Columbus 1, San Jose 0
Columbus 1, San Jose 0
Eds: Optional
cgfonstrcelcg
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Forward Brian McBride was pleased with the way his Columbus Crew teammates were willing to fight to break out of their slump.
"The effort was great for us tonight. Defensively we played very well," said McBride, whose goal in the 85th minute lifted the Columbus Crew to a 1-0 victory Saturday over the San Jose Earthquakes. "Although we didn't pass the ball very well, everybody fought for each other tonight."
With two losses and a tie over their past three games, Columbus started the game by knocking players off the ball and making hard tackles. The Crew were called for 12 fouls in the first half compare with San Jose' five fouls. Columbus finished with 19 fouls and San Jose had 13.
Columbus (4-3-3) played the last 12 minutes down a man after midfielder Diego Walsh picked up his second yellow card for a hard foul in the middle of the field.
The pressure finally paid off when Brian Dunseth's shot from inside in the penalty area deflected off the shin of San Jose defender Jeff Agoos and rolled toward the near post. McBride beat defender Chris Roner and goalkeeper Pat Onstad to the ball and slipped it inside the post for his team-leading fifth goal of the season.
"This one popped up, I just hit it as hard a I could toward the back post to see what would happen," Dunseth said. "If it would have gone in for a goal I would have taken full credit."
Agoos nearly made up for his mistake in the 87th minute by sending a long pass to substitute Jamil Walker into the box, but Walker's shot from 14 yards out went right at goalkeeper Jon Busch. Busch earned his third shutout of the year making six saves.
"The win doesn't quite make up for our big game losses but it sure justifies how the ball bounces," said coach Greg Andrulis. "We had a few breakdowns but getting shutouts is what it is all about, especially at home. We haven't done that enough."
A crowd of 16,481 saw Columbus improve to 2-2-2 at Crew Stadium.
Columbus moved into a tie for second in the Eastern Conference and San Jose (4-2-2) is tied for first in the Western Conference.
43
