The New York Red Bulls and Columbus Crew both took advantage of defensive mistakes, battling to a sloppy but dramatic 1-1 draw that was decided on Darlington Nagbe's 95th-minute equalizer Sunday afternoon at Red Bull Arena.
The hosts looked poised to bag all three points after an Eloy Room own goal gave them a late lead in the 84th minute.
Missed chances dominated the match. Yaw Yeboah picked out a wide-open Gyasi Zardes just yards in front of goal, but the second-half substitute somehow flubbed his shot, missing an open net and a certain goal. Just minutes later, Derrick Etienne Jr. wasted a perfect breakaway that left him completely alone in New York's half. The winger hesitated to shoot, allowing a retreating Carlos Coronel to make the save before Etienne flashed his follow-up effort across the face of goal.
The earlier misses came back to haunt Columbus. Room wildly flapped at a New York corner kick that looped over his head, bouncing off an oblivious Tom Barlow and last touching the keeper on its way into the net.
Deep into second-half stoppage time, Red Bulls were punished by a mistake of their own, failing to clear a routine counter-attack cross from Steven Moreira. After a couple of deflections, the ball found its way to Nagbe, who had the simplest of finishes to tap the ball in and salvage a point for the Crew.
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: They left it late, but Nagbe's equalizer maintained the Crew's unbeaten record to start the year. While it certainly wasn't pretty, Caleb Porter's side ultimately got the job done in one of the league's more difficult stadiums. New York nearly bounced back from last week's loss to Minnesota United with a scrappy three points, but a major defensive lapse in second-half stoppage time forced them to settle for a draw.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: Gyasi Zardes's missed chance in the 65th minute was the type of opportunity the US international has finished countless times, and yet somehow the Designated Player inexplicably poked his shot wide.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: Even prior to the goal, Nagbe was in fine form for the Crew. The midfielder set the tempo for the visitors, creating a couple of chances before finishing one of his own to steal a valuable point on the road.
Next up
- RBNY: Saturday, April 2 at New England Revolution | 7:30 pm ET (MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in US, DAZN in Canada)
- CLB: Saturday, April 2 vs. Nashville SC | 6:00 pm ET (MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in US, DAZN in Canada)
