Down by two goals after just eight minutes, the Columbus Crew never found their way back and fell 2-0 to the New York Red Bulls on Saturday night at Giants Stadium.
New York's Dave van den Bergh got the scoring under way just 46 seconds into the match. Fellow midfielder Sinisa Ubiparipovic stripped Crew star Guillermo Barros Schelotto of the ball at midfield and slid the ball to van den Bergh, who let fly with a left-footed blast that beat Columbus goalkeeper Will Hesmer. It was the fastest goal in the New York club's history.
Before the stunned Crew backline could find their rhythm and settle back down. New York had doubled their advantage. The Crew midfield had retained much of the possession after the opener, but conceded a corner in the eighth minute. Van den Bergh drove it beyond the far post where Juan Pablo Angel not only saved it from going out, but prodded the ball back in front of goal and Kevin Goldthwaite snuck in between defenders to tap the ball home.
The home team nearly made it game, set and match by going up 3-0 in the 20th minute. Angel found space behind the Columbus defense on the left and had all the time in the world to set up his shot. The Colombian, who led the Red Bulls and was second in MLS with 19 goals last season, tried to slot the ball into the lower left corner, but Hesmer anticipated well, getting down quickly to push Angel's shot away.
The rebound fell to forward Oscar Echeverry, but Hesmer recovered in time to tip the rookie's high blast over the crossbar. Echeverry, also a Colombian product, started in place of the Red Bulls' injured teenage star, Jozy Altidore, who missed the match with a bruised right knee.
With New York now content to sit back and try for the dagger on the counterattack, Columbus kept the ball on the Red Bulls side of the field for much of the remainder of the first half. Still, they never really threatened Jon Conway's goal, managing only a few off-target shots from distance.
After the break, the home team got another golden opportunity to put the game out of reach. Former Red Bulls midfielder Danny O'Rourke, switched to center back by Crew coach Sigi Schmid during the preseason, dragged down Echeverry in the box, putting Angel on the spot.
Angel, 5-for-5 in penalty kicks in 2007, sent his shot towards the top right corner. However, Hesmer extended his 6-foot-2 frame and managed to tip the shot over the bar to keep his team in the contest. It was the second consecutive week Hesmer had saved a penalty kick, after denying Collin Samuel of Toronto FC in the 2-0 victory in the season opener.
Crew head coach Sigi Schmid made three changes within five minutes, moving to a 3-5-2 as he took off Adam Moffat, Schelotto, Stefani Miglioranzi and bringing on Brad Evans, Nicolas Hernandez and Ezra Hendrickson, and Columbus started to see more of the game.
Just past the hour mark Columbus was awarded a free kick 20 yards from goal. But with usual set-piece specialist Schelotto having come off for a substitute moments earlier, Eddie Gaven took the chance and curled the ball harmlessly over the frame.
The Crew gained a one-man advantage with nine minutes to play when Red Bulls defender Jeff Parke was issued a yellow card, his second of the match, for a hard tackle on Columbus captain Frankie Hejduk.
But it turned out to be too little, too late for the visitors, who weren't able to test Conway again before the final whistle sounded.
The Crew return home next weekend to take on Chivas USA, while New York hits the road for the first time in the season, traveling to FC Dallas after giving Juan Carlos Osorio the victory in his Red Bulls coaching debut.
Douglas McIntyre is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
