D.C. United 3-Columbus Crew 1
The VAR giveth and the VAR taketh away. D.C. United knows that all too well. On Saturday night the club were on the good side of artificial intelligence receiving two positive calls in their favor and a 3-1 win over the Columbus Crew.
In the first half Columbus came out of the gate swinging, using a cool, breezy night and a D.C. side that needed to win to their advantage. The Crew used the speed of midfielders Robinho and Pedro Santos to go wide and force a compact United defense out of position. In the 22nd minute Santos appeared to give his side the lead, breaking free down the right flank and heading towards the United goal. While his shot beat United goalkeeper Bill Hamid it was nullified after video review showed Wil Trapp having committed a foul prior to the play.
Columbus weren’t so lucky minutes later. After playing a little lethargic early on D.C.’s attack seemed to be emboldened by their good fortunes, pressing forward. They found the breakthrough in the 27th minute after Lucho Acosta slotted home a rebound off a shot from Paul Arriola. The goal was his second of the season.
Things went from bad to worse for the Crew just before halftime after a handball was called in the penalty box. Wayne Rooney, as he has done so many times in his career, stepped up to the spot and hammered his sides second goal just beating an outstretched Zack Steffen. The goal was his ninth of the season.
Columbus came out in the second with a sense of urgency pushing forward with Zardes leading the charge. In the 52nd minute he hit a clever header off a cross from Santos that appeared destined for the back of the net. But Hamid was up for the task, making the diving stop to maintain their two goal lead.
Sensing that the Crew were looking to capitalize on their space in the inside, D.C. moved the ball to the outside using the right midfield combination of Arriola and Leonardo Jara to intercept passes and create chances on the counter for another. It paid off in the 61st minute as Jara placed a diagonal pass into open space for Arriola. With ample towards the right corner of the box he ripped a low effort towards the far post, beating Steffen to make it 3-0. The goal was Arriola’s first of the season.
Columbus did get one back in the 75th minute when a Hamid tip on a corner inadvertently went into the back of D.C.’s net. But credit to United defenders Donovan Pines, Steve Birnbaum, and Frederic Brilliant for largely keeping the Crew out of D.C.’s attacking third.
With the win D.C. United (5-3-2, 17 points) moved back into a tie with the Philadelphia Union (6-3-2, 20 points) for first place in the Eastern Conference standings. They also snap a three game winless streak at home, getting their first three points at Audi Field since their 5-0 win over Real Salt Lake back in March. They will host Sporting Kansas City on Sunday (7pm EST, FS1).
As for Columbus (4-5-1, 13 points) the loss extends their winless run to five matches. The club will need to recover quickly as they host the Los Angeles Galaxy on Wednesday (7:30pm EST, ESPN+).
SUMMARY
D.C. United- Bill Hamid, Steven Birnbaum, Frederic Brilliant, Donovan Pines, Leonardo Jara, Lucas Rodriguez, Junior Moreno, Russell Canouse, Luciano Acosta, Paul Arriola (Ulises Segura 85′), and Wayne Rooney.
Goals- Acosta (21′), Rooney (45+4′), and Arriola (72′)
Yellow Card- Moreno (53′)
Columbus Crew-Zack Steffen, Jonathan Mensah, Waylon Francis, Hector Jimenez, Pedro Santos, Artur, Robinho, Wil Trapp, Federico Higuain (Niko Hansen 65′), and Gyasi Zardes (J.J. Williams 65′)
Goal- Hamid (o.g.-75th)
Yellow Cards-Trapp (26′) and Higuain (45′)
Red Cards-
DC United
Columbus Crew
