The Columbus Crew and New York City FC traded blows for 90 minutes in central Ohio on Saturday night, eventually settling for an entertaining 2-2 draw.
The Crew were the first to strike, as US international Gyasi Zardes kept his cool from the penalty spot in the 28th minute after Alexander Callens bundled over Pedro Santos in the NYCFC area.
The home side held their lead until the half, but it was NYCFC's turn in the 57th minute. Heber continued the impressive start to his NYCFC career when he capitalized on an errant — but ultimately fortuitous — touch from teammate Ismael Tajouri-Shradi that put him in on goal to coolly slot past departing Crew 'keeper Zack Steffen, playing his final game for Columbus.
The home side struck back four minutes later thanks to some strong play from both of its wingers. New arrival David Accam pulled a nifty move to get past Alex Ring in the NYCFC midfield before sliding the ball across to a wide-open Santos for the finish past Sean Johnson.
NYCFC would get the last laugh with the best goal of the bunch with 15 minutes remaining. Ring won the ball high up the field and found Valentin Castellanos about 30 yards from the the Crew goal. After taking a touch, the 20-year-old Argentine uncorked a stunning shot to beat Steffen and nestle in the side netting for his third goal of 2019, allowing NYCFC to leave MAPFRE Stadium with a share of the spoils.
Goals
- 28' – CLB – Gyasi Zardes | WATCH
- 57' – NYC – Heber | WATCH
- 61' – CLB – Pedro Santos | WATCH
- 75' – NYC – Valentin Castellanos | WATCH
Three Things
THE BIG PICTURE:
With
another devastating injury
to a member of their starting XI, Crew SC can't catch a break. But they made their own breaks against one of the hottest teams in MLS in Week 14. They played NYCFC toe-to-toe as they said goodbye to star 'keeper Zack Steffen, who makes his permanent summer move to Manchester City following Gold Cup duty with the US national team. The Cityzens, meanwhile, stretch their current league-best unbeaten run to 9 matches.
Next Up
- Columbus: Tuesday, June 11 vs. Pittsburgh Riverhounds, U.S. Open Cup (7 pm ET | ESPN+)
- NYCFC: Thursday, June 6 vs. FC Cincinnati (7 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in the US, MLS LIVE on DAZN in Canada)
