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Another Blown Lead: Columbus Crew SC Concedes Two Late Goals in Defeat to Colorado

Columbus Crew SC let a lead slip away for the fourth time this year as Colorado scored two late second half goals in a frustrating 2-1 road defeat.

Different game. Same old story.

Columbus Crew SC snatched defeat from the jaws of victory once again in a 2-1 loss to the Colorado Rapids on Saturday night. The Dick’s Sporting Goods Park crowd saw a Federico Higuain goal negated by two from the home side courtesy of Kevin Doyle and Alan Gordon. It marked the fourth time this season Columbus settled for a draw or loss after initially taking the lead.

Another Blown Lead: Columbus Crew SC Concedes Two Late Goals in Defeat to Colorado

Manager Gregg Berhalter made a change in formation, opting for a 3-4-2-1 shape. Nicolai Naess, Alex Crognale and Josh Williams comprised the back three. Wil Trapp and Mohammed Abu sat in front of the defense while Waylon Francis and Harrison Afful moved up into more of a wing back role. Meanwhile, Justin Meram and Federico Higuain played as dual central playmakers underneath Ola Kamara.

Expectations were that Columbus would own the lion’s share of the ball. After all, the club came into fifth in MLS with 52.6 percent possession per game while Colorado found themselves second from bottom (45.6 percent). For the most part, that’s exactly what happened.

But the Rapids weren’t content to sit deep and absorb pressure. Instead, they consistently made Columbus uncomfortable in possession, pressing high up the field at times. With the ball, they tended to go the direct route, sending route one balls into the attacking third.

The strategy worked. Colorado regularly found seams in the Crew SC defense in the first half. Despite the fact that both teams had six shots in the first 45, the Rapids enjoyed a 5-0 edge in shots on target. It included three from Dominique Badji and two from Shkelzen Gashi.

But Crew SC goalkeeper Zack Steffen was up to the task. Fresh off a shutout of the Seattle Sounders, his fourth this season, Steffen maintained his impressive play between the sticks. The 22-year-old proved to be up to the task in denying all five first half shots.

Columbus faced an early onslaught right out of the locker room. It included a sequence where the Rapids won two consecutive corner kicks from Gashi. The second of these resulted in a shot from Kortne Ford that the Crew SC blocked in the 56th minute.

Soon thereafter, the visitors found a breakthrough albeit a lucky one. Collecting a Meram square ball, Higuain evaded Gashi, turned towards goal and blasted it at net. His shot ricocheted off Michael Azira and goalkeeper Zac MacMatch could only watch as it went by him and into the net.

For Higuain, the 60th minute tally was his sixth of 2017 and 45th of his Crew SC career.

If the result held, Columbus would not only find themselves in the midst of a two-game winning streak after last Friday’s 5-0 blowout at the hands of Toronto FC. The club would also move to second both in the Eastern Conference and Supporters’ Shield standings. They just needed to protect the lead for the remaining half hour of the match.

But in the 80th minute, that scenario evaporated. Rapids midfielder Mohammed Saeid slotted a through ball to Marlon Hairston. He then squared it towards goal where two unmarked Colorado players were waiting to pounce. Ultimately, Kevin Doyle knocked it into the net for the equalizer.

For Saeid, his secondary assist likely felt sweeter than usual considering the former Crew SC player was left unprotected during last year’s expansion draft. Minnesota United eventually selected him. He later came to Colorado via midseason trade.

Six minutes later, the Black and Gold conceded once more. And it demonstrated that Rapids head coach Pablo Mastroeni pulled the right strings from a substitution standpoint. 67th minute sub Josh Gatt provided the assist while Alan Gordon, subbed on four minutes before the goal, headed it in.

In Berhalter’s case, the opposite may be true. Centerback Jonathan Mensah, who came on for Nicolai Naess in the 83rd minute, was primarily culpable for the Rapids game-winner. His failure to properly mark Gordon at the back post made it possible for the long-time MLS veteran to reprise his role as super sub late in his career.

Crew SC are idle during next week’s international window. Their next game takes place on Wednesday, June 14 as the club heads south to take on FC Cincinnati in the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup. The highly anticipated clash is the first-ever meeting between the two clubs. The Black and Gold’s next MLS encounter is also a first on the road as they face Atlanta United FC on June 17.

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