D.C. United at Columbus Crew: Match Day Commentary

The final game of the MLS regular season is set to kick off and the match will determine which team is the last one to qualify for the playoffs. D.C. United is at Crew Stadium today to take on the Columbus Crew (5pm) and D.C. needs a win today to clinch the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference playoffs as a wild-card. A D.C. United loss or tie and the Red Bulls will clinch the berth, and the first-round playoff series with defending champion Houston that comes with it.

I will be looking to provide a running commentary throughout the match (internet connection withstanding). If you plan on watching the match, or are desperate to know how the matchis going, please feel free to share your thoughts and opinions on the match in the comments section below.

Enjoy the match (lineups after the jump): 

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FINAL- Red Bulls fans love the Columbus Crew tonight, and especially love Brad Evans for ending D.C. United's season and giving them playoff life when it seemed impossible to think of the postseason after Thursday.

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FINAL- Crew 1, D.C. United 0. And the Red Bulls are in the playoffs!!

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91st minute- Stoppage time now.

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87th minute- Time is running out on DC.

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86th minute- DC off the post AGAIN. WOW

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85th minute- DC with a dangerous free kick opportunity.

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83rd minute- Crew pouring it on and D.C. not looking like they can muster two goals in the final seven minutes.

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81st minute- Crew fans are chanting, "No more playoffs!" Red Bulls fans are loving the sound of that. Much better than they did hearing that on Thursday.

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80th minute- Ten minutes left in the D.C. season.

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79th minute- Evans blasted it from about 22-yards out and now D.C. needs two goals to qualify for the playoffs. The New York Red Bulls are in right now if the score holds.

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78th minute- GOAL CREW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Brad Evans with the long-range blast!!!!

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77th minute- Gonzalo Peralta has come on for Namoff, who is injured.

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75th minute- D.C. has hit the woodwork three times (at least). Unreal. 15 minuts left.

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74th minute- DC OFF THE POST!!! Khumalo from point-blank range hits it off the crossbar. WOW

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73rd minute- SAVE HESMER!!! Guerrero with a dangerous shot that Hesmer stops.

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72nd minute- Emilio with a dangerous turn and shot at the top of the box, but it goes high. Wow.

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71st minute- D.C. replaced Doe with Boyzz Khumalo.

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68th minute- Crew with some possession here. D.C. could be running out of gas a bit.

Alejandro Moreno with a shot that just misses.

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65th minute- DC corner is wasted, goes right to Hesmer.

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63rd minute- D.C. with another good chance that goes begging. Fred with a great move to get into the box but his left-footed shot is right at Hesmer.

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60th minute- WOw, Moreno with a WIDE-OPEN look but sends his shot well high. a 17-yard shot goes begging.

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59th minute- Marshall clears away the corner. He's been a beast today.

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58th minute- D.C. corner.

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56th minute- Schelotto's free kick is so dangerous but nobody can latch onto it. Takes a bounce just in front of goal. WOW.

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55th minute- Guerrero should slide into the back, keeping D.C. in a 4-4-2 for now.

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54th minute- Jaime Moreno for McTavish. D.C. is going for it.

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52nd minute- Brad Evans with a long-range blast right at Crayton.

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50th minute- Corner goes out. No help. D.C. down to 40 minutes.

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49th minute- Crew corner

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48th minute- Namoff took a knock but looks to be coming back.

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46th minute- We are under way  in the second half.

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HALFTIME- Good stuff from Fred, Quaranta and Emilio in the first half, though that defense worries me. The Crew hasn't really shown much, though Chad Marshall has looked strong , while Alejandro Moreno has been very active.

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HALFTIME- Red Bulls fans concerned about the disparity of shots and possession in favor of D.C. should relax. It's clear that the Crew wanted to withstand the early pressure and stay sound defensively. I think we should expect more of an attack from Columbus in the second half. As D.C. gets more desperate, the Crew will be in a better position to burn them.

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HALFTIME- Jaime Moreno should come on at halftime, most likely for Doe. I don't think D.C. is ready to go to a three-man defense at halftime, but they may have to eventually if a goal doesn't come.

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HALFTIME- Columbus looked content to sit back and pick spots to counter. There's obviously no pressure on them but a Crew goal would put D.C. in serious trouble.

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HALFTIME- Emilio had Hesmer off his line but sends his shot off the post just before halftime. WOW. That one had to hurt.

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46th minute- EMILIO OFF THE POST!!!!!!!!!!!!

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44th minute- D.C. comes close again with Emilio but still no goal. First half is almost over.

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40th minute- It will be interesting to see the impact Jaime Moreno has on this match when he comes on in the second half.

