COLUMBUS, Ohio – For the first time in his career, Columbus Crew midfielder Bernardo Añor had a multi-goal game, notching two first half tallies for the Crew, including a stunning 30-yard strike for the game-winner in a 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Union on Saturday. After netting just four goals in all of 2013, the Venezuelan attributed the golazo to a newfound confidence in the Columbus locker room.
"It takes confidence, and that's what you see in all the guys on the field," Añor told reporters after the match. "Building off that confidence is going to get us where we want to be, and trying things like that is also going to create chances for the team and ourselves. We've just got to keep doing that."
Añor said the shot on the second goal is one he doesn't practice often, but that head coach Gregg Berhalter's system encourages taking chances.
"That's what the game is about," he said. "You've just got to shoot from everywhere and hope that something good will happen."
Midfielder Wil Trapp, who earned an assist on the shot, had the best seat in the house to watch the shot sail by Union goalkeeper Zac MacMath.
"I just kind of laid it off to him and he did all the work with the hell of a left foot that he has," Trapp said. "I had a perfect view right behind him, and he just cranked it. MacMath didn't really have a chance."
Berhalter said he and the coaching staff expected the offensive contribution from Añor.
"He can score," Berhalter said. "He's a guy that we count on for goals, so we weren't surprised."
The victory earned the Crew their first 2-0-0 start to a regular season in the club's history, but Berhalter said they weren't paying too much attention to the landmark. The regular season start continues a run of unbeaten matches that began in the preseason, and the club still has yet to record a loss with Berhalter at the helm.
"I don't even know if they know about it," he said. "But I think we should be proud of it. You want to win every game you're a part of, and the guys have put a nice little run together including the preseason."
