COLUMBUS, Ohio — Newcastle United took advantage of the short-handed Crew to notch a 3-0 win on Tuesday in a match that took a turn to the bizarre just before halftime, when the Crew were forced to use MLS emergency goalkeeper Chris Konopka after Andy Gruenebaum was shown red for a handball outside the penalty area in the 45th minute.
Konopka allowed two goals after Newcastle built on a 1-0 lead on a score by Shola Amoebi in the 9th minute. Fabricio Coloccini got the second goal in the 53rd minute from a muddled clearance of a corner kick as the service by Sylvain Marveaux hit Crew players Justin Meram and Julius James before landing to Coloccini.
Substitute Haris Vukcic added the dagger with a strike off the right post in stoppage time.
Konopka was called in because third-string goalkeeper Alex Riggs is out with a bruised hip, leaving Gruenebaum as the only healthy ‘keeper on the roster at the moment.
Regular Crew starting goalie William Hesmer missed last Saturday’s game vs. Portland with a left quadriceps strain and is questionable for Saturday’s match at Real Salt Lake.
Trailing 1-0, Gruenebaum was caught in no-man’s land as Demba Ba broke free from defender Eric Gehrig. Gruenebaum slid to take the ball of Demba’s foot and had it cradled to his stomach as Demba fell over him.
Gruenebaum is still eligible for Saturday’s match.
Konopka, who trained with the Crew in the preseason, has been working out with the New York Red Bulls recently. He played for Waterford United of the League of Ireland in 2010 and had a tryout with England’s lower division Oxford United last week when they were in the U.S.
The Crew’s ad hoc lineup, which featured three rookie starters, proved costly in the 9th minute, when miscommunication in the back led to the opening goal by Amoebi.
Emmanuel Ekpo tried a back pass to Gehrig about 30 yards in front of the Crew goal. As Gehrig stepped into the ball, teammate Kevin Burns came back to dribble it off his foot only to see Amoebi make a steal and head toward goal.
He got Gruenebaum to come off the line then skillfully slotted the ball into the goal.
In the 40th minute, a Burns turnover led to a try in the box by Demba but Chad Marshall was there to clean up the mess with a block of the shot.
Columbus got their only chance of the opening half in the 26th, when Cole Grossman strode into a loose ball after a nice run by Ekpo but his 22-yard strike went left of the goal.
Both sides substituted liberally as expected for an exhibition and the Crew went through most of their roster save for the expanding injury list.
Forward Jeff Cunningham, tied for the MLS career lead in goals with Jaime Moreno, did not dress because of a sore right knee. His status for Saturday’s match at Real Salt Lake is unknown.
Also not playing Tuesday because of injuries were forward Andres Mendoza, midfielders Dilly Duka, Rich Balchan and Danny O’Rourke.
On the positive side, defender Shaun Francis, who has played just one MLS match this season, went 45 minutes as did Emilio Renteria, who made his second appearance in four days after missing 10 games with a leg injury.
The Magpies fielded a strong side considering three players – Joey Bartan, Yohan Cabaye and Nile Ranger – were denied visas to the U.S. for the tour; Hatem Ben Arfa injured his knee vs. Sporting Kansas City last week and Danny Simpson went home over the weekend for the birth of his baby.
Newcastle, 12th in their return to the Premiership last season, completed a tour of the United States with a 1-1-1 record. The Magpies tied Sporting Kansas City 0-0 and lost 1-0 to USL Pro side Orlando City.
The Crew are 2-2-2 against English club and 10-3-2 in all international friendlies.
SCORING SUMMARY
NEW – Shola Amoebi 9’
NEW – Fabricio Colocinni 53’
NEW – Haris Vukcic 90+
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
COL – Andy Gruenebaum (red card: intentional handball) 45’
NEW – Cheik Tiote (caution: reckless tackle, 55’)
LINEUPS
Newcastle: Steve Harper, James Tavernier, Steven Taylor, Fabricio Coloccini (Paul Dummett 54’), Sanchez Jose Enrique, Jonas Gutierrez (, Cheik Tiote (Alan Smith 62’), Dan Gosling, Sylvain Marveaux (Haris Vukcic 76’)Tim Krul 76’), Shola Amoebi (Leon Bes 75’), Demba Ba.
Columbus: Andy Gruenebaum, Sebastian Miranda (Korey Veeder, 46’), Chad Marshall (Julius James, 46’), Eric Gehrig (Ben Sippola 5’Mehdi Abeid 85’), Shaun Francis (Josh Gardner, 46’), Emmanuel Ekpo (Robbie Rogers, 46’), Kevin Burns (Santiago Prim 75’), Cole Grossman (Dejan Rusmir, 60’), Bernardo Anor (Eddie Gaven, 46’, Aaron Horton 85’), Tommy Heinemann (Justin Meram, 46’), Emilio Renteria (Chris Konopka, 45’).
Referee: Michael Kennedy.
Referee’s Assistants: Paul Scott, Bill Dittmar.
4th Official: Chico Grajeda.
Weather: 85 degrees and sunny
Attendance: 11,224.
