Ten observations from a much-needed 2-1 win for Columbus Crew SC over San Jose on Saturday, a result that stopped a four-game winless streak thanks to late-game heroics from winger Mike Grella, who appeared in his first competitive game in nearly a year.



1. The hero of the night was undoubtedly Grella, and it wasn’t close.



The veteran winger has been working for nearly a year to rehab a cartilage injury to his left knee that he suffered early in the 2017 season and attempted to play through with the New York Red Bulls. He said it was the first major injury of his career, and in Crew SC preseason training he was expecting to return as “the best version of myself that I’ve seen play professionally.”



It took him just 19 minutes to make in impact in his first appearance, scoring the game-winner in a moment he actually believed could happen.



“I really did (picture it), I swear,” he said after the game. “In the...