COLUMBUS, OH – Head Coach Caleb Porter and the Columbus Crew were back home Wednesday night to host CF Montreal in a midweek Eastern Conference clash. With Columbus essentially having the weekend off after their weekend clash against Charlotte FC was postponed due to inclement weather, Porter said that the team now needs to be “hunters instead of the hunted.”
The Crew had to settle into the pace Montreal were playing at the start of the game, with the opposition throwing numbers forward. Montreal almost got one early on, with a route one ball being played to former Crew striker Kei Kamara who settled it down for a teammate, but the likes of Josh Williams and Jonathan Mensah cleared the danger.
In the eighth minute, Columbus could’ve found the lead after striker Cucho Hernandez crossed in a ball to Williams. The defender chested the ball to Derrick Etienne Jr who was waiting at the top of the six-yard box, but his attempt went just high over the frame of goal.
Crew break the ice
The 13th minute found the ice-breaker when fulback Steven Moreira laid off a pass to Lucas Zelarayan who had his shot deflected and rolled into the back of the net to give the home side a 1-0 lead.
Lucas Zelarayan is on a tear ?#Crew96 | 1-0 pic.twitter.com/zN38hs0RIy
— The Crew (@ColumbusCrew) August 3, 2022
Columbus almost made it 2-0 just three minutes later.
Aidan Morris found Luis Diaz running into space on the right wing side, playing him a ball that fell perfectly to the Costa Rican’s feet. His cross to Cucho inside the box found the Colombian’s foot for a one-time shot, but Sebastain Breza made a point-blank save to keep the score 1-0.
The left side of Columbus saw lots of action, with Montreal playing through balls breaking down the defense little by little, giving the opposition clearcut chances to be dangerous, but Montreal couldn’t convert as the first half came to a close.
In the second half, more of the same came about from both teams. Transition moments played a key part in the offense, allowing the ball to float more smoothly to the wing sides allowing crosses to come to fruition.
The 52nd minute saw Cucho unleash a shot from outside of the 18-yard box beat Breza, but found the far post and richocheted back into play.
Montreal saw a golden opportunity to equalize, with Romell Quioto starting a counter attack after gaining possession from Mensah who lost possession at midfield. His ensuing shot was saved by Room, giving all the fans in the stands a sigh of relief.
Mother Nature strikes again
In the 74th minute, the match official halted play as severe weather entered the area. This is the third game this season that the Crew have had a game stopped due to inclement weather. They must make up their match against Charlotte this past weekend, which is scheduled for October 5.
The match was able to resume at 10:41pm local time, ending the over hour weather delay.
Cucho had yet another solid opportunity to double the Columbus lead, as he went in alone on goal against Breza, but the play was broken up by a Montreal defender.
Montreal found the equalizer late in the game in the 89th minute, when Kei Kamara rose above all in the penalty area to head home a corner kick to make it 1-1.
#CFMTL find the equalizer, and guess who it is!
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 4, 2022
Kei Kamara gets ? and its 1-1 late. pic.twitter.com/5zA8MGU7to
The away side would find their late winner through a Joel Waterman shot from Room’s right side, putting the icing on the cake and giving Montreal the win at the very end.
OMG #CFMTL take the lead late.
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 4, 2022
From 1-0 down, to 2-1 up in the last 5 minutes. ? pic.twitter.com/W5VS40PMH2
Next up, Columbus host New York City FC on Saturday back at home.
