Game 17: THE Crew at RSL: Good buds, good times, good results

I finally made it to my second game of the year, this time accompanied by my lovely wife and a charming fellow by the name of DCU Ben (who, on a side note, was allowed 10 seconds to look at the Ben Cup before it was returned to its rightful place). With lovely weather and some good company, a good time was had by all. Anyway, on to the game!

First half grade: B
The Royals came out with a bang-bang combination. The first was the shocking forward line of Yura "I play like a 4th grader" Movsisyan and Tino "Still just a rookie" Nuñez. The second was Javi Morales' gorgeous free kick goal from just outside the area in the 4th minute. What a wonderful way to start off a game! From there Columbus looked shell-shocked, letting RSL control the game and mounting very little offensively. On the other hand, RSL was a bit sloppy and unnecessarily killed a few offensive opportunities by slowing the attack too much (especially Movs), but they play reasonably well for the most part and took a well deserved lead into halftime. 1-0 RSL.

Second half grade: C
Whatever was said and done in the Columbus locker room at halftime sure worked, as the Crew looked like a completely different team in the second half. Part of it I think stemmed from the realization that the combination of Nuñez and Yura posed no threat. On top of that, the Crew came out motivated and RSL looked a bit complacent. THE was able to mount attack after attack (aided by some shaky defending by the defenders, minus Olave), but poor finishing doomed them. However, that all changed in the 64th with the insertion of Robbie Findley. From the moment he stepped on the field, he looked like a man on a mission, just barely missing a goal wide in the 70th. Minutes later (with the help of a fresh Kenny Deuchar, on in the 69th), Findley gave RSL the insurance goal it sorely needed, taking a touch around the keeper and burying it in the top of the net. Columbus futiley tried to answer back, but to no avail, RSL wins 2-0, and takes over first place in the West for the first time ever.

Pros:
-Findley looked great.
-Morales' free kick.
-Olave once again was a beast in the back.
-RSL is in first!

Cons:
-The backline (minus Olave) was pretty awful.
-Especially Beltran, who was consistently hesitant AND out of position.
-Beckerman was also hesitant and mostly useless.
-The clock stopped at 45 and 90, making it so you had no idea how far into stoppage the game was.

Game grade: B-
Yes, it was a 2-0 win, but it was a surprisingly lackluster 2-0 win. With the exception of Olave and Findley, no one really stuck out and the front line of Nuñez and Movs proved useless. While I think Tino has a future and is just not ready for prime time yet, I presonally think it is time to let Yura on his merry way. The dude sucks period. He killed way too many attacks with his clumsy footwork and slow mind. Back to the game, it was, nevertheless, a solid win over a good team and topping the standings (although both LAG and TST are only a point behind with a game in hand) should do wonders for the confidence of the team.

Player grades:
Nick Rimando-7 Tested little, but solid when called upon
Tony Beltran-3 Absolutely awful. Mistake prone on nearly every play all game.
Nat Borchers-5 Some good plays, others were awful.
Jamison Olave-8 Nearly single-handedly shut out the Crew.
Ian Joy-5 Pretty meh.
Andy Williams-6 OK game, didn't seem to do a lot.
(Nathan Sturgis 89)-6 Very short appearance, nice to see him on the field!
Dema Kovalenko-6 Poor early, but really came on late.
Javier Morales-6 Brilliant goal, kind of dissapeared afterwards.
Kyle Beckerman-4 Poor touches, bad decisions, and worst of all, seemingly none of the passion he is known for.
Yura Movsisyan-3 Absolutely useless. I can has pink slip?
(Robbie Findley 64)-8 A one-man wrecking crew. Really should have had two or three.
Tino Nunez-5 OK, but not ready to basically be a lone striker (Movs didn't count).
(Kenny Deuchar 69)-6 Active, and got an assist, but missed a gimme goal.

RSL Man of the Match:
Robbie Findley and the kid in about row 20 of E37 (TIE)
Robbie changed the whole face of the game by providing RSL with strike ability that they had been lacking all game. He then put the game away with a sweet 78th minute goal. The kid earns it for his priceless line halfway through the national anthem: (in a whiny five-year-old voice) "Do I have to stand up?" Priceless.

Assclown of the Match:
The people running the scoreboard at Rice-Eccles
I wanted to give it to Schelotto for his Blanco-worthy diving, but I'm giving it to the crew at the stadium for not keeping the clock running into extra time like they usually do. Fat lot of good it does us to know there are four minutes of extra time when we don't even know how far into extra time we are. KEEP THE CLOCKS RUNNING, ASSCLOWN!