Gonzalo Tapia and Santi Rodriguez scored and Patrick Schulte made seven saves as the streaking Columbus Crew defeated FC Dallas 2-0 in Frisco, Texas, on Wednesday to move into a playoff spot.
Tapia scored in the 18th minute before Rodriguez extended the lead in the 70th for the Crew (12-15-5, 41 points), who have won four in a row and six of seven.
The Crew moved two points ahead of the New York Red Bulls and Toronto FC for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with two matches left.
Dallas (15-8-9, 54 points) had a modest unbeaten streak (2-0-1) end and remains second in the Western Conference, two points behind the Vancouver Whitecaps, who host San Diego FC later Thursday.
The Crew ran the counterattack to perfection to grab the early lead. It started with an outlet pass to Steven Moreira from Schulte. Moreira got the ball to Rodriguez near midfield, and Rodriguez found Anass Zaroury streaking down the left flank.
Zaroury whipped a cross into the box where Tapia made a sliding redirect for his third goal in as many league matches.
It was a welcome team contribution for the Crew with recent stalwart Brais Mendez missing a second straight match due to a thigh injury.
The first half ended with a frenzy. Well past the posted minute of stoppage time, Dallas was awarded a free kick from 30 yards out. The attempt was off target, but FC Dallas retained possession, and in the third minute, Schulte made a brilliant save on a strike by Ran Binyamin from the center of the box.
Dallas’ Shaq Moore had the potential equalizer in the 60th minute overturned after a four-minute review determined Petar Musa was offside in the buildup.
Then the Crew responded with the Rodriguez goal that was not without some controversy. Taha Habroune put a cross to Rodriguez near the left post that forced a save by Daniel, but the rebound spilled to Rodriguez. His second try was saved, as was his third from close range, but referee Sergii Demianchuk signaled for a goal on the second shot, and a quick review showed the ball was fully across the line — barely.
–Field Level Media
