On Saturday night, the Crew trailed 1-0 after a 35th minute goal by Jeff Cunningham put FCD ahead. But by the 40th minute, Columbus had drawn ahead 2-1 thanks to scores by Alejandro Moreno and Eddie Gaven.
Following the win, which was the Crew's fourth in their last five matches, head coach Sigi Schmid was clearly pleased with his side's performance.
"I thought we showed a lot of character in the first half going down 1-0 and basically responding right away with two goals," Schmid said. "But that's been the character of our team all season. The second half wasn't the most artistic. It was one of those where we had to hang on. It didn't seem like we got any breaks on the calls but our guys held tough. Sometimes when you're not playing your best, you've got to find different ways to win. Overall, I'm just proud of our team and our character."
The star for Columbus was clearly playmaking midfielder Guillermo Barros Schelotto, who assisted on both goals. The Argentine now leads MLS with 16 assists and also holds the single-season franchise record in that category for the Crew.
"[Schelotto] is somebody who can be considered for MVP of the league this year," Schmid said. "The guys know he can make special plays and get the ball into them in the right positions. He's been doing it for us all season. The key thing is to get him into spots where he can make a difference and we've been able to do that on a pretty consistent basis this year."
In the second half, FCD put considerable pressure on the Columbus back line but the Crew's rearguard held tough and didn't give up the game-tying goal to the Hoops.
"[The defense] has played well all year," Schmid said. "I think [Hesmer] is one of the top goalkeepers in this league. Chad Marshall, I think has got to be a candidate for defender of the year. For sure, he is the automatic winner of comeback of the year because he played just 12 games last year with the concussion. Andy Iro stepped in today for Danny O'Rourke and had a solid game. We've never lost a game when Gino [Padula] started for us. Getting him back on the field helps us because he's smart positionally and is solid. Frankie [Hejduk] is always buzzing and continues to give you that."
Schmid also heaped considerable praise on Gaven, who scored his first goal of the year in the 40th minute, a tally that proved to be the game-winner for the Black-and-Gold.
"It was definitely a good game for him," Schmid said. "Last week, he picked up his first assist and today, he comes up with the goal. It was great because we actually moved him to the other side of the field. We thought maybe we could get a little luck with Robbie [Rogers] on the other side and he just made a great run off the ball. He does so many other little things for our team, which don't get seen but are very important to maintain the rhythm."
The Columbus players were clearly enjoying the win, which was their league-leading 12th of the season, after the game but will soon have to turn their focus to next Saturday's match against New England at Crew Stadium.
"We're taking it game-to-game this year," said defender Frankie Hejduk. "We're not looking ahead to any other game. The game that we just played we dwell on for a few hours whether it be good or bad and then it's on to prepare for the next game at hand. I think in the past, we've looked too far ahead and we're not doing that this year."
Crew midfielder Brian Carroll agreed. "We've had good results here in a row, but the next one is the most important," he said. "New England is right behind us and it seems like the East just gets closer and closer with each passing week."
Bayern edge seven-goal thriller
Stoic Moreno providing Crew big lift
Disastrous stretch dooms Crew
One touch per minute
