COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Emmanuel Ekpo scored the lone goal in the 14th minute as the Columbus Crew defeated Municipal, 1-0, in both clubs' CONCACAF Champions League Group B opener Wednesday night at Crew Stadium.

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A sensational solo effort by Ekpo was all the hosts would need. The Nigerian forward split a pair of defenders and dribbled around Pablo Melgar before firing the ball inside the far post from 15 meters.

Four minutes later Eddie Gaven took a difficult shot from distance, forcing Municipal goalkeeper Jaime Penedo to dive to his right and parry the attempt away for a corner kick.

On the half hour, Ekpo turned provider, laying the ball off for Guillermo Barros Schelotto, but the Argentine legend was denied by Penedo as the Panamanian international knocked the ball away for a corner.

Pando Ramirez, who had the first scoring chance of the game in the 10th minute but couldn't capitalize on a pair of Columbus defensive mistakes, tried to set up Melgar in the 38th minute. But the Guatemalan defender volleyed the ball over the net.

Moments before the end of the first half, Mario Rodriguez misfired, failing to put the ball past charging Crew goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum. Columbus nearly capitalized on the counter as Schelotto freed Gaven into the box. But Gaven's shot from 14 meters was saved. Seconds later, the Crew had shouts for a penalty after veteran fullback Frankie Hejduk was tripped inside the box, but Mexican referee Roberto Garcia looked the other way.

After his team was dominated in the opening 45 minutes, Municipal manager Guilherme Farinha made a pair of changes to start the second half, bringing on Marvin Avila and Juan Jose Castillo.

In the 48th minute, Ramirez had another solid chance to equalize, but his long distance, dipping shot was saved by Gruenebaum. Two minutes later Columbus experienced further disagreement with referee Garcia as shouts for a hand ball fell on deaf ears.

In the 59th minute, Ekpo threatened for a second time when he worked his way into the box, but Penedo again came up big, slapping out his left hand to make the save.

Seven minutes later, Chad Marshall latched onto Schelotto's corner kick, but the central defender headed the ball just wide of the net.

In the 70th minute, the Crew had another chance to put the game away, but Gaven was unable to finish on a perfect through ball from Schelotto.

In the first minute of second-half stoppage time, Gonzalo Ramirez had an excellent chance to equalize for Municipal after Mario Rodriguez was pulled down by Danny O'Rourke. But the captain fired his 28-meter free kick off the wall.

Next Columbus heads to Nuevo Estadio Corona to meet Santos in an early first-place battle in Group Stage Round 4 play on August 24. Municipal hosts Joe Public two nights later at Estadio Mateo Flores in a meeting of two winless sides.