Columbus Crew SC fans got a glimpse on Wednesday why the team signed Pedro Santos as their third Designated Player earlier this month.
The Portuguese midfielder's home debut, in his second MLS match, may portend well for the Crew (12-12-3) when they host FC Dallas (9-6-9) at Mapfre Stadium on Saturday.
Santos, in the first half vs. Los Angeles, drew red and yellow cards against the Galaxy on separate plays, earned a penalty kick on another and assisted on the first goal by Ola Kamara in the 2-0 victory.
"He made an impact on the game," Crew coach Gregg Berhalter said. "He's quick and he knows how to wrong-foot defenders. He's technically very good."
The addition of Santos and the return of injured midfielder Federico Higuain after missing seven games prompted Berhalter to switch to a 4-3-2-1 formation from a 3-4-2-1.
Even though Santos arrived less than three weeks ago, he and Higuain meshed.
"He's a great player that looks for space and I combined very well with him," Santos said of Higuain. "I think for me and for him we have space on the ball and it's good."
The negatives from the game were that Higuain and Kamara missed penalty kicks and defender Waylon Francs injured his left hamstring and will not play Saturday. He likely will be replaced by Jukka Raitala.
The Crew, fourth in the Eastern Conference, play the second of three straight at home where they have won three straight and are 9-3-1.
While Columbus in on the upswing, Dallas is fifth in the Western Conference with a five-game (0-3-2) winless streak, including a disheartening 3-3 tie against visiting Houston on Wednesday.
After going down 1-0, Dallas rallied for three straight goals -- quite a feat since it had scored once in the prior four games -- only to let the advantage slip away.
"We come up a bit disappointed because we had three points at home -- points we needed," Dallas coach Oscar Pareja said afterward. "But we've got to keep moving and it's just work. Nothing else."
It might be good for FC Dallas to play again so soon to forget about Houston.
"Soccer always gives you another opportunity," midfielder Victor Ulloa. "We regret the one we gave up (Wednesday) but it's a quick turnaround and we need to get ready. We have to keep the group together mentally and be strong, keep fighting and keep pushing forward."
