COLUMBUS, Ohio – A third brace of the season from Kei Kamara was not enough to earn a win for Columbus Crew SC on Friday night, as the Chicago Fire scored a 94th-minute equalizer to stun the home team at MAPFRE Stadium.
The last-minute goal came as part of a late Fire onslaught after Crew SC dominated most of the game, leaving the home team regretting several missed opportunities throughout the match.
Kamara opened the scoring in the eighth minute in typical fashion, stroking home a professional finish from lightning-quick buildup play.
Justin Meram started the sequence with a quick turn near the top of the box, slipping a pass through the Chicago defense to a darting Ethan Finlay out wide, who put a ball directly to the foot of the waiting Kamara. The forward tapped it past helpless goalkeeper Jon Busch, who was making his 300th MLS start in a meeting with his former club.
Chicago couldn't find a response to the Kamara goal, failing to produce any quality in the Columbus third.
Their closest chance of the first half came on a ricochet from a corner kick, when David Accamvolleyed a dropping ball toward goal, only to be denied by a diving Steve Clark.
Crew SC seemed content with the lead, however, and couldn't replicate their usual fluid pass-and-move play. With inexperienced midfielder Kevan George anchoring the offense in the center of the pitch, Columbus relied heavily on long balls and were caught offside more often than they produced dangerous plays.
But that mentality wouldn't carry over into the second stanza. Columbus came roaring out of the locker room, creating several chances to open the half.
Kamara would earn his third brace of the season in those opening minutes, this time from a set piece.
Federico Higuain delivered an outswinging corner kick to the head of George, who redirected the ball across the six-yard box perfectly for Kamara to thump a header past Busch for the striker's second of the night.
Crew SC's second goal seemed to spark the Fire to life. Just moments after the Columbus goal, Chicago used their speed to their advantage. Kennedy Igboananike flew up the left side and crossed a deflected ball to Accam, who calmly nodded the ball into the opposite corner, leaving Clark rooted to his spot to bring the Fire within one.
Chicago had a plethora of chances to draw level toward the end of the match, with substituteQuincy Amarikwa coming close on two occasions just moments apart. But a mis-hit finish and a last-second sliding block from Michael Parkhurst denied the forward and preserved the Crew SC lead.
But the Fire would find their equalizer in the 94th minute.
Former Crew SC defender Eric Gehrig launched a last-ditch cross toward the six-yard box, and substitute Jason Johnson nodded a well-placed header past Clark to leave Columbus without a chance to respond.
The draw was the second in a row for Chicago (3-5-2) and Columbus's first at home this season (4-4-3).
Recap: Columbus vs. Chicago
Columbus, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - The Chicago Fire and the Columbus Crew SC played to a 2-2 tie and each recieved a point on Friday night at Mapfre Stadium.
The Columbus Crew will aim to close out the month with a victory over one of their closest rivals. Chicago. meanwhile, will be looking for three points after surrendering a late equalizer in a 2-2 draw against New York City FC at Yankee Stadium.
Columbus started the scoring in the eighth minutes when Justin Meram threaded a pass to Ethan Finlay, who crossed a ball into the middle of the box. Kei Kamara's shot from very close range gave the crew the early 1-0 lead.
The Crew increased their lead to 2-0 on a corner from Federico Higuain. Higuain crossed a pass to Kevan George who headed the ball to Kamara who headed home his ninth goal of the season in the 55th minute.
Chicago would respond minutes later when David Accam scored when his header beat the Crew keeper Steve Clark to cut the lead to 2-1 in the 58th minute.
The Fire pushed everyone forward and with just a minute left in extra time, Eric Gehrig crossed a ball into the center of the box and Jason Johnson headed home a goal to tie the game at 2-2.
Columbus Crew SC rue lack of killer instinct in Fire draw: "In that situation we need to make it 3-1"
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Columbus Crew SC captain and defender Michael Parkhurst called the Chicago Fire's 94th-minute equalizer Friday night "gut-wrenching" and "disappointing."
After an 8th-minute Kei Kamara goal, Columbus led for 85 straight minutes before the Fire completed their comeback in stoppage time, stealing a point and ripping two away from Columbus.
The home locker room was understandably somber after the match, and head coach Gregg Berhalter could be seen talking privately with multiple players after his postgame press conference.
"They're disappointed; heads were down in the locker room," he said. "But it's normal. It was the 94th minute that we conceded a goal. So you're expecting three points at that stage and you come out with one, so of course it's disappointing."
Berhalter and the players all blamed the draw on an inability to get the crucial third goal that would have put the game away. Despite a string of opportunities near the end of the game, they could only muster two goals.
"That's what happens when you have chances and don't put a team away, I guess,” midfielder Justin Meram said. “They were there, we just have to finish.”
But Chicago spent most of the final moments of the game pumping the ball into the Crew SC box, an aggressive strategy that Berhalter thought his team could have exploited.
"Chicago threw everything at us, putting on virtually four or five forwards and were very aggressive playing long and going for the second ball," he said. "They did a good job of creating pressure, but in that situation we need to make it 3-1."
Parkhurst said he could feel the tide turning.
"Obviously we were on the back foot for the last 10 minutes, playing a lot of defense and clearing balls," he said. "But I think we all thought we were going to hold on."
After the match, Kamara said he was already thinking about the week ahead after the disappointment.
"It was tough, really tough," he said. "It was a slow game from the start, but we were able to go two goals up. We had to come out of there with three points. Coming out with one, it's going to be a [bad] week of practice thinking about that."
And while he had his third brace of the season in the draw, Kamara said the goals don't feel as good when they come without a win.
"Those goals, they should have been three points," he said.
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