The CONCACAF Champions League trophy was on display at Crew Stadium Tuesday night and host Columbus moved a step closer to qualifying for the tournament's knockout stage, defeating Joe Public, 3-0, in a Group B match.
Leandre Griffit, Jason Garey and Steven Lenhart scored second-half goals for Columbus, which has six points from three matches and momentarily moved into a first-place tie with Santos, which hosted Municipal later Tuesday night.
After coming away with nothing from a dominating opening 45 minutes, the Crew wasted little time in the second half to take the lead as Griffit cut inside of Joe Public defender Nigel Daniel and placed his shot around goalkeeper Marvin Phillip and inside the far post in the 47th minute.
Three minutes later, Columbus doubled its lead as Emmanuel Ekpo, who was one of the most dangerous Columbus players in the attacking third, played a perfect ball to Garey, who snapped a header inside the far post.
The Crew didn't take their foot off the accelerator and continued to attack, but Phillip singlehandedly kept the Trinidadians in the game. He denied Andres Mendoza with a fine save in the 50th minute and acrobatically parried away Adam Moffat's blast from 24 meters six minutes later.
On the hour mark, Kerry Baptiste had a chance on a counterattack, turning a Crew defender around at the top of the box, but Columbus goalkeeper Adam Gruenebaum dived to his left to stop the rolling shot.
A pair of second-half substitutes connected on the Crew's third goal as Dilly Duka played Lenhart into the box and the forward fired the ball past Phillip from 14 meters to give Columbus a commanding 3-0 lead in the 79th minute.
It was a stark contrast to a dominating first half when the Crew was unlucky not to go into the locker room at halftime with a lead.
Columbus attacked from the opening kick and Mendoza had a clear chance on four minutes, but his attempt was wide of the net. Ten minutes later, the Peruvian had another opportunity from the top of the 18-yard box, but Phillip made the save.
After being taken down by Carlyle Mitchell, who was the first player booked by referee Walter Lopez, Ekpo couldn't put away a free kick from 24 meters in the 31st minute. Two minutes later, the Nigerian found space on the right edge of the 18-yard box, but misfired into the stands.
In the 35th minute, Mendoza was in alone on Phillip, but Joe Public defender Keion Goodridge's last ditch effort knocked the ball out for a corner kick. One minute later, Ekpo again had an attempt at goal, but Phillip dived to his left to make the save and Garey tripped on the rebound.
Three minutes from halftime, Garey hammered a shot from eight meters well over the bar and the frustrated Crew went into halftime in a scoreless draw.
But that frustration was forgotten just six minutes into the second half as the Crew tallied twice, giving them some momentum heading into a showdown with Santos on Matchday next Tuesday. Joe Public, which has one point from its first three matches, is home for Municipal next Thursday. Both games kick off at 8 p.m.
Teams
Joe Public FC: - 1.Marvin Phillip, 3.Keion Goodridge, 17.Nigel Daniel, 19.Carlyle Mitchell (Yellow 31) (30.Kareem Moses 85th), 20.Makan Hislop, 7.Hayden Tinto, 27.Micah Lewis (33.Marvin Manswell 74th), 10.Yu Hoshide (Kenaz Williams 80th - Yellow 90), 16.Gason Gregory, 28.Marcus Joseph, 4.Kerry Baptiste (capt).
Subs not used: - 21.Glenroy Samuel.
Columbus Crew: - 30.Andy Gruenebaum, 23.Eric Brunner, 15.Kevin Burns, 14.Chad Marshall (6.Andy Iro 80th), 29.Shaun Francis (Yellow 5), 17.Emmanuel Ekpo (11.Dilly Duka 61st), 22.Adam Moffat, 8.Duncan Oughton, 13.Leandre Griffit, 10.Andres Mendoza (32.Steven Lenhart 64th), 9.Jason Garey.
Subs not used: - Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Brian Carroll, Eddie Gaven, William Hesmer.
Attendence: - 5,445.
Goals:
CLB -- Leandre Griffit (Unassist) 47.
CLB -- Jason Garey (Emmanuel Ekpo) 51.
CLB -- Steven Lenhart (Dilly Duka) 79.
Video Highlights: - Highlight 1 - Highlight 2.
After slow start, Crew has its way with foe.
By: By Shawn Mitchell (Columbus Dispatch).
The Crew wanted nothing less than six points from a two-game CONCACAF Champions League homestand that began last night with a 3-0 victory over visiting Joe Public of Trinidad & Tobago.
Wins over Joe Public, regarded as the weakest team in Group B, and Santos Laguna of Mexico next week likely would clinch a quarterfinal spot for the Crew.
Three points down. Three considerably tougher points to go.
Leandre Griffit, Jason Garey and Steven Lenhart scored in the second half as the Crew cruised against undermanned Joe Public.
Consecutive CONCACAF wins would allow coach Robert Warzycha to focus his resources on a run to the MLS Cup final and let the Crew (2-1) rest some key players during upcoming Champions League trips to Guatemala and Trinidad.
The Crew's strategy was evident from the opening whistle: attack early, attack often and put away Joe Public (0-2-1) as quickly as possible.
"We took a step forward with the win," Warzycha said. "We learned last year, having so many games at the end of the season, how to approach these games."
The Crew rested several regulars but was dangerous on both flanks and in the middle of the field.
It peppered Joe Public with 10 shots in the first half. But keeper Marvin Phillip made five saves, and the first half ended in a scoreless tie.
"That's soccer," Garey said. "Sometimes it goes that way. We talked at halftime about just being a little bit sharper, about concentrating on our finishing in the second half."
Forward Andres Mendoza made his first start for the Crew and took a team-high six shots before he cramped and exited in the 64th minute.
The Peruvian played a ball wide to Griffit that the Frenchman took into the penalty area before slotting a shot past Phillip and inside the far post in the 47th minute.
Garey scored in the 51st when he leaped into a cross from Emmanuel Ekpo and snapped a header inside the opposite post.
Lenhart scored with an assist from Dilly Duka in the 79th.
"We played very well," Griffit said. "We kept the ball and tried to move. It worked really well. We had some chances and didn't score and it was frustrating. I thought after we scored one goal things got easier."
Joe Public dressed only 15 players after midfielder Trent Noel was scratched after warm-ups.
Visa problems and injuries kept several other players from traveling.
The Crew (six points) moved into a first-place tie with Santos (2-0) atop Group B, although Santos played a late game at Municipal of Guatemala (0-1-1) last night and will visit Crew Stadium on Tuesday.
The top two teams from the four-team group advance to the quarterfinals.
"You have to win your games at home," Garey said. "That was a big one that we needed to win. If you can win at home and get a point on the road, that's all you need."