Columbus Crew SC 0, FC Dallas 3 | MLS Match Recap

  

Columbus Crew SC did plenty of things right against FC Dallas at MAPFRE Stadium on Sunday night, but were harshly punished for a handful of mistakes as the visiting Texans pulled off a ruthless 3-0 win via opportunistic goals from Atiba Harris, Michael Barrios and David Texeira.

Crew SC dominated possession with a whopping 67 percent, strung together 553 passes, delivered 31 crosses took 15 shots and even earned a generous penalty-kick call on the night. But it all went for naught as Columbus' finishing touch deserted them in the absence of MLS Golden Boot frontrunner Kei Kamara.

Dallas, meanwhile, will be thrilled to take all three road points after starting several Homegrown players in a youthful starting 11 with an average age of just 23 years old.

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It was their oldest starter, 30-year-old Atiba Harris, who opened the scoring in the 27th minute. Crew SC fell asleep on a corner kick, allowing Texeira to head Kellyn Acosta's delivery to an unmarked Harris at the right post, and the St. Kitts & Nevis international headed home from a tight angle.

The goal was a swift punishment for Crew SC playmaker Federico Higuain, who stroked a 24th-minute penalty kick wide of the target after Jack McInerney went to ground after shoulder-to-shoulder contact with Matt Hedges in the FCD box.

The home side continued to probe and press Dallas' well-organized 4-4-2 shape, and should've equalized in the 61st minute on a mistake by goalkeeper Jesse Gonzalez.

The 20-year-old 'keeper misjudged a long through ball as it skipped into his box, allowing McInerney a free look at an unguarded goal – but the former Montreal Impact striker screwed his shot well high and wide of the net.

Yet again, the hosts' generosity was capitalized upon within minutes. With Crew SC pushed forward, Harris thumped a clearance into Barrios' path and the dimunutive Colombian blazed past Michael Parkhurst on a solo counterattack capped by a savvy finish over goalkeeper Steve Clark for a 2-0 lead that stunned the MAPFRE faithful.

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It went from bad to worse within seconds for Columbus as Barrios broke away into the clear yet again. While Clark made a big save on his shot, Texeira took advantage of the 'keeper being stranded well off his line by drilling a low finish inside the far post to run the score to 3-0.

The loss kills Crew SC's four-game unbeaten streak, and to make matters worse, they lost summer signing Gaston Sauro to injury just minutes into his first MLS start as the Argentine center back clashed heads with teammate Wil Trapp.

Columbus return to action with a visit to Philadelphia on Saturday, while FCD host New York City FC later that same evening.

Columbus Crew SC bemoan naiveté in loss to FC Dallas: "We need to get better when teams pack it in"

COLUMBUS, Ohio – In retrospect, Columbus Crew SC's 3-0 loss to FC Dallas on Sunday night slipped out of the home side's hands in the 27th minute, when only the first of the night’s three goals had been scored.

While Crew SC endeavored to play their usual attacking style, Dallas made it clear that they would take a disciplined, counterattacking approach. And after pushing the action for the first portion of the game, a missed penalty kick by Federico Higuain and a Dallas goal from a corner kick changed everything.

“We had the right mentality, we were doing things right, we had them under pressure, we were playing the game in their half of the field,” defender Michael Parkhurst said. “We were unfortunate not to take the lead with the penalty. I think if we’re able to make that, we go on to win the game.

“But when we don’t win that, we have to make sure we keep the zero at the back. In a game like this with a team playing the way they were playing, it’s imperative that we get the first goal.”

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But they didn’t get the first goal, and they would fail to find any goals at all, thanks to a stingy Dallas defense that Crew SC head coach Gregg Berhalter credited after the match.

“Soccer is a game of moments, and that’s what defined this game,” he said. “There was a missed penalty, there was a corner kick, and as soon as we had the momentum for a chance, it turned the other way and they get a goal. Give them a lot of credit. That was the best defensive performance we’ve seen all year, it really was. And we didn’t have the answers for it.”

