COLUMBUS, Ohio - Suspended for the first match of the season, a 1-0 loss to the Houston Dynamo last Saturday, Columbus Crew SC midfielder Justin Meram said he "hated" watching the season-opener from home.
And after a week of uncertainty over whether he would be able to displace Kristinn Steindorsson on the Columbus left wing, Meram got the start and made the most of it, scoring both his and his team's first goal of the season in Saturday's 2-0 win over Toronto FC.
Last week's suspension made the goal even sweeter, he said, but don't expect Crew SC's longest-tenured player to be out again anytime soon.
"I want to go the next seven or eight years without a yellow card, if I can," he said with a laugh after the match. "I don't want to sit out another game."
And while a busy offseason with the Iraq National Team and his impending suspension made for an odd preseason for Meram, he said it didn't faze him.
"It's normal," he said. "Kristinn is a great player and you have to work him in as well as other guys in every position to get everyone ready. So it was an easy transition. It's always good to get out there. [Make] the first couple of touches positive and keep the ball, and things will start coming naturally."
In Meram's return, Crew SC head coach and sporting director Gregg Berhalter said he was a threat all night.
"That's why he was on the field tonight," he said. "He hit the post a couple of times, scored a goal, could have been fouled for a penalty in the first half. He's dangerous. And what I like most was his defensive work tonight. The offense was great, but the effort he put in was exceptional, and that's why he's a quality player."
Meram's goal came in the second half, after Toronto defender Justin Morrow was sent off for what referee David Gantar called said following the game was denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity in the 45th minute. And while the match was still 0-0 at the time of the card, Berhalter said the team would have broken through regardless.
"The way we were playing, we were going to score tonight," he said. "It was a strong first half. I think both teams were pretty good in the first half, actually. It seemed like a good game to watch. But we were scoring tonight."
With goals from Meram and Kei Kamara, Columbus avoided replicating their frustrating lack of goals in Houston, and Berhalter isn't worried about their goal-scoring capabilities.
"We've been creating a lot of chances," he said. "If you look at all the teams through the first two games, we're probably up there with chances created. So we're doing a great job."
Meram isn't known for his headers, but scored with a perfectly placed headed ball and could have had another in the first half. Kamara joked that Meram had learned it from him, but the winger says he's just working on being dangerous.
"The focus is just getting in the box," he said. "Kei is a big presence and he's going to bring a lot of defenders. So I've got to get up and down and make sure I can get the back end."
