Set up by two pinpoint services from Ronnie O'Brien, goals from Ryan Johnson and Ramiro Corrales gave the San Jose Earthquakes a rare win against the Columbus Crew in Ohio, a 2-0 victory on Saturday evening at Crew Stadium.
Johnson headed home an O'Brien cross in the first half and Corrales headed home an O'Brien free kick sent in from the corner after the break to give the Quakes just their third victory ever in Columbus in 14 trips.
It was the Crew's third consecutive loss, following a six-game unbeaten streak, and they have not scored now in 367 minutes, shutout in each of their last four games. It's the first time ever Columbus has been shut out in four games in a row; the club's scoreless record is 420 minutes, set in 2004, but that stretched over five games, with only three complete shutouts in the middle.
After San Jose goalkeeper Joe Cannon made a nice save on a Chad Marshall header to keep the Crew out of the net early, the Earthquakes countered at the other end and took the lead in the 10th minute. O'Brien ran down a poor clearance at the right touchline before serving the ball into the area where Johnson headed home for his second goal of the season.
Marshall, who has a history of head injuries and concussions, was forced to leave the game in the 25th minute. He left the field apparently again holding his head after receiving treatment on the field, but the preliminary indication from the Crew medical staff was that it was most likely a neck strain.
In the 35th minute, the Crew nearly pulled level. Defender Jed Zayner, making his first league start of the season with Danny O'Rourke suspended, uncorked a left-footed blast from nearly 30 yards. The drive beat Cannon's acrobatic dive, but the crossbar denied Zayner's effort.
Minutes later a Schelotto corner kick found the head of Ezra Hendrickson near the middle of the box but the lanky defender's header sailed wide of the goal.
After the play, Hendrickson stayed down on the field and after he was helped off, Crew manager Sigi Schmid was forced into a second change in his back four, bringing on Ryan Junge as Zayner moved into central defense alongside rookie Andy Iro, who came on for Marshall.
The Black and Gold continued to drive late into the half, pushing deep and pressuring the backline of the Quakes. Another Schelotto corner kick picked out Emmanuel Ekpo on the back side, but his volley shot arced over the crossbar and onto the top netting.
Ekpo continued to be a threat on the right side for the Crew in the second half. After dribbling through several defenders in the corner, he rolled a slow ball that found a cutting Schelotto in the heart of the box. But the San Jose defense closed down on the Argentinean playmaker quickly and Jason Hernandez was able to clear the threat.
The Earthquakes doubled their lead at the hour mark. Iro fouled John Cunliffe just outside the box on the right, and again O'Brien stepped to the ball. Again he picked out a teammate's head with a perfect cross, this time finding Corrales who snapped a header past Crew goalkeeper William Hesmer inside the back post.
Columbus appeared to draw within a goal and end their drought six minutes later. Schelotto took a free kick some 30 yards from goal and played it quickly, catching the defenders off guard. Alejandro Moreno sprinted hard down the middle of the box but came up short of where the ball was going to be. He lunged for it but got only his left arm to the ball, deflecting it into the goal. Referee Ricardo Salazar was in complete view and immediately disallowed the goal, showing Moreno a yellow card for the deliberate handball.
The game took a nasty turn over the final 25 minutes. San Jose's Ryan Cochrane had received a yellow card for a foul on Schelotto in the 65th minute, then the Quakes' Kelly Gray saw yellow for a foul on Robbie Rogers in the 69th minute.
The teams were then each left a player short with a pair of red cards over a five-minute span, the Crew's Brad Evans given a straight red for a foul on Gray in the 80th minute, then James Riley received his second yellow of the game in the 84th.
Over the four minutes of stoppage time, the Crew pressed hard in looking to finally hit the back of the net, forcing Cannon into three of his four saves on the night after the 90th minute. But he stood tall between the posts, giving San Jose just their third victory of the season.
Nathan Linton is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
