who had just returned from Copa America earlier in the morning -- and red-card prone Andy Herron into the attack, both would pay immediate dividends for the home team.
With another shoddy call going against Real Salt Lake, Richie Kotschau made a play for the ball in the box. Having the angle and his body in front of Herron, the referee Alex Prus judged from thirty yards away that the Crew forward deserved a penalty kick, much to the dismay of Real Salt Lake. With Schelloto stepping up and blasting down the middle of Nick Rimando's goal, the Crew had the lead at home 1-0.
Only minutes later they would strike again, as Crew forward Alejandro Moreno found his way unmarked to the touchline. Sending a cross just outside the six yard box, Gaven found himself unmarked, diving to scissor kick home the second goal of the night front post.
2-0 Columbus Crew.
Things would go from bad to worse as Eskandarian lashed out at Schelloto as he'd passed the ball away. Alecko deservedly received a straight red after already receiving a yellow earlier in the match. Mehdi Ballouchy will also be missing the next match in Kansas City, surpassing the limit for yellow card offenses.
A hard match to begin with -- traveling to a team unbeaten in the last several weeks -- only got tougher, as head coach Jason Kreis is still searching for the right combination of players -- not only for each match, but also for the right players for the team.
Brian Dunseth, the former Captain of the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team, who scored the game-winning goal in Real Salt Lake's first-ever win in its home opener in 2005 vs. rival Colorado, can be heard each week on KALL 700 AM the Zone, providing analysis during RSL game broadcasts and co-hosting the pre- and post-game shows for RSL home games. A nine-year veteran of MLS play, Dunseth is now a licensed realtor for The Bringhurst Group in Salt Lake City, and looks forward to your feedback at brian@slchouses.com.
