RSL-Crew battle ends scoreless
For the second consecutive week, RSL and the Crew ended the weekend's action with a draw, this time a 0-0 result. Last week, Real had the advantage but gave up a goal to FC Dallas in the final minute of stoppage time for a 2-2 result. And for Columbus, it was another match and another scoreless draw.
In the opening minute, Freddy Adu orchestrated a run through the midfield that had Danny O'Rourke dancing. He held the ball, dribbling through the danger before getting a give-and-go from the outside and laying it into the box toward Jeff Cunningham. In the fifth minute, Adu was all alone on the right side again when he lofted it into the box for Cunningham, but RSL was offside.
The Crew almost got a goal in the sixth minute when Marcos Gonzalez took a shot that Mehdi Ballouchy headed off the line. Real goalkeeper Nick Rimando pleaded for a foul on the Crew's Frankie Hejduk as the action progressed in the goal area during the play, but got no sympathy.
The Crew had a choice look at the goal in the 14th minute when Ned Grabavoy played a ball through the defense to Jason Garey, who beat Rimando to the ball and found himself chasing the ball toward an empty net. But Real's Eddie Pope showed his veteran experience, sprinting back to deflect the ball away after Garey's narrow-angle shot.
Garey came close again in the 22nd minute after a poor giveaway by Real's Jason Kreis. A good passing sequence from the Crew across the field found to Garey on the right, but his close-range shot hit the outside of the net and the match remained scoreless.
Real began to turn things around as the first half went on. Chris Klein found some success beating Rusty Pierce along the right side, but in every case the Crew's defense was up to the task. The half ended as both goalkeepers saved a shot -- Rimando caught a weak bouncer from Eddie Gaven, and the Crew's Andy Gruenebaum hit the deck to stop Jeff Cunningham's last-second try.
In the 53rd minute, Cunningham had a good look at the goal when Adu got the ball to him in the perfect position; the Crew's Ezra Hendrickson marked Cunningham tight, but Cunningham cut in front of the defender and took a point-blank shot. Gruenebaum, however, was up to the task.
In the ensuing moments, Real's offense began to show up. A good combination culminated in a strong shot from Ballouchy from 30 yards out that just missed the left post. Then, in the 60th minute, Ballouchy baited the Crew's defense into a foul that gave Real a free kick 22 yards away. Adu took the shot, but the ball flew over the crossbar.
Adu earned a free kick for Real in the 66th minute, this one from 30 yards out and toward the left side. Ballouchy poked the kick just to the right for Klein, who took a shot that spun along the ground and forced Gruenebaum to get low for the save.
The next time Adu was fouled, this time by O'Rourke just outside the penalty area, Jason Kreis took a shot that streaked toward the goal through the wall, but Gruenebaum made the save. Just moments later, Columbus also had a good look when Eddie Gaven took a long shot that forced Rimando to dive by the right post for the save. On the rebound, Daniel Torres took down Andy Herron and was shown a yellow card, Real's second of the game.
Grabavoy turned the corner on Real's defense in the 77th minute and took a narrow angle shot through the six-yard box; Rimando dove and caught the ball, preventing it from going to any of the several on-running Crew players, and the game remained scoreless.
Real earned a pair of corner kicks after the 80th minute. On the first, Klein got the ball forward to Cunningham, who attacked but had it poked away wide. On the second, Adu attacked on the right and had the ball deflected away from him.
But in both instances, Real could not get the goal, and once again were left sharing the points on their home field, although they narrowly averted disaster in the dying seconds when Kei Kamara was left completely unmarked in the goalmouth. But his header from a Hejduk cross went just wide.
Peter Richins is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
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