*Note: This editorial was edited by ColumbusCrewSC.com and provided by MLSsoccer.com
New York City FC (2-5-0, 6 pts.) bounced back from a derby defeat to the New York Red Bulls to upset first-place Columbus Crew SC (5-1-1, 16 pts.), 1-0, Monday night at Red Bull Arena.
The goal was scored by NYCFC’s captain Alex Ring in the 59th minute, capitalizing on an error by Aboubacar Keita, who tried to play a square ball to fellow central defender Jonathan Mensah. NYCFC's Heber picked the ball off and the Brazilian forward slid a pass to an open Ring for the easy tap-in.
Ring's goal marked the end of the Crew's 430-minute shutout streak, the second-longest in Club history. It was only NYCFC’s third goal of the regular season and the second conceded by Crew SC all season.
Jesus Medina nearly capitalized on another defensive gaffe moments later, but he took a heavy final touch and never got a shot off.
Columbus had a first-half goal by Gyasi Zardes called off when Derrick Etienne was offside on the service. Pedro Santos came close to the equalizer in the 82nd minute, but Sean Johnson dived to parry it out for a corner kick. Fanendo Adi appeared to score the tying goal in stoppage time, but it was the second goal waved off for offside.
Overall, the performance defensively was stout, as the Crew only allowed three shots on target, but not capitalizing on three offside-goals proved crucial while NYCFC's game-high 19 fouls committed disrupted Columbus's rhythm.
The Crew now has four days of recovery and training before Saturday's #HellisReal match at FC Cincinnati (2-3-1, 7 pts.) on Saturday, Aug. 29 [7:30 p.m. ET/SportsTime Ohio/97.1 FM The Fan].
MATCH NOTES
*Note: This section done by Crew SC Communications
- With his start in tonight’s road contest against New York City FC, forward Gyasi Zardes reached 199 regular-season appearances in MLS (184 starts), and is now just one regular-season appearance shy of reaching 200. Since joining MLS ahead of the 2013 season, Zardes has scored 71 goals and provided 20 assists.
- Defender Aboubacar Keita made five tackles during tonight’s match against New York City FC, more than any other Crew SC player. Additionally, Keita recorded two blocks, registered 60 touches on the ball and made 43 passes during 90 minutes of play
- Midfielder Sebastian Berhalter played a full 90-minute match tonight on the road against New York City FC, his first full-match played in MLS and for the Black & Gold. The rookie made his MLS regular-season debut appearance earlier this year as a substitute against FC Cincinnati (July 11) and made his first MLS and Crew SC start against New York Red Bulls (July 16).
- The goal conceded by Crew SC in the 59th minute of tonight’s matched was the first goal from open play allowed by the Crew this season. Additionally, it was also the first goal allowed by the Black & Gold since Raul Ruidiaz converted a penalty kick against the Club during the 79th minute of the Crew’s road match against Seattle Sounders FC (March 7) earlier this year, bring an end to Crew SC’s shutout streak. The Crew’s shutout streak ends at 430 minutes, making the second-longest shutout streak in Club history behind only their 512 minute shutout streak which ran from March 28 – June 2 of 2018.
- Up next, Crew SC goes on the road to face in-state rival FC Cincinnati on Saturday, August 29 (7:30 p.m. ET [SportsTime Ohio, FOX Sports Go App (Stream)] / Streaming online via the “Listen Live” button at 971TheFan.com / Spanish audio on ColumbusCrewSC.com).
