Columbus Crew earn first road win of season with 2-0 victory at D.C. United
After starting the season with an 0-2-1 record away from Lower.com Field, the Crew have now secured their first road win of the season.
The Crew rolled through their last two games against Atlanta United and Real Salt Lake, and they carried that momentum into Audi Field on Saturday. Behind goals from midfielder Lucas Zelarayán and forward Christian Ramírez, they beat D.C. United 2-0.
"It was not an easy game," Crew coach Wilfried Nancy said. "The pitch was not so good. We faced a difficult team to play against. They are able to play (with the ball), but also to play really direct. The way they play with (forward Christian) Benteke and all the players around him, this is not easy to defend. I’m really happy with the character and the personality of my team tonight."
The Crew went on the attack from the opening kickoff, but it took the majority of the first half for them to get on the scoresheet.
In the 35th minute, midfielder Alex Mățan was pulled down by D.C. midfielder Russell Canouse inside the 18-yard box, but no foul was called by referee Rosendo Mendoza. D.C. quickly went on the counterattack, started by a long ball from midfielder Lewis O'Brien. While Mățan was on the ground at one end of the field, Crew goalkeeper Patrick Schulte had to sprawl out at the other end to save a shot from forward Taxi Fountas, who was unmarked on the far post.
After Schulte's save, Mendoza was directed to the video monitor to check for a penalty. The review took several minutes, as Mendoza reviewed the sequence in detail, and when Mendoza stepped back onto the field, he pointed to the penalty spot.
For the second time in the last two games, Zelarayán stepped up to take the penalty. With a stutter-step that mirrored his approach in the last game against Real Salt Lake, Zelarayán slotted the ball into the bottom right corner of the net to put the Crew up 1-0.
Awarding the penalty was a controversial call, and D.C. United coach Wayne Rooney expressed his displeasure with the decision after the game.
"I think the penalty kick is very, very, very soft," Rooney said. "There’s a slight contact on the player. When the player takes two steps after the contact and decides to go down, he conned the referee. It’s very interesting that that penalty was given."
The remaining minutes of the first half were characterized by D.C.'s growing frustration, and barely a minute into the second half, Ramírez doubled the Crew's lead. Schulte set up like he was going to throw the ball to his right, but he caught D.C. off guard by sending the ball up the left side to wingback Will Sands. Sands spotted Farsi, his counterpart on the right side, in open space, and switched the ball across the field.
Farsi worked around fullback Jacob Greene and passed the ball to Ramírez in the middle of the 18-yard box, who finished the sequence with a one-touch strike just inside the far post.
"I’m really happy about the assist that (Farsi) made," Nancy said. "We saw intensity, but we saw also composure to pass the ball and make this assist. It was not a cross. It was a pass. For me, this is where he improved the most."
The Crew didn't have much to worry about from D.C. for the next 15 minutes, but after D.C. made two substitutions in the 62nd minute, the game opened up in D.C.'s favor. Schulte made three saves down the stretch, and several other chances for the home team missed by mere inches.
D.C. continued to push the ball up the field in the game's remaining minutes, but the Crew avoided conceding a late goal and finished with a clean sheet for the second game in a row. After holding both Real Salt Lake and D.C. without a goal in the last two weeks, the Crew have back-to-back wins with clean sheets for the first time since September 2020.
"The first half, we scored the goal. The second half, I really liked the spirit of the guys because we talked about something and they were able to do it," Nancy said. "After that, they scored the second goal. The way they fought and the way they play for their teammates, for me, I was really proud of the result, but this is more about the performance and the way they acted on the pitch."
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Lucas Zelarayán, Christian Ramírez lead Crew to win at D.C. United