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38th minute- D.C. starts to push forward, but can't find the final pass for a good shot.

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33rd minute- Crew pressing with a few shots near the area. D.C. is on the back-foot now.

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32nd minute- McTavish with a yellow for a foul on Gaven.

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31st minute- Columbus has settled down a bit now and is starting to move the ball around a bit.

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28th minute- Still scoreless. D.C. still needing a goal.

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23rd minute- Hey, a Schelotto touch. Stop the presses.

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21st minute- Louis Crayton doing the run out of the box thing again. He's been burned by that before and could be again.

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19th minute- Emilo forces Hesmer into a save. D.C. is pressing hard so far.

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17th minute- Waiting for the Crew attack to wake up. Anybody seen Schelotto yet?

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13th minute- Namoff heads one off the post!!!

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12th minute- D.C. is pressing but you get the sense that the Crew will burn them on the counter one of these times.

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7th minute- Fred with a nice run but Gino Padula with a great defensive play to stop him.

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5th minute- We are under way.

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PRE-GAME- Look for Columbus to attack early and often. Much like the Chicago Fire last Thursday against the Red Bulls, the Crew has no pressure and is at home and should play some fearless attacking soccer against a short-handed D.C. team that will surely feel the pressure of the task at hand.

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PRE-GAME- Red Bulls fans have to be happy to see the Columbus Crew field a full-strength squad, while D.C. United has captain Jaime Moreno on the bench, as well as key defender Gonzalo Martinez.

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PRE-GAME- Here are the lineups:

COLUMBUS CREW

--------------Moreno----------------------

---------------------------Schelotto----------

Rogers-------------Evans-------------Gaven

--------------------Carroll--------------------

Padula-----Marshall---O'Rourke----Hejduk

--------------------Hesmer-------------------

BENCH- Gruenebaume, Iro, Oughton, Garey, Noonan, Ekpo, Hendrickson

DC UNITED

---------------Emilio------------Doe-----------------

-------------------------Fred-------------------------

Guerrero------------------------------------Quaranta

------------------------Simms-----------------------

Burch--- -----Janicki-----McTavish--------Namoff

----------------------Crayton------------------------

BENCH- Wells, Peralta, Vide, Dyachenko, Khumalo, Martinez, Moreno

Comments

[Brett]

COME ON CREW

NY TO THE PLAYOFFS

[mikeK]

Metro reject Francis Doe has the start... How bad would it look if he scores the goal that ends the Metro's season.

[Speedball]

* We all love the yellow football team!!

* Sentiment valid today only.

[Kat]

Ives, it's Gonzalo Martinez who is injured for DC, not Gilberto.

[Cory]

Come on hat-trick for Emilio. Better make his final game count

[IamDanish]

Donovan just won the Golden Boot with 20goals and 9 assists. He certaintly is heading his way out. Remarkable play this season.

[mikeK]

1- Game on. Crew at home in Black, odd to see. United in the all whites.

[IamDanish]

Donovan with 20, Cooper with 18 and Buddle with 15. 3 highest goal scorers are all American. I expect Buddle to stay with Galaxy but probably he might head abroad as well next year or 2010 to some league like Belgium or Denmark

[Kevin]

United supporters, numbering maybe 50, are outsinging the Crew supporters, who probably number in the thousands.

[mikeK]

3rd- DC all over the Crew, running players over, no call... The Crew's stadium looks a little on the barren side.

[mikeK]

7th- DC with a decent build up, but the shot goes over. Columbus needs to be sharper, particularly on the counter.

[mikeK]

11th- Who cares about the DC coach, show the action! Commentators aren't even calling the game, just going on and on about the coach...

[martha in miami]

Watching nascar and 2 hrs of boring becks, then an old stallone movie came on! where is the game, tried all the spanish channels?...sheesh, coulda gone out to dinner! I am hungry for a yellow win...lol on the today only post!

[mikeK]

13th- Dangerous ball gets tackled away from Emilio, who looked offsides. DC hits the woodwork off the corner... Columbus not looking strong.

[mikeK]

16th- 2 players down, one from each team, and DC plays on and presses the attack... Unsporting, if you ask me.

[Geoff]

Wish I could see this game, this will be so interesting. Congrats to RSL last night. I don't see them getting past Chivas, but at least they can get that playoff experience in their new stadium. Kreis has got a good foundation for the future.

[Geoff]

Oh and what about Liverpool beating Chelski at the Bridge!!! First home loss since Barcelona in 2006 and first league defeat at the Bridge since Arsenal 2-1 in 2004!!!

[mikeK]

19th- Crew looking absolutely horrible in possesion. Emilio's final shot isn't enough to score, but if Columbus keeps this up, DC should net one soon.

