The Columbus Crew begins defense of its MLS Cup title today at Rio Tinto Stadium against Real Salt Lake in Game One of their Eastern Conference series (6pm, Direct Kick).
The Crew will come into the match with a surprising lineup that does not include MLS MVP Guillermo Barros Schelotto or forward Alejandro Moreno. Crew head coach Robert Warzycha is going with the tandem of Steven Lenhart and Emilio Renteria against an RSL team that is extremely tough at home.
Good news for the Crew is that star defender Chad Marshall is back in the lineup.
If you will be watching today's playoff match, please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.
Enjoy the action.
I’m just a bit more than a casual observer of these teams, but everytime i’ve seen the crew, i’ve liked Lenhart, he seems like a stable, solid player
I hope both teams push and be aggressive.
Oh crap Padula is already down.
Findley scares me…hope he does not burn the Crew again.
Not many people at Rio Tinto..Hope there’s lots of walk ups.
any links for online viewing?
link to atdhe.net Salt Lake vs Columbus Crew
thanks go crew!
pretty empty rio tinto
this has been a horrible game so far
can someone tell me why GBS is not playing
I mentioned it in the other thread, but Comcast has a free viewing of DK, so I’m actually able to watch it on tv here in Atlanta.
And why Rio Tinto is half-empty?
There is a University of Utah football game tonight….kind of like when they had the qualifier there. There was a BYU game and a Utah game that night..not smart.
I don’t think there are enough dollars in the world you could shove at me to get me at a college football game over an MLS playoff match.
Now, you could probably bribe me with hot women. But that’s about it.
So you like watching young but legal boys prancing around in spandex capris, eh?
Coming up on 160 minutes of MLS playoff soccer played. Goals Scored — ZERO!
Salt Lake has 20 minutes let to do something before for all practical purposes their season is over.
Is it really that hard for an annoucer to distinguish Hejduk and Padilla?
You should probably read that again more carefully.
Uh… what part of “you couldn’t pay me to attend a college football game” was confusing?
It was like this last year, too.
The atmosphere is pretty good in that stadium despite a not-so-huge crowd.
Robbie Findley continues to make a case for a call-up for those November friendlies.
Really poor from Brunner. You can’t let your awareness drop for even a moment in the playoffs.
Great to see RSL take lead. i love Columbus, but hate coaches who play for 0-0 away.
Nice result from RSL. Still think Columbus will pull it out though.
that was diiirrrrttyyyy. well done, the second leg will be so legit.
MLS should seriously consider the away goal rule for next year. Im getting tired of teams bunkering down on the road
agreed. Good showing by RSL. I thought they deserved the win.
That is my biggest problem with B.W. Over the last month he has stilted this squads aggressive tendencies and continuity by juggling line ups and playing for draws on the road. I couldn’t believe one of the idiots on ONN actually didn’t feel that leaving Schelotto and Moreno on the bench was an indication of BW playing for road draw
Kevin Payne was right! What a bum deal that the league’s MVP doesn’t even play in the first match of the playoffs. After a move like that, I hope RSL advances.
You must be a pretty passionate MLS fan, hate American football, and didn’t attend college at a school without a major college football team…
I just got back from the game. Terribly boring game for the first 70 minutes until Movsisyen entered the game. Columbus could not handle him. Columbus played for a road 0-0 draw and paid the price.
So was GBS just rested for the return leg?
I don’t think Warzycha was playing for a draw. He truly believes in Renteria and Lenhart and may known Scheloto is gone next year so he’s giving younger guys playing time. It was a mistake though. They are solid players who lack any creativity.
dude i dont buy that..you dont give young players playing time over the MVP in the playoffs just so they can get experience. Schelotto sitting should raise some alarms in Garber’s office that something needs to be done about the first game of the series always being a sleeper
thank god the Revs wont be playing on the road the first game….they are known for the bunker
It’s not just so they can gain experience. Warzycha has used the same philosophy all season. Every player can play. He has stated repeatedly that he does not have a starting lineup, and his lineup selections all year have backed up that claim. With a short week this week, there was no way he was going to use the same players today as next week. Let the players of the future (Renteria and Lenhart) work together today and the two that are used to playing together (Schelotto and Moreno) play next week.
I’m not saying I agree with this strategy, but the coach has been consistent. It’s not fair to say they were playing for a draw or even they they weren’t using their regular players.
If you’re GM of the Crew and you find out your coach isn’t starting your MVP, wouldn’t you be a little upset? I know I would be. Regardless of when the next match is. This isn’t Hull vs. Chelsea, where Hull has no chance on the road. This is the Crew vs RSL. You play to win every game.
If Galaxy and Chivas both at home play for 0-0, MLS is hurting, and must go to one and out. No one should pay to see these first games. I like Columbus but glad they lost this fiasco.
Lenhart = flailing, diving, big bird
RSL fan here,
The #1 reason the game was poorly attended was not due to a competing football game- solely due to Halloween. A lot of people didnt want to sacrifice family time to celebrate Halloween to miss a game for a team (RSL) that has had a pretty disappointing season. If the kickoff was noon or even 2 pm our time, you probably get a sellout.
Thanks, @Skinnyj, for the explanation. If the timing of the game wasn’t necessarily determined by television, I wonder why they put it on at 4 p.m. local time on Halloween?
Gil continues to be unimpressive in attack.
There’s a lot of standing around right now by the USA, wouldn’t be surprised if UAE score.