Student Defeats Master As Columbus Crew Roll Past Los Angeles Galaxy (VIDEO)

Aug 16, 2014; Columbus, OH, USA; Columbus Crew forward Ethan Finlay (r) celebrates his first half goal against the Los Angeles Galaxy at Crew Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

The student has defeated the master. Gregg Berhalter’s Columbus Crew picked the right time to play their best football of the season, against Bruce Arena’s Los Angeles Galaxy. Their 4-1 victory at Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio told the story: exceptional pace, organized defending, and superb placement of shots were enough to make the Galaxy look like a team that won’t win MLS Cup this season. (Of course, the MLS Multiplex can tell you that LA won’t win it anyway, but this just adds more fuel to the fire.)

Here are six things we learned, followed by player ratings, for the match between the Columbus Crew and Los Angeles Galaxy.

1. Wide-open football in the first half

The first half saw both teams play wide-open football. Early on in the first half, Justin Meram had a shot from outside of the box sail high in the sixth minute. Two minutes later, it was Robbie Keane’s turn to miss high and wide right. Adam Bedell had a header from the centre of the box miss high in the 10th minute.

2. Justin Meram’s perseverance pays off

In the 16th minute, Meram had a chance from the left side saved by Jaime Penedo. The 17th minute saw Omar Gonzalez denied by Steve Clark. Meram’s next chance in the 19th minute was again saved by Penedo. In the 20th minute, Federico Higuain was denied by Penedo. In the 23rd minute, Meram’s perseverance paid off with a curling shot in the upper right hand corner for his fourth goal of the season. Juninho failed to mark Meram on that sequence from Tony Tchani.

3. Ethan Finlay on goal for Columbus

In the 25th minute, Keane had a header from the centre of the box miss to the left. Keane had another chance in the 28th minute saved by Clark. In the 33rd minute, Ethan Finley made it 2-0 Crew on another solid sequence initiated by Meram and Higuain, fulfilling a bold prediction mentioned earlier this week. The goal now forced the Galaxy to take some chances upfield.

The rest of the first half saw Columbus slow the pace down with organized defending, frustrating the visitors at will. Donovan had a shot from outside the box blocked in the 39th minute. In the 40th minute, a through ball from Donovan for Keane was called back for offsides.

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4. Gyasi Zardes gets on board

Early on in the second half, a chance from Keane in the 46th minute sailed wide right easily. In the 49th minute, Gyasi Zardes scored with his outside foot thanks to a delivery from Gargan to make it 2-1 Los Angeles. In the 54th minute, Keane had a right-footed shot saved by Clark. Robbie Rogers was hoping for an equalizer in the 56th minute, but it was just too high. In the 59th minute, Juninho’s poor night continued with a miss sailing high.

5. Ben Speas makes it 3-1 Columbus

In the 63rd minute, Aaron Schoenfeld came in for Bedell and in the 64th, Baggio Husidic came in for Rogers. Schoenfeld in particular nearly made an immediate impact with a shot off the right post in the 67th minute. His next chance in the 69th minute sailed over and out. In the 70th minute, Alan Gordon came in for Stefan Ishizaki. At minute 71, Keane had a right-footed shot saved in the bottom right corner. Meram called it a night in the 74th minute, and Ben Speas came in. Just seconds into his shift, his third touch from a Finlay delivery made it 3-1 Columbus at the 75th minute.

6. Federico Higuain slams the door shut

With the lead, the onus was on Columbus to close the game off in style. In the 80th minute, Schoenfeld has a shot from the right side of the box saved in the centre of goal. Zardes had a chance at a brace in the 83rd minute, but the pace from Keane was too much for him to handle. In the 84th minute, Giancarlo Gonzalez cashed in off a corner from Federico Higuain to make it 4-1 Crew.

Todd Dunivant came in to relieve Dan Gargan in the 85th minute for essentially meaningless garbage time minutes. As for the Crew, Trinidadian Kevan George came in for Higuain in the 88th minute. Donovan has another shot from the right side miss to the left in the 89th minute. Speas could have had a brace in the 90th, but was offsides.

Team Statistics

Columbus in yellow, Los Angeles in blue

21	Shots	17
12	Shots on Target	5
7	Shots off Target	8
2	Blocked Shots	4
5	Corners	6
18	Crosses	19
1	Offsides	3
7	Fouls	4
0	Yellow Cards	0
0	Red Cards	0
389	Total Passes	515
84 %	Passing Accuracy	80 %
43.3 %	Possession	56.7 %
25	Duels Won	38
6	Tackles Won	10
4	Saves	7
38	Clearances	21

Columbus Crew Player Ratings

Steve Clark 8, Eric Gehrig 6, Giancarlo Gonzalez 8, Michael Parkhurst 6, Waylon Francis 6, Ethan Finlay 10, Justin Meram 9, Tony Tchani 8, Wil Trapp 6, Adam Bedell 6, Federico Higuain 7, Aaron Schoenfel 4, Ben Speas 6, Kevan George NR

Los Angeles Galaxy Player Ratings

Jaime Penedo 2, A.J. DeLaGarza 2, Dan Gargan 4, Omar Gonzalez 2, Robbie Rogers 3, Juninho 1, Landon Donovan 3, Marcelo Sarvas 2, Stefan Ishizaki 2, Gyasi Zardes 5, Robbie Keane 4, Baggio Husidic 3, Alan Gordon 2, Todd Dunivant NR

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