The Columbus Crew have never been ones to play pretty. Many of their matches turn ugly and Wednesday night's contest against Real Salt Lake at Crew Stadium was no different. Unlike their recent matches though, the result turned favorable for the Crew, who came back from a goal down to defeat Salt Lake, 2-1, to end a five-match winless streak.
Columbus Crew Vs. Real Salt Lake: Crew Come From Behind To Defeat RSL, 2-1
The visitors were first on the scoreboard when Jamison Olave got on the end of a corner kick. The kick went all the way across to the back post, where Olave put an awkward touch on it that bounced before going into the upper corner of the net.
That goal stood up until the 76th minute when Olave got involved again, this time on behalf of the Crew. The defender took down Justin Meram and the referee was absolutely correct in pointing to the penalty spot. Andres Mendoza took the kick and with Nick Rimando going the other way, had no issue finishing to level the match.
Not even 10 minutes later Columbus got themselves a winner. Josh Gardner found space in the middle, took a big touch and still nobody closed down on him so he fired from 25 yards. The shot took a deflection off of a defender so Rimando was going the wrong way as the ball settled into the net for the match-winner.
As nice as a win may feel for the Crew, there are serious questions about RSL after yet another loss. Since losing to Monterrey in the CONCACAF Champions League final on April 27 they have just one win. That swoon comes with the injury to Javier Morales, which has completely taken the life out of the attack and shows no signs of getting better anytime soon as he is still months away from a return and Alvaro Saborio remains with Costa Rica for the Gold Cup.
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