NYCFC extend unbeaten run with 1-1 draw at Columbus
Courtesy: NYCFC
By Chris Tsakonas
New York City FC’s unbeaten streak now stands at eight matches following a 1-1 draw with the Columbus Crew in front of a sold-out crowd at Lower.com Field. Columbus drew level while playing down a man with a 94th minute equalizer from Sean Zawadski.
Columbus controlled the run of play at the beginning of the first half as NYCFC struggled to get a consistent string of passes together. The Crew got their first shot of the match in the 12th minute, as Cucho Hernandez missed wide left after getting his head on the end of a cross from Lucas Zelarayan.
New York City got the first shot on goal of the match in the 25th minute. Off a corner from Santi Rodriguez, Kevin O’Toole was able to force Columbus goalkeeper Patrick Shulte to make a save. After the ball was recollected by NYCFC, Richy Ledezma missed from outside the area.
The best chance of the half came in the 31st minute, when Gabriel Pereira slipped a through ball to set Ledezma up one-on-one with Schulte - but he was able to make the stop to keep the match scoreless.
The Crew got their first shot on goal in the 44th minute, as Malte Amundsen sent Yaw Yeboah through on goal, but goalkeeper Luis Barraza was able to make the stop to send both teams into the halftime break scoreless.
Columbus got the first good look of the second half in the 48th minute, when Hernandez fired a 25 yard free kick high and wide of the target.
New York City went on the counter again in the 55th minute, when Rodriguez slipped a ball through to Pereira on the right side of the penalty area to force Schulte into a save.
Pereira remained involved in the attack as the second half went on. In the 63rd minute, Pereira nearly chipped Schulte from about 60 yards out, but the backpedaling keeper was able to make the save.
The complexion of the match took a turn in the 68th minute, when Hernandez received a second yellow for kicking Maxime Chanot in the face while going for a bouncing ball. Hernandez previously picked up a yellow at the end of the first half for dissent.
New York City finally got the breakthrough in the 75th minute. Rodriguez got the ball at the edge of the area and laid it off in the middle for Justin Haak, who finished into the top left corner to put NYCFC up 1-0. With the assist, Rodriguez is now tied with Andrea Pirlo for the fifth-most career assists in New York City club history.
The match took yet another turn in the 87th minute, when Columbus head coach Wilfried Nancy was sent off after he entered the field of play to argue with referee Sergii Boiko. Following a lengthy delay, the match resumed with 12 minutes of stoppage time added on.
In the fourth added minute, Columbus drew level. Ramirez held up the ball inside the penalty area before cutting it back for Zawadski, who finished with a low shot inside the left post. The goal had similar timing to the Gabe Segal equalizer that drew NYCFC level in the last meeting between the two clubs in June.
With the draw, New York City now look set to continue their latest road trip next Saturday, as NYCFC head down I-95 to take on the Union in a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference Final.