Simon Elliott

Duncan Oughton, a longtime central midfielder, moved seamlessly to the outside. (G. Bartram/Getty)

For a veteran team that has been set in its ways successfully for the past 1-1/2 seasons, the need for change Saturday vs. Real Salt Lake was born out of desperation.

Injuries had robbed the Crew of their top two goal producers in Guillermo Barros Schelotto and Alejandro Moreno. A suspension sidelined assist leader Emmanuel Ekpo and defender Chad Marshall and Robbie Rogers were away with the U.S. national team, leaving the team lacking 17 of its 22 goals this season.

And one other thing: The Crew had scored three times in the previous four games.

Enter a wing man that would have made Tom Cruise proud in the movie "Top Gun" and the "Crash and Dash" attack that lifted Columbus to a 3-1 win for a record-tying 18th consecutive regular-season home game without a defeat.

That 32-year-old midfielder Duncan Oughton got the start for Ekpo -- his first since June 14, 2008 -- was not a huge surprise because coach Robert Warzycha only had 16 players available. Seeing the longest tenured Crew member running the right flank was.

Oughton has been used in the middle almost exclusively since joining the club in 2001 and said his last play on the wing was about six years ago.

The veteran looked at home. He controlled the tempo differently than either Rogers or Ekpo would have and defended well. He led the build up on the first goal and assisted on a classic third goal.

"There was a lot of one-touch passes on (Oughton's) side," Warzycha said. "That's how we broke the pressure. Duncan did very well."

Ekpo and Rogers provide speed down the flanks and a go-for-goal attitude that sometimes leads the team adrift defensively. Oughton and his counterpart on the left side, Eddie Gaven, kept the match at a manageable tempo.

"The old guy out there," forward Jason Garey said of Oughton. "He's just so smart and knows the game and was able to control the game a lot of times, slow it down when we needed to slow it down and speed it up when we needed to speed it up."

It was Oughton's through ball to overlapping defender Frankie Hejduk that led to the first goal. Hejduk sent a service into the box that was poorly cleared and forward Steven Lenhart took advantage for his first goal of the season.

"Playing with Frankie is amazing," Oughton said. "He's up and down. He covers you when you need covered. He talks to you and puts you in good spots. He's such a great player. He's an engine, that guy. He's ridiculous."

Said Warzycha: "There was a lot of understanding between him and Frankie and also between him and (central midfielders) Brian Carroll and (Danny) O'Rourke."

"The third goal was a thing of beauty," Oughton said. "It was a good combination and Jay finished it amazingly well."arzycha will have some decisions to make before the Crew hosts Toronto FC on Saturday. Ekpo will be available and Moreno (groin) could be although Schelotto (hamstring) is expected to sit again.

Will Oughton return to the bench and what about the Garey-Lenhart combo? The coach has a few days to decide.

"The tactic we chose for this game (RSL) paid off when we decided to go with two forwards," said Warzycha. "When we play against some different team maybe we go with a different formation

"In the 48th minute, the Earthquakes earned a free kick 25 yards from goal after Elliott was taken down hard by Richard Mulrooney. Cornell Glen took the free kick, but bent it just over the goal. Elliot had his leg wrapped up after the hard foul, but had to exit the game 10 minutes later for midfielder Antonio Ribeiro.

�I wanted to keep playing to see if it would loosen up a bit, but it didn�t,� explained Elliott of his injury. �He got his studs right in my thigh, so that�s going to leave a mark.� After the game he described the injury as a contusion, and he expects to be back in training ahead of this weekend."