Meram hat trick gives Crew 3-2 win over Impact; spoils Dzemaili’s debut

Iraqi international Justin Meram was the hero for Columbus (6-5-1) when he completed a first career hat trick with a goal in added time after scoring twice in the first half.

The Impact dominated after the intermission but, after scoring twice, kept pressing for the winner only to be burned on a Columbus counterattack.

“It’s an amazing feeling getting your first,” said Meram. “Especially when you’re up 2-0 and you let them get back in and they have the crowd with them, to get that late one was great.”

It was substitute Niko Hansen who set up Meram for the game-winner and his team-leading seventh goal of the season.

Ignacio Piatti and substitute Anthony Jackson-Hamel scored for Montreal (2-4-4), which lost a second home game in a row after a 2-1 setback two weeks ago against Vancouver. Montreal is 1-2-1 at Saputo Stadium this season and has another home game next week against Portland.

Slow starts and conceding late goals have been repeated themes for the Impact.

“We have to stop taking punches,” said forward Dominic Oduro. “There are too many games where we’re waiting to be punched before we wake up.

“It isn’t good enough. We’re better than that. We need to wake up now.”

The Crew were coming off a loss at home to Toronto FC on Wednesday and were playing their third match in eight days.

The Impact went into the game on a high from picking up a road win last week in Washington and promptly turned in perhaps their worst first half of the season.

Evan Bush had to make two sharp saves early, only to see his defence allow Meram to run unimpeded up the middle. Kyle Fisher blocked his pass but it went right back to the burly forward for a low shot inside the left post in the 14th minute.

In the 28th, Meram blocked Hernan Bernardello’s sliding clearance attempt and followed in to tip the ball past Bush and tap it in. Meram had another chance moments later but his header was gathered in by the goalkeeper.

The Impact stormed back in the second half. Oduro rattled a shot off a post and, two minutes later, Dzemaili heard the Impact fans’ goal bell for the first time. Piatti stole the ball from Jonathan Mensah, slipped it to the Swiss international, who fed Oduro to feed to an open Piatti for his fourth of the campaign.

Dzemaili, who has taken over dead ball kicking, curled a free kick to the far post in the 77th where Jackson-Hamel was waiting to nod the ball in for his fourth goal.

Coach Mauro Biello was not amused by the late goal.

“It was two totally different teams,”he said. “In the first half we were tentative.

“In the second, we took the initiative and we dominated. We need that for 90 minutes. In the end, it’s the mentality that has to change. Enough. We can’t give up three goals at home. It’s unacceptable.”

Oduro had the logo of the City of Montreal shaved into his head for victims of recent flooding in the area. The Impact donated one dollar for each of the 17,508 spectators to the Red Cross for flood relief efforts.

Bill Beacon, The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Meram hat trick gives Crew 3-2 win over Impact; spoils Dzemaili’s debut

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