The MetroStars continued their excellent form away from home and sent the Columbus Crew to their fifth defeat in seven games, making the most of their scoring chances in a 3-0 victory on Saturday night at Crew Stadium.
Youri Djorkaeff scored his first goal in MLS just before halftime, then Eddie Gaven and Abbe Ibrahim finished off the Crew with second-half strikes past Bill Gaudette, making his first professional start in place of regular Crew starting 'keeper Jon Busch, who will be lost to the season with a knee injury suffered Wednesday. To round out the tough night for the Crew, Kyle Martino saw a second-half penalty saved.
Ibrahim gave Gaudette the first scare in the 17th minute. He trapped a throw-in near the corner of the goal box and unleashed a shot into the outside netting of the goal. Then he threatened again in the 24th minute, but Crew defender Chad Marshall was able to poke the ball away from danger.
The Crew finally applied some pressure to the MetroStars' defense in the 28th minute. Chris Henderson served a ball to Martino, and from the near post, Martino tried to cut a header back on goal, but ended up putting it just wide of the target.
The MetroStars continued to show their first half dominance in the 37th minute. Amado Guevara began a counterattack and passed the ball to Djorkaeff and he nearly found Gaven with a through ball, but Gaudette knocked the ball away.
However Gaudette, through no fault of his own, allowed his MLS goal just seconds later. Gaven supplied a ball to Djorkaeff who showed the Crew his world-class abilities. Given just small bit of space by Frankie Hejduk, the Frenchman made the home team pay as he hit a knuckling shot from 25 yards to beat Gaudette.
The Crew began the second half with their best scoring chance on the evening. Henderson served a ball across the penalty box to Mario Rodriguez and the Guatemalan international knocked the ball down to Chris Wingert, but he hit an open shot just over the goal.
However, the MetroStars doubled the lead just seconds later. Michael Bradley found Ibrahim with a long ball out of the back, and the youngster from Togo spun and laid off the ball to a streaking Gaven. Speedy Crew defender Stephen Herdsman was unable to catch up and Gaven coolly finished the one-on-one against Gaudette.
Columbus should have pulled one goal back in the 67th minute, but Edson Buddle missed an open goal after mistake by Zach Wells. The young 'keeper muffed a Martino cross that missed connecting with Cornell Glen, but Buddle missed wide left with the 'keeper on the ground.
The Crew again missed an opportunity to get back in the game in the 70th minute. Rodriguez sent a nice ball into the box looking for Glen, but the Trinidad international was tripped from behind by a retreating Jeff Parke. The Crew continued their recent streak in missing penalty kicks as Martino was denied by the outstretched right hand of Wells.
The MetroStars put a final tally on the evening in the 89th minute. The visitors maintained possession all the way down the field following a goalkick by Wells before Guevara set up John Wolyniec to cross to Ibrahim, all alone at the penalty spot. He hammered a low drive that was deflected by Gaudette's feet into the net.
The MetroStars return to action on Tuesday evening as they host the Chicago Fire as part of a doubleheader with England and Colombia supplying the second half of the twin-bill at Giants Stadium. Meanwhile, the Crew have break from league action until they finish the season series with the Colorado Rapids on June 11. During the break, the Crew host a friendly against Chilean side Universidad Catolica on June 4.
MLSnet.com Man of the Match: Eddie Gaven (MetroStars)
John Kuhn is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
MetroStars (3-3-3) vs. Columbus Crew (3-6-1)
May 28, 2005 -- Columbus Crew Stadium
Scoring Summary:
MET -- Youri Djorkaeff 1 (Eddie Gaven 2, Amado Guevara 3) 38
MET -- Eddie Gaven 4 (Abbe Ibrahim 2, Michael Bradley 1) 47
MET -- Abbe Ibrahim 1 (John Wolyniec 3, Amado Guevara 4) 89
MetroStars -- Zach Wells, Chris Leitch, Carlos Mendes, Jeff Parke, Tim Regan, Eddie Gaven (Seth Stammler 89), Michael Bradley, Amado Guevara, Mike Magee (Gilberto Flores 73), Youri Djorkaeff (John Wolyniec 68), Abbe Ibrahim.
Substitutes Not Used: Sergio Galvan Rey, Jonny Walker.
TOTAL SHOTS: 11 (Youri Djorkaeff 3, Abbe Ibrahim 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 6 (Youri Djorkaeff 3); FOULS: 13 (Chris Leitch 3); OFFSIDES: 1 (Abbe Ibrahim 1); CORNER KICKS: 2 (Youri Djorkaeff 1, Amado Guevara 1); SAVES: 3 (Zach Wells 3)
Columbus Crew -- Bill Gaudette, Frankie Hejduk, Robin Fraser, Chad Marshall, Stephen Herdsman (Marcus Storey 80), Mario Rodriguez, Simon Elliott, Kyle Martino, Chris Wingert (Cornell Glen 54), Chris Henderson, Edson Buddle (Domenic Mediate 80).
Substitutes Not Used: Clint Baumstark, Knox Cameron, Ryan Kelly, Mark Schulte, Danny Szetela, David Testo.
TOTAL SHOTS: 14 (Edson Buddle 3, Kyle Martino 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 3 (Kyle Martino 2); FOULS: 6 (Cornell Glen 2); OFFSIDES: 6 (Chris Henderson 3); CORNER KICKS: 3 (Simon Elliott 2); SAVES: 3 (Bill Gaudette 3)
Misconduct Summary:
CLB -- Chad Marshall (caution; Reckless Foul) 46+
MET -- Abbe Ibrahim (caution; Interference (GK or Throw-in)) 74
Referee: Alex Prus
Referee's Assistants: -Richard Eddy; Steven Taylor
4th Official: Rizal Milliken
Attendance: 9,413
Time of Game: 1:48
Weather: Partly Cloudy-and-67-degrees
All statistics contained in this boxscore are unofficial.
