Nagbe saves day at end for Crew
Goal in extra time gives Columbus 1-1 draw
The Crew were about to leave another road game stung for not making the most of a couple of big chances and a failure to defend set pieces.
Until Darlington Nagbe saved it at the last moment.
Gyasi Zardes and Derrick Etienne Jr each missed one-on-one chances against New York goalkeeper Carlos Coronel in the second half to set up the Red Bulls stealing a victory at home.
After Crew goalkeeper Eloy Room was credited with an own goal in the 84th minute off a corner kick to give the Red Bulls a 1-0 lead, Nagbe found himself on the end of a fortunate bounce and finished the chance for the Crew to earn a 1-1 draw on what was effectively the last play of the game in the 94th minute.
Luis Diaz drove down the right side along with Steven Moreira, whose cross was directly at Alex Matan in the middle of the box. The ball bounced off Matan, Nagbe and a defender, before Nagbe was able to finish it.
There was a cause for concern late in the game when Crew star player Lucas Zelarayan exited with an apparent right leg injury in stoppage time.
Six minutes after entering for Miguel Berry in the 59th minute, