Columbus Crew finish in 0-0 draw vs Real Salt Lake without multiple regular starters
It was a very different lineup on the field for the Crew as they took on Real Salt Lake on the road Saturday night at the end of another 15-day stretch with five games.
Amidst a lineup shake-up, Columbus walked out of Salt Lake City with a 0-0 draw, despite being outshot 17-12, and 8-5 on shots on goal.
"I was expecting what we did today," said Crew coach Wilfried Nancy. "We didn't win, but in terms of performance, it was a good performance. ... I don't like to put the team (on the field) by default, I put the team because I trust them. I trust my players as they know how to play."
While the Crew's Sean Zawadzki and Alex Matan returned to the starting lineup following respective injuries, coach Wilfried Nancy gave rest days to starters Darlington Nagbe and Patrick Schulte. Additionally, Columbus was without Cucho Hernandez, who was suspended for the match due to a red card against D.C. United last Saturday.
The game marked the first start of the season for defender Philip Quinton and midfielder Taha Harborne. For the 18-year-old Harborne, it was his first appearance with the Crew since signing a first team contract in January.
Without starting goalkeeper Schulte, who made two penalty kick saves against Tigres in one of the biggest performances in his career on Tuesday night, veteran goalkeeper Evan Bush got the starting nod for Columbus.
During the first 25 minutes of the match, Bush recorded three saves, two being against shots on goal from Salt Lake. This matched his save total from his other start of the season against Charlotte FC on March 23.
The strong performance from Bush would be cut short following a physical sequence of events that concluded with a collision with Salt Lake's Diego Luna within the Crew's goal box.
Bush was originally taken down while attempting to stop Salt Lake's Matt Crooks from scoring off a cross from Andres Gomez. Columbus' Malte Amundsen would then clear the ball from the box and Luna's momentum that was going towards the goal took him right into Bush, who was already on the ground.
"I didn't see it that well," Amundsen said. "Other than he landed and got hit somewhere, I didn't see a lot. I just saw that he was in pain, and I hope that it's not bad."
After being evaluated by medical staff for what Nancy suspects is a wrist injury, Bush was taken out of the game and goalkeeper Nicholas Hagen made his first ever MLS appearance, entering the match for Columbus in the 35th minute.
"Your heart starts pumping really quick, really fast," Hagen said in regard to entering the match. "But it's something you have to adjust, try to control and try to get in the game as fast as you can."
In the first half, there was very little action for Hagen to manage in goal, but once the second half began, Salt Lake had its fair share of opportunities to get on the board that resulted in saves for Hagen.
Playing around 4,500 feet above sea level at America First Field was a factor of the game that Hagen already had experience doing while playing in his native Guatemala. The country's capital, Guatemala City, has an even higher altitude than Salt Lake City.
"When you're far from home, it goes away, so you have to get readjusted," Hagen said. "But at the end of the day, you have some knowledge or some experience in it. So, I tried to bring that into the field and help the guys out."
Of the eight Crew saves, three came from the efforts of Hagen, starting at the 50-minute mark with a stop of a header from Salt Lake's Cristian Arango in the center of Columbus' box.
Throughout the entirety of the match, there was no shortage of yellow cards for either team. By the end of regulation, there was a total of nine yellows handed out, three going towards Columbus.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Crew vs Real Salt Lake finish in scoreless draw
