CREW DEFLATED BY DC UNITED

Matt Bernhardt
August 18, 2007

Playing in front of the largest crowd of the season, Columbus could only manage one half of solid play against their biggest rival tonight. Unfortunately, DC United weathered the early storm and poached two goals in the second half to emerge with a 2-0 victory.

After a first half in which the Crew had better possession but no shots on goal, United came out in the second half and took advantage of defensive miscues to stake their lead. The opening goal, scored by Fred in the 52nd minute, capped a sequence in which the ball hit one post and moved by several statuesque players before finding the back of the net.

Columbus tried to pick up their intensity after the goal, forcing three saves from Troy Perkins in the next 9 minutes, but it was DC who struck again in the 63rd. Ezra Hendrickson, one of two new faces in the center of the Crew defense, had his pocket picked by Luciano Emilio from 6 yards out. It was a sequence which will surely haunt the Crew fans who witnessed it live, and took the wind from the team's sails.

In the next 27 minutes, the Crew took seven shots, but only one of them was on frame - from Frankie Hejduk in the 83rd minute. DC, for their part, didn't take a shot after the 64th minute.

In post-game comments, coach Sigi Schmid was highly critical of the referee, pointing out apparent inconsistencies in calls by the north linesman and referencing DC's 5-0-1 record in games refereed by Richard Heron.

Regardless of the cause, the loss drops the Crew to a 6-7-8 record, still with 26 points and in fifth place in the Eastern Conference. They are winless in three games, with only one victory - and four points - in the last five matches.

DC United improves to 10-6-3, and depending on tomorrow's result between New England and Kansas City could sit only three points out of first place with three games in hand.

The Crew's next match is next Saturday at Houston, set for an 8:30 kickoff and broadcast on ONN. DC, in the meantime, will host New York on Wednesday before travelling to Toronto at the weekend.

Attendance Note

Tonight's attendance of 21,639 - driven in part by the three-game ticket pack that includes the David Beckham game - was the largest crowd in Crew Stadium in almost three years. The team's 3-3 draw with Chicago on October 2nd, 2004 was witnessed by 23,250 people.