It might have taken a bit longer than they would have liked, but Columbus Crew SC earned their first win of the 2016 season, edging New York City FC, 3-2, at MAPFRE Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. Justin Meram played a major part in picking up the home victory, as he assisted on two goals before scoring the eventual winner for Crew SC (1-3-2) in the 80th minute.
NYCFC (1-2-3) got a brace from David Villa, whose second finish came from the spot in the 86th minute after Michael Parkhurst was mistakenly sent off instead of Tyson Wahl for denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity.
Box Score
- 7' -- CLB -- Ethan Finlay (Justin Meram)
- 15' -- NYC -- David Villa (Andoni Iraola)
- 49' -- CLB -- Kei Kamara (Justin Meram)
- 80' -- CLB -- Justin Meram (Ethan Finlay, Federico Higuain)
- 87' -- NYC -- David Villa (PK)
- Full box score
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Three Things
- FINLAY FIRST: Ethan Finlay opened his 2016 account early in the match, firing home a low ball played in from Justin Meram on the left left.
- BUSY UP TOP: Like Meram and Finlay, Kei Kamara was also very active for Crew SC on the night. Kamara finished with seven shots, including a driven effort to the far post in the opening minutes of second half, a goal that gave his his club a lead it would not relinquish.
- ROUGH PATCH: New York City FC began the season by picking up a 4-3 win over the Chicago Fire, but have yet to claim three points again. NYCFC are 0-2-3 in their last five matches, with five goals for and seven against in that stretch.
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