The matchup of the Columbus Crew and Los Angeles Galaxy didn't produce goals galore like the 3-3 tie in Carson, Calif. in June, but this time for the home side, one was enough.
Forward Alejandro Moreno scored just before halftime against his former team and Will Hesmer recorded his second consecutive shutout as the Crew continued their march to the Supporters' Shield with a 1-0 victory before a black-clad mass in the first sellout of the season at Crew Stadium.
The Crew are 7-0-1 in their past eight games and now sit 10 points ahead of the New England Conference atop the Eastern Conference. The Galaxy were desperate for a win after falling to the bottom of the Western Conference with a 1-8-6 record over their past 15 games, and now face an seriously uphill climb if they are to avoid missing out on the playoffs for a third year running.
Los Angeles allows more than two goals per game for one of the poorest defensive performance in the history of the league but made the Crew earn their score.
Columbus took the lead in the 43rd minute on the career-best ninth goal from Moreno but the euphoria was nearly cut short less than two minutes later when Landon Donovan streaked into the left side of the penalty area. He was hounded by defender Chad Marshall toward the end line and Hesmer came out to challenge but Donovan deftly slid the ball through the goal area and barely missed putting it into the right netting.
Moreno scored eight times for San Jose in 2005 but surpassed that total after heading a service off the right flank by defender Danny O'Rourke after he got position on defender Chris Klein at the far post.
A possible battle between MVP candidates Donovan of Los Angeles and the Crew's Guillermo Barros Schelotto became a reality when Schelotto made a surprise appearance in the starting lineup.
He had missed the previous three matches with a strained hamstring and was expected to come off the bench last night. He played 61 minutes. Schelotto has a league-high 18 assists to go along with six goals. Donovan leads MLS with 19 goals and nine assists.
Schelotto replaced Pat Noonan, who was instrumental in helping Columbus to two wins and a tie in his absence. The other change for Columbus was necessitated by the red card suspension of U.S. defender Frankie Hejduk. O'Rourke moved from center back to the right side and rookie Andy Iro took his spot alongside Marshall.
The Galaxy had a major revision to its first XI as well when goalkeeper Josh Saunders made his MLS debut as Josh Wicks was sent to the bench after making four starts for the injured Steve Cronin. Saunders has been on the roster of the Galaxy and San Jose Earthquakes several times since 2003 without an appearance and spent this season with Miami FC of the United Soccer Leagues First Division, where he led the league with 13 shutouts.
Schelotto nearly had a storybook return when given his first free kick in the eighth minute. The ball was placed to the right, 19 yards off goal. His low strike was deflected into the air by Donovan to Saunders.
In the 17th minute Schelotto was in position for another restart from almost the same spot but this time defender Gino Padula sent a line drive toward the back post but midfielder Eddie Gaven could not get on the end of it and the ball went past out of bounds.
The Galaxy showed its offensive prowess, too, when former Crew forward Edson Buddle broke free and forced goalkeeper William Hesmer to his knees to make a save in the 32nd minute.
Beckham, making his first Columbus appearance, will miss the next match because of yellow card accumulation after a cross-body tackle of midfielder Robbie Rogers in the 32nd minute.
Rogers was a target several times and also drew a yellow card on Peter Vagenas three minutes earlier for a reckless tackle. Crew midfielder Brian Carroll was booked in the ninth minute for a hard foul on midfielder Eddie Lewis and Galaxy reserve forward Bryan Jordan was carded after taking down Moreno in the 83rd.
Crew coach Sigi Schmid, a possible coach of the year selection for guiding the team to its first playoff berth since 2004, watched the match from a suite after receiving a red card near the end of last week's match at New England. Assistant Robert Warzycha took over.
Craig Merz is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
