Columbus Crew melt late against CF Montreal, allowing two late goals after storm delay
It was stunning, sudden and left quite a sting.
After leading 1-0 most of the match, the Crew fumbled away a victory Wednesday night at Lower.com Field on a pair of late defensive lapses that led to goals in a 2-1 loss to CF Montreal — a team that entered the night in third place of the Eastern Conference, just three points ahead of Columbus.
"I think it’s a cruel result," Crew coach Caleb Porter said. "It’s as cruel as I’ve been a part of, if you factor in everything that happened in the order that it happened."
There was an early goal by Lucas Zelarayan to put the Crew (7-6-9) up 1-0 in the game's 14th minute, which could've easily been a 2-0 lead had a shot by Derrick Etienne Jr. in the fifth minute not sailed over the crossbar.
There were also a pair of acrobatic saves by Montreal goalkeeper Sebastian Braza on a breakways for Columbus star Cucho Hernandez in each half, a Hernandez shot that smacked off the right goal post and another weather delay for the Crew that lasted nearly 90 minutes — stopping the game at 73:20 with Columbus up 1-0.
And that was all before Montreal pulled even on former Crew forward Kei Kamara's header off a corner in the 88th minute followed by Joel Waterman's winner to steal a victory in the 94th minute.
It was a shocking defeat.
Columbus Crew stung by loss to Montreal
"We come out of the break, we look lively," Porter said. "They’re kicking balls out of bounds. They’re creating nothing. They’re serving crosses in, we’re heading them out. There’s no problem. We’re in on a breakaway. Their keeper, again, makes an unbelievable save that (prevents) ‘2-0 game over,’ and then, you know, worst case scenario happens."
That was the fateful set piece from the far corner. Montreal had three straight corners late and the third was the charm.
It was taken by Alistair Johnston, one of several Montreal regulars who sat to start the game to store energy. He bent the ball on a cross back toward Kamara, who ran up unchecked and out-leapt two Crew players — defender Jonathan Mensah and midfielder Artur — to head the ball under the crossbar and make it 1-1 on his 134th career MLS goal.
It tied Kamara for third in the league in career goals with Jeff Cunningham, but that seemed of little consequence during the goal celebration.
"There’s nothing that we could’ve done different in the corner kick moment, other than head the ball out and mark," Porter said. "And, yet, you have to give Montreal a lot of credit and Kei Kamara. Obviously, he’s a beast in the air and they clearly had a plan to throw crosses into him and he made a play. So, hats off to him."
The next goal for Montreal was even more galling.
It was scored by Waterman, a center back defender, about two minutes after Kamara nearly potted the winner himself in added time with a header from the box that forced Crew goalkeeper Eloy Room to make a diving save.
As the additional time neared its conclusion, a long lob pass put the ball behind the Crew's defense and Waterman settled it while Columbus defender Steven Moreira fell to the turf. He quickly turned and fired a shot from the left side of the goal that eluded defender Darlington Nagbe's block attempt and beat Room inside the far post.
A long lob, a slip, a quick shot by a defender pushing for offense and three points sailed out the window for the Crew in the span of a few seconds.
It was tough for Porter and his team to comprehend.
"We showed them a couple clips (during the long delay) and it was a clip of a cross from the left side into the box, a clip with a cross from the right side into the box and a set piece, and we felt those were going to be the moments we had to defend, like you always do late in a game," Porter said. "You’re not going to avoid, late in a game when a team makes a push, a few corners and a few crosses in the box. And, obviously, we gave up a goal on both those types of situations. So, that’s disappointing. ... It’s very cruel."
Mensah said the weather delay wasn't helpful, but didn't place all the blame on Mother Nature — which hasn't been kind to the Crew.
“No excuse whatsoever," Mensah said. "We didn’t defend well during the end of the game and we got punished. ... We wanted to finish the game right away, but due to the weather they stopped us, and I believe that affected us. This is the fourth or fifth time this season. It’s tough. But credit to Montreal. We just go back and go again Saturday (against New York FC).”
This was the first loss for Columbus since May 23 against LAFC, which included two long weather delays at Lower.com Field and finished with a 2-0 score.
