The Columbus Crew stumbled to a scoreless draw at home on Saturday night, stymied by the play of former goalkeeper Jon Busch on a night where several notable former players were in attendance. Both teams created several notable scoring chances, but at each opportunity the necessary scoring touch went lacking. The result leaves the Crew temporarily in a three-way tie for first place in the Eastern Conference, although both other teams are playing later this weekend.
The game almost got off to a roaring start for the visitors, as Khari Stephenson found himself with space to shoot above the Crew penalty area barely a minute into the game. His low shot caught Hesmer slightly out of position, but bounced harmlessly off Hesmer's left post. Columbus countered with several early forays down the flanks, but their crossing attempts from Robbie Rogers and Eddie Gaven were unable to find any teammates inside the penalty area.
Head coach Robert Warzycha elected to use a single forward for this game, deploying Andres Mendoza alone in front Bernardo Anor and four other pure midfielders. Anor's role was to float behind Mendoza as a tweener, with Robbie Rogers and Eddie Gaven pushing into space down the flanks. The presence of Anor appeared to give Emmanuel Ekpo more freedom in the center of the field, as the Nigerian created several nervous moments for the visitors off the dribble. One of these, in the 18th minute, saw Ekpo launch a long-range strike from the top of the defensive arc that kissed the top of the crossbar.
The first half closed with three clear scoring chances, but neither Eddie Gaven, Simon Dawkins, nor Robbie Rogers were the match of the two goalkeepers. The clearest opportunity came in the 43rd minute as Eric Gehrig split the San Jose defense with a pass for the curling run of Robbie Rogers. Rogers found himself behind the defense with only Busch to beat, but the goalkeeper got just enough of Rogers' shot to the far post, and the loose ball trickled wide before Eddie Gaven could get to it and shoot into an open net.
The second half was an increasingly sloppy affair as both teams grew increasingly tired. Simon Dawkins was unlucky not to score in the 61st minute; finding himself behind the Crew defense with only Hesmer to beat, he tried to shoot under the goalkeeper's desperate leap, but instead struck Hesmer's left foot. Seconds later, Andres Mendoza broke on goal from the right, but had to twist his body into an awkward position to line up his preferred left foot and ended up shooting high from a tight angle.
Mendoza was gifted a chance for redemption in the 74th minute when Pickerington native Chris Leitch made an ill-advised pass from the right side of defense that found Mendoza between the two San Jose center backs. The Peruvian wasted no time unleashing a shot, but had to strike it with his weaker right foot as Busch came out to cut down the angle, and ended up thumping the ball directly at the goalkeeper.
Warzycha poured on the offense late in the game, sending in the trio of Tommy Heinemann, Justin Meram and Jeff Cunningham in search of a goal - but despite the raucous urging of a relatively large crowd the team were only able to produce a shot from Meram at a tight angle, which failed to trouble Busch.
McBride honored
At halftime, the Crew inducted former forward Brian McBride as the first member of the team's "Circle of Honor". McBride, who was the first player drafted by the team in 1996, went on to score 62 goals in league play before finally moving to Fulham in the English Premier League. His name, and the years for which he played for Columbus, are now visible on the front of Crew Stadium's west grandstand.
What it means
The Crew, for several hours at least, are tied for first place in the Eastern Conference - but New York plays late on Saturday night and Philadelphia will take on the Revolution on Sunday evening. Columbus has seven wins on the season, measured against seven ties and five losses - good for 28 points from 19 games played.
San Jose's record moves to five wins, eight draws, and six losses (23 points). Depending on results elsewhere, Frank Yallop's team could move into sole possession of fifth place in the Western Conference. The Earthquakes are winless in six straight games, their last victory coming against DC United on June 11th.
Timeline of events
16' Caution, Steven Lenhart (Dissent)
58' Tommy Heinemann replaces Bernardo Anor
62' Rafael Baca replaces Jacob Peterson
70' Caution, Brad Ring (Reckless Foul)
73' Scott Sealy replaces Steven Lenhart
79' Jeff Cunningham replaces Andres Mendoza
79' Justin Meram replaces Eddie Gaven
93+' Sam Cronin replaces Simon Dawkins
Attendance
14,109
Lineups
Columbus Crew
William Hesmer, Sebastian Miranda, Chad Marshall, Julius James, Josh Gardner, Eric Gehrig, Eddie Gaven (Justin Meram 79'), Emmanuel Ekpo, Robbie Rogers, Bernardo Anor (Tommy Heinemann 58'), Andres Mendoza (Jeff Cunningham 79')
Unused subs
Andy Gruenebaum, Kevin Burns, Dejan Rusmir, Korey Veeder
San Jose Earthquakes
Jon Busch, Chris Leitch, Bobby Burling, Jason Hernandez, Ramiro Corrales, Jacob Peterson (Rafael Baca 62'), Brad Ring, Khari Stephenson, Chris Wondolowski, Simon Dawkins (Sam Cronin 93+'), Steven Lenhart (Scott Sealy 73')
Unused subs
Andrew Weber, Joey Gjertsen, Alan Gordon, Tim Ward
Up Next
The Crew will be embarking on the first of several cross-country trips this Wednesday, when they will visit the Home Depot Center for a game against the Los Angeles Galaxy. They will return home for a game against the Portland Timbers next Saturday, while the following two weekends will bring trips to Salt Lake City (Saturday, July 30th) and Denver (Friday, August 5th).
The Earthquakes will play three of their next four games at home, beginning with a game Wednesday against Vancouver. Next weekend will find the team in Salt Lake City, with consecutive home games against DC United and the Portland Timbers over the next two weekends.
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