Columbus Crew eke out win with Cornell Glen's penalty

[Tallman]

Columbus Crew eke out win with Cornell Glen's penalty
By John Kuhn (MLSnet.com)

It came by way of a penalty, but the Columbus Crew scored for the first time in three league games and came away with a 1-0 victory against the Colorado Rapids on Saturday afternoon at Columbus Crew Stadium.

Cornell Glen converted from the spot midway through the second half to give the Crew the victory and extend the Rapids winless streak to five matches, as Colorado has taken just one point on the road this season.

While returning to their winning ways at home, the Crew broke their two-match scoreless streak. Rookie goalkeeper Bill Gaudette earned his first win and shutout as Colorado remained scoreless for a third consecutive match.

The Rapids tried to change their recent fortunes right from the outset as striker Jeff Cunningham, making his first appearance as a visitor to Crew Stadium, tested Gaudette early on. The former Crew man led a counterattack down the left wing in the first minute of the game, but his shot was directly at the rookie goalkeeper.

Cunningham got another good chance in the 10th minute, but his header off a Kyle Beckerman cross did not have enough power to seriously test Gaudette.

Kyle Marino nearly put the Crew ahead in the 14th minute, but was denied by Joe Cannon's right post. The Crew midfielder made a slashing run across the top of the penalty box that beat several defenders and then beat Cannon with a low shot that struck the outside of the post.

Then through Glen just minutes after halftime, the Crew again beat Cannon to his right only to be stopped by the post. Chris Henderson picked up clearance of a Frankie Hejduk cross near the left side and served the ball to Glen who headed the ball off of the woodwork to continue the Crew's scoreless streak.

Glen had another good chance two minutes later, but Cannon made a nice save diving to his left. Knox Cameron, a rookie from Michigan making his first MLS start, played a good ball to Glen to go in alone on the Colorado 'keeper, but the nice save kept the match scoreless.

The Crew finally hit the back of the net in the 65th minute, but the goal was called back due to a foul. Mario Rodriguez picked up a loose ball in the penalty area and drove a low angled shot past Cannon, but referee Baldomero Toledo ruled out the goal as Glen was judged to have fouled Borchers to create the chance for Rodriguez.

But Columbus got a goal that counted just two minutes later after Ritchie Kotschau took down Rodriguez in the box following a darting run by the Guatemalan international. Glen easily finished the penalty kick for the Crew's first goal in exactly five hours of play. Columbus also had missed their last three penalty kicks. Rodriguez continued causing trouble for the Rapids defense when he burst through alone in the right side of the area in the 71st minute, but blasted his shot right at the chest of Cannon.

In the 78th minute, the Crew should have put the Rapids away, but they wasted a chance with Cannon out of the goalmouth. Recently acquired John Wolyniec intercepted the ball and raced in alone on Cannon. With the 'keeper at his mercy he tried to slip a square pass to Glen, but the two couldn't make the connection and wasted a great chance.

There was one final let-off for the home side, when the Rapids won a corner kick deep into stoppage time. Mike Petke sent a soft header goalward that had Gaudette beaten, but Rodriguez was perfectly placed to head the ball off the line and preserve the Crew victory.

Columbus travel to New Jersey to play the MetroStars on Saturday, June 18 while the Rapids host the Los Angeles Galaxy in a midweek clash on Wednesday night.

MLSnet.com Man of the Match: Mario Rodriguez (Columbus Crew)

Colorado Rapids (2-7-2) vs. Columbus Crew (3-6-1)
June 11, 2005 -- Columbus Crew Stadium

Scoring Summary:
CLB -- Cornell Glen 1 (penalty kick) 67

Colorado Rapids -- Joe Cannon, Ricky Lewis, Nat Borchers, Mike Petke, Ritchie Kotschau (Alain Nkong 73), Matt Crawford (Terry Cooke 57), Kyle Beckerman, Pablo Mastroeni (Leo Cullen 61), Eric Denton, Wolde Harris, Jeff Cunningham.

Substitutes Not Used: Byron Foss, Luchi Gonzalez.

TOTAL SHOTS: 5 (Jeff Cunningham 2); SHOTS ON GOAL: 2 (Jeff Cunningham 2); FOULS: 15 (Ritchie Kotschau 4); OFFSIDES: 5 (Jeff Cunningham 2, Eric Denton 2); CORNER KICKS: 7 (Kyle Beckerman 4); SAVES: 4 (Joe Cannon 4)

Columbus Crew -- Bill Gaudette, Frankie Hejduk, Robin Fraser, Stephen Herdsman, Mark Schulte, Mario Rodriguez, Simon Elliott, Kyle Martino (Chris Wingert 75), Chris Henderson, Cornell Glen (Edson Buddle 80), Knox Cameron (John Wolyniec 53).

Substitutes Not Used: Ryan Kelly, Domenic Mediate, Marcus Storey, Jamal Sutton, Andrew Terris, David Testo.