Hosting first-round MLS playoff match now much harder for Crew
Heading into the stretch run of the MLS season, the Crew needs to climb the Eastern Conference standings if they want to host a first-round playoff match as a "top four" team. Continuing to avoid losses would help, but racking up victories is what it’s going to take — especially against teams like Montreal and NYCFC, which are both higher in the standings.
This was golden opportunity and it disappeared in a flash.
Columbus had a chance to pull into a tie at 36 points with Montreal (third) and New York Red Bulls (fourth), who have more wins. That gives each a leg up on Columbus in tiebreakers, but the Crew could put heat on them if they can avoid losses like this one and play the way they did following the late June arrival of Hernandez.
Hernandez, a 23-year old international transfer from Watford of the English Premier League, was a constant threat despite being held without a goal for the second straight game. Zelarayan, meanwhile, continued a scorching offensive run with his sixth goal of the season to put Columbus up 1-0 early.
Receiving a pass from Moreira, Zelarayan dribbled into the right corner of the Montreal box and right-footed a shot that deflected off a Montreal defender's foot, changed direction and rolled inside the left post for his second in the past three games. The attacking midfielder also had five assists in the Crew’s previous four games, all to Hernandez.
It was the only goal Breza allowed.
Hernandez's multiple close calls were one of the biggest storylines of the gut-wrenching loss, after he nearly scored four or five times, including twice in the first half. Twice he had breakaway attempts — once each half— and Braza made huge saves both times, including the first just a couple minutes after Zelarayan scored.
That one was set up with a nice feed from Luis Diaz to Hernandez, who was denied by Braza's right hand just a few yards away.
"We went up against a very good goalkeeper that made a couple saves that I don’t know how he made, honestly," Porter said. "The first half save that he made, reaction save, it was one of the best saves I’ve seen all year. And then in the second half, the kick save (in the 80th minute), the game’s over. The game’s over if he doesn’t make that save. It’s 2-0 we’re coming out of the break. So, I thought we looked very good until the set piece goal.”
Hernandez also drilled a shot off the right goal post in the second half (52nd minute) and had a shot inside the box in the first half that deflected wide left after hitting the foot of a teammate or Montreal defender.
Most of his chances were set up by Zelarayan, who has clicked with Hernandez ever since the Columbian dynamo transferred to Columbus.
"Cucho had a lot of good chances today, so that’s a real positive," Porter said. "For me, it wasn’t chances he squandered. It was more good saves on their part, honestly."
Any of those chances would’ve given the Crew a multiple-goal cushion, including an early 2-0 lead on the breakaway in the first half. Instead, the Crew clung to a 1-0 lead, fending off multiple close calls until Montreal finally broke through.
Room was credited with two saves, but he broke up a number of Montreal scoring opportunities. He just wasn't able to bail the Crew out after the late defensive miscues.
The game was delayed more than 80 minutes, forcing players to stay hydrated and keep muscles loose while waiting out another storm, four days after storms in Charlotte postponed a match last Saturday. The pause occurred right after Porter subbed Zelarayan out for Artur, who made his return from a lengthy calf/ankle injury.
The break allowed CF Montreal to rest up for a final push, while Columbus battled some health issues related to the intense heat and humidity.
Defender Josh Williams had to be subbed out at halftime for dehydration and Porter was forced to sub out both Diaz and Etienne Jr. in the 70th minute for similar reasons.
Montreal entered with a disadvantage after tying NYCFC 0-0 Saturday in Montreal. The Crew, meanwhile, hadn’t played since tying New England 0-0 on July 23. Montreal subbed in several key players who didn't start the game, hoping for a strong finish.
"Obviously, that helped them at the end of the game, but, again, I felt we came out of the (weather) break with a good energy," Porter said. "The plan was to score the second goal, which if their keeper doesn’t make a world-class save, it’s 2-0, we win the game. And the plan was also to defend corner kicks and defend crosses, because we knew they would get those, like every team does when it’s a 1-0 margin late in the game. And we just didn’t defend those moments well.”
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Crew fall to CF Montreal on two late goals
