmid said. "He hasn't played a ton of minutes in this league. As he plays more and more he's going to understand the league better."
Ekpo missed some quality chances in the first half as his usually solid passing was off but he made up for it in the frenetic second half. Guillermo Barros Schelotto gave the Crew a 1-0 lead in the 53rd minute on a penalty kick but the Rapids' Nick LaBrocca responded seven minutes later.
The match remained tied until Ekpo flicked the ball to himself around the center circle and headed toward the goal as the field opened before him.
"The goal was an outstanding goal. That's got to be a goal of the week candidate," Schmid said. "It was not only the finish. Obviously, it was a good finish. He struck it well but the turn at midfield and flicking it to himself and going to space was what made it."
Crew defender Andy Iro has seen many plays like that in practice.
"We needed something special and when Manu (Ekpo) got that goal all of a sudden we started feeling good about ourselves," he said. "The thing with Manu is that he will try that again next week and hit the corner flag. That's the type of player he is. You take the good with the bad. You know when it's really good he's a special player. He's only played a few games in this league and come the end of the season he's going to be flying. He's going to be a big part of this team."
The Crew had lost ther previous two home matches without scoring a goal but recorded their fifth win in seven tries in Crew Stadium thanks to the effort of goalkeeper Will Hesmer, who had seven saves.
"We really wanted the clean sheet," Schmid said. "We've scored eight goals in the last three games. That's important. We could have scored more."
Ekpo wasn't the only young player in the lineup. Iro made just his second start and teamed with Chad Marshall for a towering presence in the central defense. Iro is 6-foot-5; Marshall an inch shorter.
Schmid moved Danny O'Rourke from the center to left back and put rookie Ryan Junge on the bench to combat the service ability of the Rapids.
"Having two big guys in the middle really helped," Schmid said.
Iro, the team's first pick in the SuperDraft in January, found out Friday he was starting.
"I was surprised," he said. "Sigi said they would be crossing balls and they have big guys in the air. It paid off. We limited their chances with me and Chad being there to clear the loose balls."
Craig Merz is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
