It is possible to teach an old Columbus Crew new tricks.
For a veteran team that has been set in its ways successfully for the past 1-1/2 seasons, the need for change Saturday vs. Real Salt Lake was born out of desperation.
Injuries had robbed the Crew of their top two goal producers in Guillermo Barros Schelotto and Alejandro Moreno. A suspension sidelined assist leader Emmanuel Ekpo and defender Chad Marshall and Robbie Rogers were away with the U.S. national team, leaving the team lacking 17 of its 22 goals this season.
And one other thing: The Crew had scored three times in the previous four games.
Enter a wing man that would have made Tom Cruise proud in the movie "Top Gun" and the "Crash and Dash" attack that lifted Columbus to a 3-1 win for a record-tying 18th consecutive regular-season home game without a defeat.
That 32-year-old midfielder Duncan Oughton got the start for Ekpo -- his first since June 14, 2008 -- was not a huge surprise because coach Robert Warzycha only had 16 players available. Seeing the longest tenured Crew member running the right flank was.
Oughton has been used in the middle almost exclusively since joining the club in 2001 and said his last play on the wing was about six years ago.
The veteran looked at home. He controlled the tempo differently than either Rogers or Ekpo would have and defended well. He led the build up on the first goal and assisted on a classic third goal.
"There was a lot of one-touch passes on (Oughton's) side," Warzycha said. "That's how we broke the pressure. Duncan did very well."
Ekpo and Rogers provide speed down the flanks and a go-for-goal attitude that sometimes leads the team adrift defensively. Oughton and his counterpart on the left side, Eddie Gaven, kept the match at a manageable tempo.
"The old guy out there," forward Jason Garey said of Oughton. "He's just so smart and knows the game and was able to control the game a lot of times, slow it down when we needed to slow it down and speed it up when we needed to speed it up."
It was Oughton's through ball to overlapping defender Frankie Hejduk that led to the first goal. Hejduk sent a service into the box that was poorly cleared and forward Steven Lenhart took advantage for his first goal of the season.
"Playing with Frankie is amazing," Oughton said. "He's up and down. He covers you when you need covered. He talks to you and puts you in good spots. He's such a great player. He's an engine, that guy. He's ridiculous."
Said Warzycha: "There was a lot of understanding between him and Frankie and also between him and (central midfielders) Brian Carroll and (Danny) O'Rourke."
Lenhart, the "Crash" in the equation for his maniacal pursuit of the ball without regards to his health, was a force in the goal area the entire match and also fed a wonderful heel pass to Garey for his dash to the goal and a clinical finish on the third score.
"Crash and Dash. I like it," Lenhart said. "Jay's the man. We just had a lot of fun out there."
That's how it went for the Crew. The first two scores were from close range -- Garey had an easy tap-in on the second when Lenhart and RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando collided -- and the final was a quality effort. Garey had a give-and-go with Oughton before Lenhart received the ball while surrounded by three defenders. His one-touch went to an open Garey near the top of the box.
"The third goal was a thing of beauty," Oughton said. "It was a good combination and Jay finished it amazingly well."
Earlier, Real Salt Lake might not have been ready to see both Garey and Lenhart buzzing the box
"If you watch our games, that's not how we usually play," Garey said. "Usually we have Guillermo underneath and only one guy in the box. Two guys in the box really caused them some problems. Those first two goals we were really able to clean up. It was the product of one guy working hard and the other cleaning up the mess inside the box. It was a different look and one we hopefully can employ when the coaches think is necessary."
Garey and Lenhart had never started an MLS match together although they have been paired in reserve and Open Cup games with limited success, apparently.
"We were ready to play together," Lenhart said. "Bobby said we didn't ever play well together. I thought on the big stage we did well."
Warzycha will have some decisions to make before the Crew hosts Toronto FC on Saturday. Ekpo will be available and Moreno (groin) could be although Schelotto (hamstring) is expected to sit again.
Will Oughton return to the bench and what about the Garey-Lenhart combo? The coach has a few days to decide.
"The tactic we chose for this game (RSL) paid off when we decided to go with two forwards," said Warzycha. "When we play against some different team maybe we go with a different formation."
Craig Merz is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
