The Hoops had taken a 1-0 edge into the break and were carrying the advantage in play. But the game changed in the space of four minutes when Brian Carroll and Brad Evans scored, and the Crew eased to a 2-1 victory.
For FCD head coach Schellas Hyndman, the game could best be characterized by the distinctly different halves.
"I would call our first half excellent," he said. "Probably our mistake was not scoring more. I think if we had scored another goal, then it would have ended the game. In the second half, they were playing a little bit more aggressive.
"Both goals were stoppable but on the good side, I thought our players played all the way to the last second. They were trying to come away with a result and salvage a point. It was disappointing because you score a goal against the No. 1 team in the league and probably could have won the game if we can reproduce the same type of half we had in the first half. I thought we deserved at least one point."
For the second consecutive game, Hyndman pulled right-sided midfielder Andre Rocha midway through the second half. He leads the team with six assists but hasn't had one in seven games.
"I don't know if he's a true flank player," Hyndman said of Rocha. "I think he's doing better and is getting forward. He had two scoring chances. I think he's being more productive as far as getting forward and keeping the ball but he seems to tire out with the demands that I'm asking for him in this position. We've got some good players here. If he's slowing down and is giving 70 percent, then it's time to bring a player on that will give us 100 percent." Rocha came off for rookie Bruno Guarda in the 69th minute, partly because of fatigue. Guarda was making his second professional appearance.
"I think Bruno is going to be a good player for us but you can tell that he's not match fit and adjusting to the speed of the game and the physical play of the game," he said. "Some of his choices have let him down. I think that he needs to get fitter so that he can make more decisions. He definitely has a wonderful work ethic but he's got a ways to go."
Saturday's match marked the FCD debut for newly-acquired striker Jeff Cunningham, who put the Hoops ahead with the 100th goal of his MLS career in the 35th minute, and midfielder Victor Sikora, who made his league debut.
"I thought Victor (Sikora) was outstanding in the first half," Hyndman said. "I thought he was very good, was laying some great balls off and was defending. In the second half, he started disappearing about 10 minutes in with more of a fatigue level."
The FCD coach also liked how well Cunningham combined with FCD leading scorer Kenny Cooper for much of the opening half.
"In the first half, he and Jeff (Cunningham) combined very well and that was very positive," Hyndman said. "Jeff tore them apart with his diagonal runs and ability to beat people not only scoring but laying balls off. I thought he had a really good game.
"One of the things that I don't think Kenny (Cooper), Abe (Thompson) or Dominic (Oduro) ever really did do was combine. They were pretty much straight runners and Jeff brings a different game because he can hold up and lay balls off," Hyndman continued. "I thought the two of them looked good in the first half. I didn't think Kenny had an especially good game but he was always dangerous."
Hyndman admits that he didn't see the same level of play from his central midfield duo of rookie Eric Avila and Pablo Ricchetti that had come in their previous two wins.
"I thought that Pablo and Eric, neither of them had a great game," he said. "That is what affected us in our midfield. In the second half, when we were getting beat, it was in our midfield. That's something that we need to address."
That led Hyndman to take Avila out in the 63rd for Marcelo Saragosa, a move he says was pretty straightforward.
"I thought (Avila) played his best soccer the first 10 minutes of the second half," he said. "But my mind was already looking at that (a change) because he didn't have a good first half. He didn't understand his role and didn't have the work ethic that we needed. When he doesn't do his work, then Pablo can't do his work. I expect more from Eric because he wasn't playing when I got here and now he's playing. He needs to appreciate that and hold onto that as hard as he can."
For Hyndman's third and final sub, he brought on speedy Dominic Oduro for Sikora. Hyndman said the Ghanaian striker, who is second on FCD with five goals but lost his starting spot once Cunningham was acquired, is a little down. After training on Tuesday, Hyndman was seen giving the 23-year-old forward a pep talk.
"Sure (he's frustrated)," Hyndman said of Oduro. "It's all mental. He's frustrated because he thought he was playing well. He thought he had a really good game against LA, which he did. He didn't have a good game against Toronto and he's inconsistent. To be the player that he wants to be, we've got to be able to count on him getting to first touches, making good passes, holding the ball and scoring when he's five yards out, all things that he needs to work on."
The Columbus game was the Hoops' second in a row without starting center back and captain Duilio Davino, who continues to be sidelined with an avulsion fracture in his toe. The Mexican international did not train on Tuesday, making his status for a trip to Kansas City this weekend highly uncertain.
"I don't know (when he could be back)," Hyndman said. "It's a goofy injury but at the same time, it's an injury. Like I tell the players, I'm not going to be a guy who will put you back out here before you're ready. Hopefully, he comes around. We were hoping that he will be able to play this weekend. But if he's not training, then he won't be playing."
Last week, Hyndman said that the club was looking at possibly signing another defender, either a right or left back that could get forward. He admits there is still an outside chance of that happening, but those chances are slim.
"(There's) no progress on that," he said. "Something may still happen but it's more likely that it won't. I think what we're looking at is this team being pretty much intact for the last 10 games. I think we've made some good improvements. All we've got to do now is get players match fit and get the team to play more soccer like we did in the first half against Columbus. We've got to be able to stretch that 45 minutes into 75 minutes and then maybe into 90."
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