Crew try to stay alive in Game 2 against Real
Columbus needs to top Real to erase one-goal deficit
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COLUMBUS CREW v REAL SALT LAKE
Thurs., Nov. 5, Columbus Crew Stadium (8 p.m. ET; ESPN2/Deportes)
LEAGUE HEAD-TO-HEAD: CLB 6 wins, 15 goals scored ... RSL 3 wins, 10 goals scored ... 1 tie
2009 HEAD-TO-HEAD: RSL 1 win, 5 goals scored ... CLB 1 win, 4 goals scored ... 0 ties
AT CREW STADIUM:
7/18: CLB 3, RSL 1 (Lenhart 23; Garey 31, 52 - Cox 76)
MLS CUP PLAYOFFS: RSL 1 win, goals scored ... CLB 0 wins, 0 goals scored ... 0 ties
REFEREE: Baldomero Toledo. SAR (bench): Thomas Supple; JAR (opposite): Joe Fletcher; 4th: Silviu Petrescu
INJURY REPORT: COLUMBUS CREW -- OUT: GK Andy Gruenebaum (R hip impingement) ... REAL SALT LAKE -- DF Tony Beltran (R quadriceps tightness), FW Robbie Findley (R shoulder sprain), MF Ned Grabavoy (illness), MF Javier Morales (R mid foot contusion), GK Nick Rimando (R hamstring contusion), MF Andy Williams (L shoulder sprain)
SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS (suspended next yellow): CLB: Brian Carroll ... RSL: Kyle Beckerman
CREW: Crew head coach Robert Warzycha caused some eyebrows to be raised when Guillermo Barros Schelotto did not start in the first leg in Salt Lake City; the reigning MLS and MLS Cup MVP was an unused substitute. "Did you check his stats? How many goals does he have the last four or five games since coming back from his injury? I put out the players in my mind that can do the job and help the team. Sometimes in the games you're not scoring. Me as the coach, I have to find the solution. I'm not saying I'm right all the time," Warzycha said. ... Warzycha indicated Schelotto will likely be in the starting team for the second leg. "Usually at home we play much better. I need to see what he does in practice. I need to see how he can best help the team. It's not like he's somebody that has a title to play. It's based on performance. If the team needs him he is going to play," he said. ... To open their playoff run a year ago, the Crew needed a stoppage-time equalizer from Steven Lenhart to gain a 1-1 draw at Kansas City in a semifinal first leg. A similar result would have suited them against Real. "But sometimes you don't create chances, and that's what happened [Saturday]," said Warzycha. "They have a good team, they played at home and they had the momentum after winning last week. It was very important for us to not give up a goal, so with a 0-0 tie we'd probably be very happy." ... The Crew have now lost four of their last five games by a 1-0 scoreline, having gone the last 324 minutes in league and Cup play without a goal. A year ago, the team set a club-record scoreless streak of 371 minutes -- then broke out with back-to-back three-goal games. "It's always been a team that scores in bunches. When we're hot, we're hot and when we're not we're not," midfielder Danny O'Rourke said. ... Center back Chad Marshall was able to return after a six-match absence, playing the entire game alongside Eric Brunner. O'Rourke plays a slightly more advanced midfield role ahead of holding midfielder Brian Carroll. "I think we executed our game plan, what we wanted to do, but we fell asleep for 10 seconds and that was the game," said Frankie Hejduk. "At the end of the day, they've got to beat us at our place and it's an even game."
REAL: In last year's dramatic playoff run, Yura Movsisyan was the catalyst, first scoring the 90th-minute equalizer against Colorado to send RSL into the postseason, then the 90th-minute game-winner in the semifinal series first leg vs. Chivas USA that gave them a margin they held on to in the second leg. This time Movsisyan played provider in the 88th-minute winner vs. Columbus. ... Movsisyan has already agreed a transfer to Randers FC of Denmark following the season. "These fans, this team, this club has given me a lot," he said. "(RSL) has given me my break. It has given me everything that I have right now and given me really really good memories. So it was important to make a name for myself and have the fans remember me for the rest of their lives." ... Robbie Findley continued his Crew-killing exploits. He scored the first hat trick in RSL history in a 4-1 win vs. Columbus on April 2. "It felt good," Findley said. "If anybody had scored it, it would have felt good. That was the plan. We tried to get out 1-0 or 2-0 -- however many goals we could get and we were able to do it." ... Of course, to advance to the Western Conference Championship, Real will need to come away from Columbus with a result -- they are 2-11-2 this season away from Rio Tinto Stadium. The team even left two days earlier than usual for central Ohio. ... Real allowed three goals in three of their last five regular-season games -- but also posted a 1-0 shutout at Kansas City, one of three shutouts they had on the road this year (also: 0-0 vs. D.C. United; 2-0 vs. LA Galaxy). "We just really hope for a clean sheet," midfielder Clint Mathis said, "because if we keep a clean sheet, we go through no matter if we score or not." Said defender Chris Wingert: "We're going to try to make sure we play our best defense, and do our best not to let them on the scoreboard." ... After seeing Columbus come to their stadium seemingly looking for a draw, the 1-0 win affords RSL head coach Jason Kreis the same opportunity for the return match. "It affords us the opportunity to be a little bit more defensive, to really protect what we've already got," he said.
