Justin Meram scored the first goal of the match and earned an assist in the second half to be named Barbasol Man of the Match. Photo/Nate Smallwood/TheCrew.com
[dropcap]C[/dropcap]olumbus entered Saturday’s contest against the Houston Dynamo with momentum on their side and rolled their foe for an impressive 3-0 shutout victory. With the win, the Crew remain in fourth in the MLS Cup Playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
The victory ends a three-game home stand for the Crew with a 2-1 record. The Black and Gold seemingly manhandled the LA Galaxy last weekend, 4-1, and carried that momentum into last night’s match. The Crew moves to 8-8-9 (33 points) on the season after the shutout performance last night.
“I thought today was better, actually,” Crew Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter said following the match when comparing last night’s victory with last weekend’s. “I thought it was a very, very solid performance. It’s easy to get up and play the Galaxy with the names and the quality and the crowd and everything. Today, against Houston, who’s an Eastern Conference opponent and on our heels in the table, this was a very strong performance both offensively and defensively.”
Justin Meram struck first for Columbus in the 35th minute. After pouncing on a turnover by David Horst, Meram slotted the ball past Tally Hall after a few dribbles.
Meram’s goal counts as his 10th career goal since 2011, five of those coming in 2014 alone. He also earned an assist in the second half off a cross that Adam Bedell was able to head home for his second goal of the season at the 59th mark.
“I was telling some of the guys it wasn’t the flashiest goal that I have maybe ever scored, but it probably felt the greatest,” Bedell said post-match. “That goal took a weight off my shoulders.”
Aaron Schoenfeld replaced Bedell on the pitch, who then registered his first goal of the season just five minutes later with a powerful header of his own.
Midfielder Romain Gall made his club debut and MLS debut in the 88th minute, replacing Meram.
“We went through a tough stretch but we kept playing the way we wanted to play,” Berhalter said. “We’re right in the mix and that’s where we expected to be at. You guys expect us to be at the top of the table, leading the whole year and that’s not realistic. That’s not going to happen.”
Berhalter added that the team has played the way they have been asked to play and kept believing. After the Toronto match, Berhalter said the Crew had a team meeting to air their grievances and discuss what they could be doing better and change. Since then, the club has been performing much better.
“I think team spirit goes a long way,” Berhalter said. “The team spirit has gotten better. The conflict that we had made us stronger and we don’t want to shy away from that.”
Columbus will travel to Stade Saputo to face the Montreal Impact Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET.
