Whitecaps settle for draw with Crew

Tchani, Manneh trade goals against former teams as Vancouver, Columbus tie 2-2

VANCOUVER (CP) — With the seconds ticking down Saturday, it looked like Kekuta Manneh would have the last laugh against his former team.

Then the player he was traded for added one final twist to keep the Vancouver Whitecaps atop Major League Soccer’s crowded Western Conference standings.

Tony Tchani scored in the 92nd minute against the club that swapped him for Manneh as Vancouver salvaged a 2-2 draw with the Columbus Crew.

The defensive midfielder poked his fourth of the season past Columbus goalkeeper Zack Steffen in stoppage time from in tight on a shot that took a slight deflection to send B.C. Place Stadium into a frenzy.

A member of the Crew from 2011 until the trade for Manneh in March, Tchani took a couple of steps in the heat of the moment with an eye towards celebrating his equalizer before catching himself as a show of respect.

Manneh had given the visitors a 2-1 lead in the 63rd minute, also the winger’s fourth, after setting up Ola Kamara’s goal that tied the game in the first half.

Dealt to the Crew after four-plus seasons with the Whitecaps for Tchani and US$300,000 in allocation money, Manneh posed for selfies with fans before the game and got a nice ovation during player introductions, but those warm feelings were mostly put aside once things kicked off.

Tied 1-1 in the second half, Manneh grabbed the ball and sped through midfield with the Whitecaps retreating before blasting a shot past David Ousted.

Fredy Montero also scored for Vancouver before setting up Tchani’s goal on a chipped cross to the back post. The Whitecaps opened the scoring in the 15th minute when Reyna flicked a Cristian Techera pass into the path of a streaking Montero, who beat Steffen for the striker’s 12th.

Saturday’s dramatic finish means both the Whitecaps (13-9-6) and the Crew (13-12-5), fourth in the East, each stretched their unbeaten streaks to six games.

Now 7-2-3 over the last 12 to climb up the West table, Vancouver has 45 points — one better than the Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders and Sporting Kansas City.

The Whitecaps and Kansas City have six games left on their schedules, while the Sounders have five, and the Timbers just four.

The Canadian Press Vancouver Whitecaps striker Fredy Montero, left, has his shot blocked by Columbus Crew’s Lalas Abubakar during second-half MLS action in Vancouver on Saturday.