After five consecutive victories, it was perhaps inevitable that the Columbus Crew were due for a less-than-stellar game. Such a performance took place on Saturday afternoon in Toronto, but the bright side is that the team salvaged a 0-0 draw in spite of being outpaced for most of the game.
"They pressed the issue on the game and I think we were just solid defensively and stayed compact," said defender Frankie Hejduk. "They had most of the possession but the bottom line is we did what we had to do on the road to get a point. Hats off to them, they had a good game -- but we played well also."
Battling the Reds, the energetic and streamer-throwing BMO Field fans and the windy elements, the Crew was held to a clean sheet for just the second time in seven matches. The only other goalless outing for Columbus was their lone loss of the season, a 2-0 defeat by New York on April 5.
Columbus' top attackers (midfielder Robbie Rogers and forwards Alejandro Moreno and Guillermo Barros Schelotto) were limited to a combined four shots, with Rogers' 24th-minute attempt ending up as the Crew's best chance of the game. Rogers found a hole in the Toronto defense and found himself with some space on the left side of the box. He had both his defender and Reds goalkeeper Greg Sutton off-balance, but his shot was cleared off the line by TFC defender Tyrone Marshall.
Schelotto had one shot on goal himself, but his most notable moment of the match might well have been his yellow card in the 90th minute for diving. Toronto FC coach John Carver felt Schelotto was exaggerating throughout the entire game, calling his play "not honest and professional."
Columbus head coach Sigi Schmid, unsurprisingly, disagreed with Carver's remarks.
"Guillermo is a very competitive individual who plays with a lot of passion and fire. He felt he got fouled a couple of times and it didn't get called, and it plays with that emotion but that's what makes him a good player. He and I will deal with it, but, you know, I appreciate John's comments, but he needs to leave me to worry about my guys.
"There was certainly a play that occurred in front of our bench where [Schelotto] got fouled and he didn't get the call, probably because he had complained about some calls before. That's not right either, but it's one of those things that happens all the time."
Schmid said his club wasn't truly playing for the draw until the final few minutes, but admitted that "offensively, it wasn't our best game."
The game was short on breakthrough opportunities as the Crew often found themselves soaking up the pressure under an aggressive TFC attack. It forced the attack-minded Crew to play more of a defensive game than they are normally used to, but goalkeeper Will Hesmer sees his side's ability to adapt as a good thing.
"We're committed to winning games no matter how we have to win them," Hesmer said. "It's a hard game, an ugly game that we'll play hard -- if teams want to open up and play, we'll open up and play. I think we're just committed to whatever we have to do to win the game."
The draw ensures that the Black-and-Gold will leave the weekend with no less than a tie for first in the overall MLS table, though a Chicago win on Saturday night would tie the Fire with the Crew at 19 points, and Columbus would fall to second place on goal differential.
Columbus now has four points out a possible six this season against Toronto, after their 2-0 win against the Reds in Columbus on Opening Day. Given the hostile territory that is BMO Field (TFC is now 2-0-2 at home this season), the Crew are happy to escape with a classically defense-first away performance.
"They had the better of the ball, but we defended like [warriors] and made it tough for them," Hejduk said. "I think we frustrated their fans and frustrated them a bit, and that's what you want to do on the road."
Mark Polishuk is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
