COLUMBUS – Columbus Crew SC midfielder Justin Meram has dealt with some adversity in recent weeks. None of that mattered on Saturday night at MAPFRE Stadium during his 175th appearance as a member of the Black & Gold.
Not only did Meram return to starting form at home in front of the Crew SC supporters, but he scored the game-winning goal to defeat the Philadelphia Union by a score of 1-0.
Meram found himself with the ball in the 65th minute on the right side of the field. The midfielder moved both rapidly and deliberately and shot a ball that was deflected by Philadelphia defender Joshua Yaro before ultimately finding the net and giving Crew SC the goal and the win.
Meram had been dealing with some minor injuries that had limited him in recent weeks. The midfielder took advantage of Major League Soccer’s recent 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup break and found time to recuperate.
Crew SC Sporting Director and Head Coach says that Meram still has room to improve after injury and was impressed with his performance on the pitch against the Union.
“He’s getting there,” Berhalter said. “He’s a player that can put himself in position to really hurt the other team. And he’s getting some of that back. Together, in this particular game with him and Kekuta [Manneh] there’s a real explosiveness there.”
Meram agreed with Berhalter about still being in the process of recovering and said that the break came at a convenient time ahead of the Philadelphia match, the first of two in a row against the Union.
“I needed it, definitely,” Meram said. “I’m still trying to get back to 100 percent. I’m trying to get my fitness back. In the 70th minute of the game I was pretty tired. It was great to put in a solid shift. It was great to be back out there and get my boots on and help the team win. Now, I’ll try and recover and get even healthier and prepare for Wednesday.”
J9 has also recently dealt with the fact that he was not selected to the 2017 MLS All-Star roster for the upcoming game in Chicago against Real Madrid of Spain. Berhalter spoke about the unpredictability of issues such as All-Star selections and expects that Meram will hear his name called in the future.
“Things happen like that that you don’t expect,” Berhalter said. “We probably all expected him to be an All-Star this season with the way he was playing and the chances he was creating. And things happen that you can’t control. He’s a guy that will continue to work hard and he’ll be an All-Star in his career.”
Meram explained how he received the news and said that he will be moving forward with his focus on succeeding with Crew SC.
“I’ll be honest, I was upset for the day and then I let it go,” Meram said. “It’s over. I’m just here to play the game. This is nothing new for me. My teammates can be angry for me but there’s nothing I can do but go out there and help the team win.”
The team player as always, Meram credited his defense for the victory while downplaying the goal he was credited with that came off a deflection.
“I think defensively, our back five was really, really good,” Meram said. “I don’t know if they even had any shots on goal. If our defense does that, we get a nice little lucky break and the win.”
Columbus Crew SC will travel to Philadelphia on Wednesday, July 26 to play the Union once again at 7:30 p.m. ET before traveling west to face Real Salt Lake on Saturday, July 29 at 8:00 p.m. ET on the road. The Black & Gold return home on Saturday, August 12 to battle