TOTAL SHOTS: 12 (Cornell Glen 7); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Cornell Glen 3); FOULS: 19 (Mark Schulte 3); OFFSIDES: 3 (3 tied with 1); CORNER KICKS: 2 (Simon Elliott 2); SAVES: 2 (Bill Gaudette 2)

Misconduct Summary:
COL -- Pablo Mastroeni (caution; Reckless Foul) 21
COL -- Nat Borchers (caution; Reckless Foul) 31
CLB -- Robin Fraser (caution; Pushing, Holding) 40
COL -- Kyle Beckerman (caution; Reckless Foul) 44
COL -- Mike Petke (caution; Tackle from Behind) 83

Referee: Baldomero Toledo
Referee's Assistants: Paul Scott; Robert Fereday
4th Official: Hilario Grajeda
Weather: Rain-and-76-degrees
Attendance: 11,224

[Babalawo]

Look like Columbus looking for trini flava again, i didnt know glenn was on dat team

[Tallman]

Crew wear down Rapids to get win
By John Kuhn (MLSnet.com)

The Columbus Crew had come knocking at the door of the Colorado Rapids all afternoon on a hot and humid day at Columbus Crew Stadium, but couldn't find their way past the woodwork until Cornell Glen put away a penalty midway through the second half to give the home side a 1-0 victory.

Earlier, the Black-and-Gold twice beat Rapids 'keeper Joe Cannon only to have their efforts stopped by the posts. In the first half, Kyle Martino had a shot deflect off Cannon's right post and Glen had a header glance off the post just after the break. But just when the Crew's scoreless run reached the five-hour mark, Glen scored.

"[Glen] is a good player. He does make a difference out there," said Crew coach Greg Andrulis. "His explosive pace and speed is hard to contain. He had a great chance off the bar."

Glen would get another chance 20 minutes later. Mario Rodriguez was fouled in the box by Ritchie Kotschau and the Trinidad & Tobago international calmly gave the Crew the lead with a successfully taken spot kick.

"Cornell wanted it and there was no doubt that it was going to be his. You have to believe in that," said Andrulis. "You like the attitude and determination. It was a well-taken penalty kick."

The Crew faithful were happy to see Glen convert as they ended a streak of three missed attempts including a Martino miss in their last home match.

Said Glen: "I stepped up and did what I had to do."

In order to answer the Crew's recent inability to score, Andrulis revamped the Crew's frontline for the match. Edson Buddle was on the substitute's bench and Martino moved back the midfield. Glen, who had not started in his two previous matches with the Crew, was paired with Knox Cameron, and the rookie from the University of Michigan put in a decent performance in his first MLS start. Despite some areas for improvement, the coaching staff sees a big upside for Cameron.

"Knox holds the ball real well. We need to work on his movement. He doesn't a whole lot when he doesn't have the ball," said Andrulis. "He is a big physical force and it was great to get a meaningful game with the first team."

Additionally, John Wolyniec made his first Crew appearance as a second half substitute.

"John is a very smart player," said Andrulis. "He was finding gaps and seams. Obviously, fresh legs in this kind of weather made a difference."

The hot and humid weather, which followed some early rain, also affected Rodriguez and Frankie Hejduk, who both returned from international duty on Friday.

"I played three games in a week. It takes it toll," said Hejduk. "It isn't so much the running; I can do that all day. It is the travel and the mugginess."

Still, the two Crew members put in a workmanlike effort on the flanks. "Frankie and Mario did a great job on the wings," said Glen.

The Crew's front line wasn't the only area on the team experiencing changes. With Chad Marshall out with a ligament tear on one of his fingers, Stephen Herdsman paired with Robin Fraser in the central defense. Herdsman's speed was able to keep Jeff Cunningham off the score sheet.

"Jeff is an incredibly dangerous person. He has good pace and good speed. We put a guy on him that's as fast if not faster than him in Stephen Herdsman," said Hejduk. "He didn't [get] behind us that much. We met his match with pace and it disrupted his game a bit. I still thought he was their most dangerous person."

Said Andrulis: "Jeff is a very good and dangerous player. He had a couple of chances that the defenders, I think because they know him, were able to stop him early. I thought Stephen did a decent job on him and Robin did as well when he was picking him up in the second half."

Through the great defensive efforts of the players in front of him, Bill Gaudette earned his first career win and shutout.

"The guys in front of me played great tonight. They gave 90 minutes of killing themselves. It made my job very easy. I can't say enough about them," said the rookie netminder. "The most important part is the shutout and the team winning. The shutout is fantastic, but it doesn't matter as long as the team is successful."

The Crew hope this match is a sign of better things to come. The Ohio outfit, at least until D.C. United play tomorrow, moved out of the Eastern Conference cellar with the win.

"We had some good moments and created some good chances," said Chris Henderson after his first win with the Crew. "I think it is important to build on these three points."

[SHOTTA]

Look like Columbus looking for trini flava again, i didnt know glenn was on dat team

u livin in a cave ??

ur tv and internet aint workin???

u rather ice hockey than football?

u not even trini but a man from outer space?

chosse one to put a claim to your feelin of shame that u brought to this board