Santos Laguna’s last-minute victory leaves Columbus Crew heartbroken
Columbus Crew thought that they could handle Santos Laguna even without their regulars. They were very determined to leave the country with a win but an unfortunate even struck the last minute. Columbus saw a ray of hope but Santos scored at the second-half stoppage time to take a 1-0 victory, leaving Columbus stunned and confused as to what went wrong. It is Santos’ fourth CONCACAF Champions League victory in four tries.
Columbus regulars Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Chad Marshall, and Wiliam Hesmer were absent in the match because coach Robert Warzycha decided to leave them home. Warzycha wanted his big boys to focus on tough FC Dallas match (which ended in a 2-2 draw).
Columbus almost had a chance of scoring in the first-half of the game. It was evident in Crew’s manner of playing that they could handle Santos without too much difficulty.Both sides played evenly but in the 21st minute, forward Emilio Renteria crossed the ball from the right to Andy Iro’s direction. Iro put the ball at the back of the net with a header.
Columbus was supposed to take the lead but Santos objected to the point because Renteria was wearing a jersey with no number on it. Renteria changed his jersey because minutes before the goal, his face was accidentally hit by an elbow. He had to go off the field to change his bloodied shirt and dress his injury with a bandage. Unfortunately, the shirt had no number and the referee ruled that a player should not be allowed back into the game without a numbered shirt. The goal was not counted because of that infraction. The unnumbered shirt also earned Renteria a yellow card. The Santos had solid attempts on the Crew’s goal but goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum was successful in keeping the shots at bay.
Columbus became more defensive in the second half, especially when Carlos Darwin Quintero joined them in the 57th minute. The Colombian charged with near attempts but Gruenebaum and the crossbar posed as obstacles to his scoring ambitions. He narrowly missed the goal a few minutes after joining his team-mates when he blasted with an eight-yard shot past the goal. Gruenebaum blocked his second attempt (12 yards away from the goal) moments after his first goal. Quintero could not get lucky even with the third goal. He fired a 25-yard shot; it went past the Santos goalkeeper but it also went over the goal. Despite the missed attempts, the Crew’s fans were hopeful that they would score and eventually beat Santos Laguna. Little did they know that miracles could happen, but for the other team.
It was during the stoppage time that the Crew’s hearts were broken unexpectedly. With only the stoppage time to rely on, the Crews began to play defensively and protected their goal. Santos saw this defensive play as an opportunity to charge forward and aim for their first and only goal in this match. From a cross from the left side of the field, after a series of bounces, reserve defender Jorge Ivan “Guti” Estrada was able to get the ball in the Crew’s net from 15 yards out. Gruenebaum could do nothing to save his team this time.
The game ended shortly after that goal, leaving Columbus with broken hearts. It was a bizarre and tragic game for them. The Santos force crept in unexpectedly and now they are relegated to second place in their group (Group B). Santos leads by three points. Columbus Crew will fly to Trinidad and Tobago to face Joe Public. Santos will clash with Guatemalan club Municipal.
One can just imagine the disappointment of the Crews. They could have had a chance to win, if it weren’t for the numberless shirt of Renteria. Small things like this make it harder to accept a loss that could have been very well a victory.
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