Monday Morning Midfielder: Aztex vs Crew

Aztex 1 Crew 0. We actually beat the defending MLS & Supporters Shield champs.

First win for the Aztex in front of 1,959 at Nelson Field was great. The weather was cold but not windy. And the funky drummers were providing the energy from the first minute to the end of the game.

Apparently news were coming out mentioning that the Columbus Crew were not looking forward to playing the Aztex at Nelson Field to the artificial turf. They already had Robbie Rogers out for the game due to picking up an injury during a scrimmage. But the crew will have to deal with it during the season seeing that they have to play at New York, New England, Seattle & Toronto (if they didn't change it to grass). That turf issue is what MLS should have tackled in the first place but their priorities in my opinion are more about expansion and less on the playing field (plus the level of play).



The way the Crew play that night showed it. The Aztex dominated on possession, totals shots & fouls. The Crew had 2 good chances all evening and one of those shots were save by Gallardo. Then Eddie Johnson was able to find space in the middle and shoot a 20-yard low shot past Hesmer for a 1-nil lead. Then in the 35th minute Gino Padula's bad tackle on Sullivan Silva produced a red card and the Crew were forced to play 10 men for the entire match. Surprising the Aztex were able to hold on for the win.



Instead of the Crew heading back to the bus, the players stayed on the field and did after the game practice. The coach and coaching staff were not pleased with the performance. The only ones from the Crew that I can think of that showed up for the game were Schelotto (frustrated game for him)& Hedjuk (busy on the flanks defending & attacking).



Here are other news and reports from the game:

Austin Aztex: Austin Aztex FC defeat MLS Champion Columbus Crew 1-0

The Statesman: Aztex beat Columbus Crew 1-0 in exhibition

News 8 Austin: Aztex defeat MLS Champion Columbus Crew 1-0

Columbus Dispatch Crew Xtra Blog: Austin Aztex 1, Crew 0



Chantico's Army: Match Report :: Austin Aztex USL1 v. Columbus Crew

The Aztex's next preseason game will be at Real Salt Lake next Saturday and then after that on April 3 there's a preseason game at Nelson Field against the USL-1 Supporter Shield Champs & USL-1 Finalists the Puerto Rico Islanders. It's a nice turn up for both Real Salt Lake & Puerto Rico since they will be preparing for the upcoming MLS Season & the CONCACAF Champions League Semi-finals.

Pre-Game Thoughts - Aztex vs Crew

This Saturday will be the final preseason home game for the Aztex to prepare for the upcoming season that begins on April 18. Their next preseason match will be against Real Salt Lake in their new digs at Rio Tinto Stadium.

Now the players that you should look out for from the Columbus Crew are:

* Guillermo Barros Schelotto who is the heart of the Crew's attack and MVP of MLS Cup 2008. And it helps that he's a Boca Juniors legend.

* Robbie Rogers who is very dangerous on the flanks. However according to Chris from The Aztexan, he suffered a slight hamstring strain during a scrimmage against St. Edwards yesterday.

* Frankie Hejduk - despite his age he's still a speedy fullback. Plus he's the team captain, still a member of the U.S. National team, surfer dude, and a fan favorite (especially with the Hudson Street Hooligans). Just search on Youtube to see why. ;-)

The game starts at 7:30pm (CST). The Chantico Army members will gather at Nomads at 5:00pm and then drive over to Nelson Field around 7:00pm. I'm going to rest up after work to save some energy for the game. So I hope to see you there and bundle up because the weather is going to be chilly out there. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Phil Rawlins on AM 1300 Tomorrow

Just to let you know that Austin Aztex owner Phil Rawlins will be on The Wake Up Call on AM 1300 The Zone tomorrow morning to discuss this Saturday's Aztex's game against the defending MLS Cup Champs the Columbus Crew. He's also is going to pick the grand prize winner of the radio contest to send the winner on an all expenses paid trip (IIRC) to England to see Stoke City take on West Ham in a EPL game. I'm not too sure if a member of the Columbus Crew is going to be on the radio show as well. So stay turn to that.

Tomorrow I will post my pre-game thoughts about the Columbus Crew. Hopefully the rain will go away by Saturday's kick off. But the cold will be here so bundle up. Somebody in Chantcio's Army mentioned that the Crew were training in England last week and they brought that English raining weather with them on their way to Austin.