The Columbus Crew edged the Philadelphia Union 1-0 on Sunday morning in an MLS Reserve League match. Crew midfielder Bernardo Anor scored the lone goal for the Crew assisted by Crew Soccer Academy player Khai Celestin. Crew goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum earned the shutout.
The first half began with both teams sizing each other up, Columbus almost drew first blood when midfielder Santiago Prim took a shot in front of Philadelphia’s goal that was deflected into corner by Union keeper Zac MacMath in the fourth minute. Philadelphia responded a minute later with a shot by Zach Pfeffer, who was very active all match for the visiting side, only to see it saved by Gruenebaum.
Both teams continued to go back and forth throughout the half but could not find the elusive tally thanks, in part, to good defending and goalkeeping. In the 13th minute the Crew’s Prim saw his volley saved by MacMath after a great build up from a cross by Tommy Heinemann deflected to Prim by Philadelphia’s Joe Tait.
The half ended scoreless but not before Gruenebaum was called into action to deflect a Pfeffer shot in the 36th and to save a point blank shot by Michael Farfan in the 45th.
In the second half both teams came out swinging looking for a goal. Heinemann saw his 48th minute shot saved by MacMath and Pfeffer responded a minute later finding himself alone in the box in front of Gruenebaum only to see his shot get deflected into corner. As the second half wore on, the Crew’s Anor started to pick up the pace and saw back-to-back shots in the 51st and 52nd minutes get saved again by MacMath.
The Crew broke the tie in the 70th minute after midfielder Cole Grossman slotted a ball to an open Celestin who in turn crossed it to Anor into the box. Anor saw an open spot and placed the ball far post into the bottom right corner of the net for the 1-0 lead.
The Crew’s defense was able to preserve the lead but not before a last minute effort by Philadelphia’s Amobi Okugo with a shot deflected in second half stoppage time.
NOTES:
- The Crew is now 4-1-0 in Reserve League matches
- With today’s loss Philadelphia’s Reserve League record dropped to 1-5-1
- Crew F Tommy Heinemann started in today’s match after playing 20 minutes in Saturday night’s 2-1 win over the Union
- The Crew - Union reserve game featured both team’s first ever Home Grown Players, Aaron Horton for Columbus and Zach Pfeffer for Philadelphia. Both players wear the same jersey number 27
- The Crew returns to reserve league play on Sunday, September 11 at 10 a.m. as it hosts Toronto FC at Crew stadium
Columbus Crew 1, Philadelphia Union 0
Crew Stadium
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Scoring Summary:
CLB -- Bernardo Anor (Khai Celestin) 70
Philadelphia Union – Zac MacMath, Ryan Richter, Joe Tait, Juan Diego Gonzalez, Michael Farfan (Billy McConnell), Amobi Okugo, Zach Pfeffer, Roger Torres, Kyle Nakazawa, Levi Houapeu (Darius Madison* 46), Jack McInerney (Melvin Snoh* 66)
Substitutes Not Used: Thorne Holder
Columbus Crew – Andy, Gruenebaum, Korey Veeder (Dominic Aracri 68), Josh Williams, Eric Gehrig, Ben Sippola, Tom Catalano* (Aaron Horton 34), Danny O’Rourke (Khai Celestin* 46), Cole Grossman, Bernardo Anor, Santiago Prim, Tommy Heinemann (JJ Bain* 60)
Substitutes Not Used: Alex Riggs, Alex Stout,
Denotes non-roster players
Misconduct Summary:
CLB – Tom Catalano (Caution: reckless foul) 31
PHI – Ryan Richter (Caution: hard tackle) 34
CLB – Aaron Horton (Caution: dissent) 81
Referee: Sorin Stoica
Referee's Assistants: Ryan Slack, Sal Saia
4th Official: Ryan Lubbe
