Columbus Crew 1, Sporting KC 0 (4/16/11)

My wife Tammy, my youngest son Michael and my daughter Mallory joined me and 7,695 of my closest friends who braved the horrible weather last night to watch our Columbus Crew get a very good victory over Sporting KC, 1-0.

Check that. My wife and daughter sat in the Upper 90 club (no longer the best kept secret at Crew Stadium) and watched the match on TV, while my son Michael and I braved the elements and stood on the Upper 90 club's porch and watched. I drive from Cincinnati for every match, so if I'm going to make the effort to drive up, I'm going to stand in the crappy weather.

OK, I was standing under a canopy.

Robbie Rogers and Eddie Gaven Celebrating Robbie's Goal (http://www.thecrew.com/ Josh Couper/Skyler Schmitt)

This was the 4th straight shutout for the Crew's defense. Sporting KC entered the match as one of the highest scoring teams in the MLS. Once again, the Crew's central defense of Julius James and Chad Marshall led the way with solid goalkeeping from William Hesmer.

Coach Robert Warzycha started Emilio Renteria up top, with Eddie Gaven right underneath him rather than at his traditional outside midfield position. Dilly Duka went the full 90 minutes and earned an assist on Robbie Rogers' second half goal. I give coach Warzycha a lot of credit for conjuring up this inspired line-up. It definitely worked.

Man of the Match? Robbie Rogers, both for his goal and his outstanding midfield play. He continues to play well following his benching in the Crew's first match of the year. Coach Warzycha obviously knew how to light a fire under Robbie.

Columbus Crew 0, New York Red Bull 0 March 26, 2011

Luke Rodgers, RBNY Sebastian Miranda, Crew (www.newyorkredbulls.com)

Wow, it was brutally cold at Crew Stadium this afternoon.

The Crew played to a 0-0 draw with the New York Red Bull today. After last week's debacle against DC United getting 1 point out of the Red Bulls today was OK. Problem was that the Red Bulls were missing several starters due to National Team call-ups. Also, Thierry Henry was ruled out due to injury. This was a perfect opportunity for the Crew to get 3 points from a weakened Red Bull side, but they didn't take advantage.

I thought the line-up Crew coach Robert Warzycha started was interesting and effective. The midfield combination of Eddie Gaven, Robbie Rodgers, Kevin Burns and Dejan Rusmir controlled overall possession for most of the first half. Emmanuel Ekpo was effective as a withdrawn forward.

The problem for the Crew this afternoon was poor crossing and finishing. Several of the Crew newcomers had great opportunities to serve the ball to teammates in the box, but their crosses were hit off target. Both Dilly Duka, on as a late substitute, and Andres Mendoza tripped over themselves when they had great scoring opportunities and were unable to get effective shots off.

Ultimately the Crew should be pleased that they dominated possession and demonstrated an overall good effort. By all rights they should have been able to get a victory in the match, but that's soccer.

An additional note: Only 10,306 people showed up for today's match. It was the home opener! I know it was cold, but c'mon Crew fans, show up!

I have to give the Crew Supporters groups credit...the Nordecke was packed and in full voice once again!

Crew Nordecke, 3/26/11 versus Red Bull New York! (Skyler Schmitt, www.thecrew.com)