[mikeK]

I just saw Schellotto down at the bodega, he said he wasn't going to show up to the game tonight, because DC is always that lucky.

[mikeK]

Drinking game, drink each time the DC keeper leaves the box and tries to be fancy with the football?

[mikeK]

24th- Emelion barrels into Padula in the air, a bit late. Padula looks okay. If it were Metro, he'd get a red card.

[mikeK]

25th- And then he trips a defender going back to watch the ball go out. Earns the yellow.

[chicagosoccerguy]

Come on DC United!!!

[mikeK]

30th- Now there is Schellotto. Dangerous cross, but no one can get on the end of it. Columbus has settled in here, looking better.

[Jerry S]

MikeK, Ives is doing running commentary, no need to do one.

[eric]

Donovan totally mailed it in today with nothing on the line. He didn't create the penalty, he just took the kick. Fantastic season, though we'll see if he can succeed in a major Euro league without an actual consistent effort.

[mikeK]

33rd- McTavish goes in hard, earns a yellow card. The Crew fans seem to enjoy their yellow cards... Corner here for the crew.

[mikeK]

I'm faster than Ives... And enjoying myself. And giving Ives more hits. Who cares? No one else is talking.

[mikeK]

No excuse to be offsides on a set piece. The Crew don't look sharp at all.

[mikeK]

Comical bicycle attempt by Doe...

[martha in miami]

montoya was running 3rd but the gringos wrecked him...found ac milan on 0.0 vs atalanta...the whole world is on that team...and is it really home of the future becks? so who looks better today cbus or scum?

[Ives]

"I'm faster than Ives"

That's what she said.

Thanks Mike. Appreciate the help.

[mikeK]

Crew fans don't look too bad singing "We love you." They got the group pogo thing looking nice.

[mikeK]

Frankie with a sloppy play, results in Emelio hitting a cracker wide. That's the first half in a nutshell. Sloppy play by the Crew, DC barely misses. Not good if you're a Red Bull fan.

[martha in miami]

lol, ives, you are in rare form today, between stop the presses and that comment above...well lets just say i am not gonna touch that one!

[mikeK]

Man... Emilio, from the poor angle, chips it over the keeper, only to find the post. What a big miss. Could this cost DC a playoff spot?

After watching the first half, it's hard to say that Columbus looks particularly inspired to score a goal tonight. If I was a betting man, I'd give the edge to DC to win the second half.

[Tim F.]

10 shots to 3... why can't Columbus mount more of an attack???

[WeatherManNX01]

*is a very big Crew fan for these 90 minutes*

[mikeK]

I don't know... I think Doe should stay out there. You don't have unlimited options on the front foot if you're DC. You could sit on the sub bench a few minutes and feel out how the second half is going to play, and throw on Moreno for a middy if it looks like you're not going to find a goal easily.

[Tony]

Mike, Francis Doe has been useless today. Why on earth would you keep him out there instead of bringing Moreno in?

[Krista]

Thanks mikeK for the updates.

Who is the strongest player right now on both sides? Wish I could be watching or listening.

[mikeK]

DC already selling tickets for the playoffs. Do they know something we don't?

[WeatherManNX01]

Who plays football at Crew Stadium? I can see where the lines were...

[mikeK]

Tony- Simply put, I don't think DC has a deep enough bench, after Moreno, to put on an attacking option. Doe hasn't impressed, but with his speed, he only needs one chance.

The best players on each side? Ives got me covered. No one for C-bus. Emilio for DC.

[mikeK]

Burch sweeps out Schelotto, another deserved card for DC.

Moreno is on.

[mikeK]

Och, Schelotto curls in an excellent cross from a free kick, no one can get on the end of it. Crew look much better in the second half.

[lou]

Come on you Crew, Crush those scum so NY can get in

[mikeK]

Moreno needs to do better from there. DC getting some more pressure in the recent minutes.

[SCNewJersey]

Hey Ives,

Can you clarify which Moreno you're talking about? As a Red Bull fan, you're liable to give me a heart-attack referring to them based on surnames.

[mikeK]

Very nearly there from Fred. Columbus played a good 10 minutes to start, but look like they've gone flat again.

[mikeK]

Here's Ives' favorite in game feature, the in game coach's interview.

[MiamiAl]

The only Moreno you need to know is the MLS All Time leading scorer.

[mikeK]

Padula is more than a little off with his effort, but better from Crew.

[SCNewJersey]

The only Moreno you need to know is the MLS All Time leading scorer.

Posted by: MiamiAl | October 26, 2008 at 06:31 PM

You mean the Metro reject?