In a visibly frustrated Columbus locker room, Ethan Finlay said he thought the club’s response to a defensive approach from Dallas, which included a move to five defenders in the second half, should have been better.

“They were happy with 1-0, and I think they were shocked to be up 3-0,” he said.

Asked if he credited a poor offensive night from Crew SC or the defensive performance from Dallas, Finlay rolled his eyes.

“If five in the back is good defense, then five in the back is good defense, I guess,” he said.

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Berhalter said it simply “wasn’t our day,” but Parkhurst seemed more worried about the fact that teams continue to beat Columbus by adopting a defend-and-counter approach.

“We know that the way we play, we’re able to do to teams what we want sometimes,” Parkhurst said. “But at the same time, we need to get better when teams are going to pack it in. This isn’t going to be the last team this year that packs it in against us and plays on the counterattack; we might even see it next week.

“It’s something we have to work on and break down.”

And though the club was missing regular starters Kei Kamara, Justin Meram, Harrison Affuland Waylon Francis, no one was blaming the absences for the loss.

“We could have won that game with the guys we had on the field,” Finlay said, “easily.”

Standings

2015 Regular Season

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Last Updated: 09/07/15 at 1:10 PM

Eastern Conference

#	Club	PTS	GP	PPG	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	HG	HGD	RG	RGD
1	D.C. United	44	28	1.57	13	10	5	35	34	1	27	9	8	-8
2	New York Red Bulls	42	25	1.68	12	7	6	43	28	15	22	14	21	1
3	Columbus Crew SC	41	28	1.46	11	9	8	45	47	-2	32	9	13	-11
4	New England Revolution	40	27	1.48	11	9	7	38	36	2	24	15	14	-13
5	Toronto FC	37	26	1.42	11	11	4	45	44	1	22	10	23	-9
6	Montreal Impact	31	24	1.29	9	11	4	34	37	-3	23	8	11	-11
7	Philadelphia Union	30	28	1.07	8	14	6	35	45	-10	18	1	17	-11
8	Orlando City SC	29	28	1.04	7	13	8	33	50	-17	18	2	15	-19
9	New York City FC	28	27	1.04	7	13	7	38	46	-8	26	0	12	-8
10	Chicago Fire	27	27	1	7	14	6	34	42	-8	19	4	15	-12

Western Conference

#	Club	PTS	GP	PPG	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	HG	HGD	RG	RGD
1	LA Galaxy	46	28	1.64	13	8	7	49	33	16	36	27	13	-11
2	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	45	27	1.67	14	10	3	38	28	10	21	8	17	2
3	FC Dallas	44	26	1.69	13	8	5	38	30	8	23	11	15	-3
4	Seattle Sounders FC	41	28	1.46	13	13	2	34	31	3	22	10	12	-7
5	Sporting Kansas City	40	25	1.6	11	7	7	40	35	5	23	8	17	-3
6	Portland Timbers	40	27	1.48	11	9	7	29	32	-3	19	10	10	-13
7	San Jose Earthquakes	38	27	1.41	11	11	5	33	31	2	12	4	21	-2
8	Houston Dynamo	35	27	1.3	9	10	8	35	34	1	24	9	11	-8
9	Colorado Rapids	33	26	1.27	8	9	9	25	27	-2	17	-2	8	0
10	Real Salt Lake	32	27	1.19	8	11	8	29	40	-11	19	7	10	-18

TOP 6 CLUBS IN EACH CONFERENCE REACH PLAYOFFS

PTS: Points, GP: Games Played, PPG: Points Per Game, W: Wins, L: Losses, T: Ties, GF: Goals For, GA: Goals Against,GD: Goal Difference, HG: Home Goals For, HGD: Home Goals Difference, RG: Road Goals For, RGD: Road Goals Difference,

x - Clinched playoff spot
y - Clinched No. 1 playoff seed in Conference
s - Clinched Supporters Shield, and No. 1 playoff seed in Conference

NOTE: Standings are updated 2 to 5 minutes after each match is completed.

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