Crew hunt first win in home opener vs. Fire

With two goals apiece in the first two matches, Wessam Abou Ali and Diego Rossi are doing their part for the Columbus Crew.

But their production hasn't led to a win yet as Columbus continues to experience problems with opposition counterattacks. The Crew hope to get a result Saturday night when they welcome the Chicago Fire to town for their home opener.

Rossi's score in the 82nd minute enabled the Crew (0-1-1, 1 point) to salvage a 2-2 draw at Sporting Kansas City on Feb. 28. Abou Ali put Columbus ahead in the 33rd minute but was kicking himself for not doing more to help the team get the full three points.

He had his chance in the 87th minute when he earned a penalty kick but couldn't beat John Pulskamp from the spot. However, first-year coach Henrik Rydstrom said that he has confidence in Abou Ali to take the next penalty.

"For me, it's his responsibility to take the challenge," Rydstrom said. "I know he will take the penalty in the next game and he will score on that. That's his mentality."

While the Crew aim to get in the win column, Chicago (1-1-0, 3 points) took care of that on Feb. 28 by blanking Montreal 3-0 at Soldier Field. Jonathan Bamba put the Fire ahead in the 27th minute, while stoppage-time markers from Hugo Cuypers and Robin Lod secured the result.

It was a nice bounce-back for Chicago from a season-opening 2-1 loss at Houston the prior week. The Fire are looking to take more steps forward under second-year coach Gregg Berhalter, who oversaw a side that tallied 68 goals last season, second in MLS.

"We felt like a foundation has been built in Year 1," Berhalter said. "There's a lot of continuity with last year's team. ... We know there's plenty of room for improvement."

Part of that is on the defensive half of the pitch. Chicago conceded 60 goals last year but was able to play 44 minutes, including 10 in stoppage time, as a 10-man unit without conceding last week after a red card to Johnny Dean.