[mikeK]

That was absolutely a corner... It's the metro luck, rubbing off on columbus.

[MiamiAl]

And that will always be the black stain on Jaime's career!

[mikeK]

Oh my... Absolute sitter finds crossbar for DC... I'm biting my nails off.

[Tim F.]

Is Columbus trying?

[WeatherManNX01]

If those goals were just a couple of inches larger, United would be up 3-0...

Or, you know, if they could actually aim.

[WeatherManNX01]

GOAL!

[mikeK]

YEAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!! THEY ARE TRYING!

Evans get's it for the Crew! 1-0! DC needs 2 to get the playoffs, otherwise New York is dancing into it's game against the dynamo!

[SCNewJersey]

As the great Max Bretos would say:

YESSSSSSSSS!

[SCNewJersey]

DC UNITED WENT TO ROME TO SEE THE POPE...

[CACuzcatlan]

Who got the assist on that goal?

[mikeK]

Crew fans jeering DC with "No more playoffs!"

Music to my ears.

[mikeK]

C-bus concedes a dangerous free kick.

[mikeK]

And a second corner in a row...

[Beckster]

As devoted as I am to DC, this season just needs to end. The coach needs to get canned and 1/2 the team disposed of. The rest just need to get healthy. Making the playoffs would just prolong the agony...

[SCNewJersey]

Beckster, you sure you're not a Metro fan?

[Krista]

Sadly I agree with Beckster. I had hope DC would get healthy and be able to make a good run for the playoffs and through the playoffs.

They need to reorganize and prepare better for next year.

[mikeK]

Columbus playing a bit of kick around, wisely, in stoppage time. It looks like a bridge too far now for DC. "No more playoffs" is dominating the stadium again. It looks like the Red Bull will get their chance.

[Beckster]

SCNJ - oh yeah...I'm sure! Also, if DC makes the playoffs, might save Soehn which would be a disastor.

[mikeK]

Final whistle. The Red Bull are in after all, the disaster in Chicago aside.

[MiamiAl]

Is this what it feels like to be a Red Bulls fan? On the outside looking in?

[Tim F.]

Thank you Crew! Thank you Brad Evans!!!

[mikeK]

Didn't DC get the open cup? I know, not glamerous, but it's silverware.

[Betinho]

Man of the Match - Woody Work for Columbus

[TMK]

MiamiAl - who's on the outside looking in now? Looks like DC more than NY since we made the playoffs

[LJ]

The Crew break the season to season points total turn around that San Jose had when Donovan came back from europe.

A 20 point improvement from 2007!

[Kevin]

Thus ends a thoroughly disappointing season. I'm going to go spend the next 5 months moping.

Wake me up in March. And let me know if we dispose of all the crap on the team, Soehn included.

[martha in miami]

phew! do i send that case of peroni to evans or the post, lol! milan 0 vs. atalanta 0 in the 75th. min. gattu yellow for a pietrav like play, ronaldinho janked in the 70th...see poop all over the world!

[CD]

What line up will "Osario the Meticulous" go with in the playoffs? If he wins the first leg how many changes will he make? Is he plugging all the combinations into his magic lineup machine right now?

[martha in miami]

just as i was typing poop kaka scored! ... no joke ac milan up 1.0 85th min. edwards won, johnson 2nd, has large pts. lead towards his 3peat and the RB have a new bff in ohio!

[kebzach]

So new York gets the pleasure of getting railed by Houston. Interesting.

[Kevin]

I have to say that DC United was probably the best team in the MLS in June, when we had all our players and were playing as a cohesive unit. However, injuries are not an excuse for missing the playoffs. It was lack of effort for most of the season, save today. This was the best game I've seen us play all year as a team; however, Columbus is a very good team. United clearly dominated a good 75+ minutes, but the Crew found ways to keep us out the the net, or we hit the post (UGH- I counted at least 4 times).

So kudos the Columbus, and New York, have fun in Houston. I'm predicting a 5-1 aggregate score.

[Tim]

Its alright DC

There is always next year.

I can live with 12 trophies this year

[dr dcr vcr]

Over the past couple of games for DC, the player I have been truly impressed is Greg Janicki, the centerback for United on loan USL-2 Riverhounds. This guy is just flat-out good. If he signs with DC next year, he could very well be the MLS Defender of the Year. He is clam and composed on the ball, has a very good soccer IQ, and plays the right way. Moreno was basically marked out of the match by Janicki and the times Rogers went 1v1 with Janicki, he only gave up a single corner kick to him. If there is a weakness to his game, it is that he needs to learn how to defend set pieces better but he is only a rookie. I hope they offer a solid senior roster contact since the DC defense has looked much, much better with him in the lineup.