The game in 100 words (or less): You know, it’s nice to be right every now and then. In Friday’s weekend preview, I said it was time that Crew SC hung a crooked number on somebody, and that somebody would be Orlando City. Check the score in the above headline, note the three unanswered goals scored by said Black and Gold side and don’t forget to ring the bell on your way out the door. OK, so Crew SC’s dominant performance was aided by a man advantage for 55 minutes, but it was one-way traffic well before that. Kei Kamara is the game-changer this team needed (as predicted) and they’re going to win the East. Calling my shot: Crew SC vs. New England Revolution for a place in MLS Cup.
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Three moments that mattered
32′ — Higuain backheel and a beauty — Cheeky, cheeky, Pipa. Ethan Finlay whipped the cross in, found Federico Higuain at the near post and, with the Argentine stuck in traffic, he had no option other than the clever backheel to the far post. As is so often the case for Higuain, it worked.
34′ — Ramos loses his head and sees red — OCSC defender Rafael Ramos played a part in giving up the goal two minutes earlier, then Waylon Francis shouldered him to the ground on the other end of the field, and he had had enough. The young Portuguese gestured toward the assistant referee for a call and got no love, so he took matters into his own hands and made a beeline for Franics, lunged at the Costa Rican with both feet knee-high and earned himself a red card for his troubles.
You guys are right,it was really bad behavior! I apologize myself to the team, every member of the club and every fan! It won’t happen again
— Rafael Ramos (@rafaelramos_27) April 19, 2015
55′ — Turnover turns into a Meram goal — Kamara did the hard part, ripping the ball away from Cristian Higuita inside the Orlando penalty area. Justin Meram was the opportunistic bystander to whom the ball fell. Meram created the angle he desired to have a shot and blasted his right-footed effort past Donovan Ricketts to double the lead.
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Man of the match: Kei Kamara — Like I said above, an absolute game-changer, and his chip of Ricketts for Crew SC’s third of the game was just fantastic. No matter area of the field he chooses to take up, Kamara’s a threat to tear you to shreds, and there’s not many players like that in MLS.
LINEUPS
Columbus Crew SC: Clark, Grana, Parkhurst, Pogatetz, Francis (Klute 65′), Finlay (Jimenez 79′), Saeid, Tchani, Higuain, Meram (Steindorsson 70′), Kamara
Goals: Higuain (32′), Meram (55′), Kamara (60′)
Orlando City SC: Ricketts, Ramos, Hines (Avila 61′), Collin, Shea, Ceren, Okugo, Higuita, Molino (Rivas 79′), Kaka, Larin (Turner 36′)
