Columbus collapse as RSL comes alive on the road

Where to begin with this one? If you approached fans of Columbus and let them know in advance of the game, that they would take a two goal lead within the first 35 minutes at home, against the worst road team in MLS, they would have taken that in a hearbeat. And that's just what did happen, as two Guillermo Barros Schelotto goals got the Crew off to the start they needed.

From there, the beautiful start collapsed into a nightmare finish that saw the Crew knocked out of the playoffs in the first round -- and deservedly so. The approach of Jason Kreis was almost directly opposite that his counterpart Robert Warzycha took when the roles were reversed out in Sandy, Utah last week. Instead of coming in with a 1-0 lead and bunkering down, Kreis had his charges pressing the Crew, not giving them space in which to operate.

The two goals from Schelotto weren't a direct result of the aggressive gameplan, rather sloppy defending by RSL. After the second Schelotto tally, a Crew surge seemed inevitable, much less so than the collapse that soon followed. Two massive defensive blunders from the defending champs meant that RSL had the initiative heading into halftime.

First, no one marked Javier Morales on his run from the midfield, and Kyle Beckerman found him with a simply, yet accurate chip over the defense. Morales was in alone, easily beating Will Hesmer to level the aggregate. RSL wasn't done, as a Robbie Findley penalty meant the visitors seized the advantage in first half stoppage time. Baldermo Toledo pointed to the spot after Frankie Hejduk was adjudged to have hauled Fabian Espindola down in the box.

Perhaps the penalty call was a touch soft, but Hejduk's positioning and poor use of his arms -- he had them practically wrapped around the RSL attacked -- made the penalty call legitimate. Findley was even a bit fortuitous on the spot kick, as he seemed to strike the ball poorly. Fortunately, Hesmer had guessed the wrong way.

In truth, that was all she wrote, as a deflated Columbus wouldn't come all that close to an equalizer. Everything that had worked well last season, from the timely scoring, tight defending and tidy goalkeeping, wasn't working over the last month or two of the MLS season. And as a result, Andy Williams' goal in the 74th minute put the nail in the coffin of America's hardest working club.

For as much as the Crew's defense simply came apart, RSL should be credited for playing attacking football for most of the match. And with the wealth of attacking talent this club has at their disposal, the importance of attacking cannot be overstressed. 

Robert Warzycha can now second guess himself all he wants at this point. While the coach deserves some of the blame for over-coaching in the first leg -- seriously, Morenjo and Schelotto could have played at least a half -- he wasn't the one committing those defensive errors out on the pitch. Columbus now becomes just another one of the clubs with plenty of questions to answer in the short MLS offseason.

As for RSL, the weapons in their arsenal are enough for a run at an MLS Cup appearance. Not that they'll make it all the way there, but when you can call on Yura Movsisyan and Clint Mathis off the bench, there's hope there.