Columbus, Ohio – Ned Grabovoy had been in Columbus barely 15 hours when he scored in his first game with the team, giving the Crew a 1-0 win over the Colorado Rapids on Saturday.
Grabovoy’s right-footed strike past goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul came 14 minutes after he was brought on as a substitute for Kei Kamara in the 60th minute.
“I found the ball at the top of the box,” Grabovoy said. “I just tried to make something and fortunately it worked out.”
Grabovoy and midfielder Joseph Ngwenya were acquired Friday from the Los Angeles Galaxy in exchange for Kyle Martino and John Wolyniec.
The two players were drafted by Crew coach Sigi Schmid in 2004, when Schmid was coach of the Galaxy. Ngwenya played all 90 minutes in his first game for Columbus (3-3-1). The Rapids fell to 2-3-1.
Grabovoy said he was pleased to be reunited with Schmid and arrived in Columbus eager to make an impact.
“As players, we want to get in the game as fast as possible,” Grabovoy said. “We haven’t trained with the team yet, but for Joe to get a start and for me to get in there, it helps out so much. It just makes us feel a part of the team right away.”
Neither team was able to find an offensive rhythm in a game played under a continuous cold drizzle.
Rapids starting goalkeeper Joe Cannon left in the 10th minute with a right groin injury that appeared to have resulted from bad footing on a wet field. Cannon was replaced by 24-year-old Senegalese national Bouna Coundoul, who made his MLS debut.
Coundoul appeared nervous, mishandling the ball twice early before settling into his role.
“You could see the first couple balls he was a little bit shaky, but after that he was tremendous,” Rapids coach Fernando Clavijo said.
Colorado narrowly missed a goal in the 21st minute when Columbus goalkeeper Jon Busch stopped a shot by Jovan Kirovski.
The Rapids outshot Columbus 12-6, which seemed to console Clavijo.
“We outplayed them. We outshot them,” Clavijo said. “But to win games you have to score, and we didn’t and they did.”
Colorado 0 0 – 0
Columbus 0 1 – 1
First half – None. Second half – 1, Columbus, Grabavoy 1, 74th minute.
Goalies – Colorado, Cannon, Coundoul; Columbus, Busch. A – 8,920 (22,500).
