Jeff Cunningham scored his 133rd career goal in dramatic fashion, heading home in the final minute Wednesday night at Empire Field to secure the Columbus Crew a 1-0 victory against Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
The goal means Cunningham is now tied with Jamie Moreno atop Major League Soccer’s all-time regular season scoring chart, and stands alone as the Crew's all-time leading scorer.
Columbus took advantage of having an extra man over the last 12 minutes as Whitecaps winger Shea Salinas saw red in the 78th minute for a late tackle on fullback Josh Gardner. It was Gardner's cross that found Cunningham unmarked in the area, and the veteran made no mistake in nodding it past Joe Cannon.
But the match could have been so different for the ‘Caps. The team looked strong in the first half, controlling the ball well with 56 percent of the possession, and creating a number of quality chances, the best of which happened right before the halftime whistle.
The lively Camilo Sanvezzo, who managed two shots on goal in the first half, put the ball on a platter for Salinas, but his low effort grazed the upright to the relief of Crew ‘keeper William Hesmer, meaning the teams went in scoreless at the break.
The second half was where the Crew took over, starting from the break, as Eddie Gaven took a wonderful touch to set up Robbie Rogers, but the midfielder shot wide under pressure from Cannon.
The other major talking point of the second half apart from the Salinas sending off was an unconverted penalty in the 72nd minute.
Veteran Terry Dunfield was dragged down in the box and stepped up to take the shot. But Crew 'keeper Will Hesmer read his weak effort, diving to his right to stop the initial shot before securing the rebound.
The win means Columbus improve to 7-5-6 (27 points) in MLS play, good for third in the Eastern Conference. The Whitecaps continue to sit at the bottom of the Western Conference with a record of 2-9-8 (14 points).
Columbus next host the San Jose Earthquakes, while Vancouver travel to Colorado to take on the defending MLS Cup champions, the Rapids.
Scoring Summary:
CLB -- Jeff Cunningham 1 (Josh Gardner 1) 90
Columbus Crew -- William Hesmer, Chad Marshall,
Sebastian Miranda, Julius James, Josh Gardner, Robbie Rogers, Dejan
Rusmir (Jeff Cunningham 83), Eddie Gaven, Eric Gehrig, Andres Mendoza
(Tommy Heinemann 70), Bernardo Anor (Justin Meram 76).
Substitutes Not Used: Kevin Burns, Danny O'Rourke, Korey Veeder, Andy Gruenebaum.
TOTAL SHOTS: 17 (Andres Mendoza 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Andres Mendoza 2); FOULS: 11 (Dejan Rusmir 3); OFFSIDES: 6 (Andres Mendoza 4); CORNER KICKS: 8 (Bernardo Anor 7); SAVES: 7 (William Hesmer 7)
Vancouver Whitecaps -- Joe Cannon, Wes Knight,
Michael Boxall, Jonathan Leathers, Alain Rochat, Shea Salinas, Gershon
Koffie, Peter Vagenas (Terry Dunfield 64), Nizar Khalfan, Omar Salgado
(Michael Nanchoff 73), Camilo.
Substitutes Not Used: Jeb Brovsky, Bilal Duckett, Greg Janicki, Long Tan, Jay Nolly.
TOTAL SHOTS: 17 (Camilo 6); SHOTS ON GOAL: 7 (Camilo 3); FOULS: 11 (Gershon Koffie 3); OFFSIDES: 1 (Omar Salgado 1); CORNER KICKS: 7 (Camilo 5); SAVES: 4 (Joe Cannon 4)
Misconduct Summary:
VAN -- Gershon Koffie (caution; Tactical Foul) 7
VAN -- Camilo (caution; Reckless Foul) 23
CLB -- Eric Gehrig (caution; Delaying a Restart) 74
VAN -- Shea Salinas (ejection; Serious Foul Play) 77
CLB -- Chad Marshall (caution; Tactical Foul) 84
Referee: Chris Penso
Referee's Assistants: -Darren Clark; Mike Rottersman
4th Official: Ricardo Salazar
Attendance: 19,079
Time of Game: 1:50
Weather: Sunny-and-72-degrees
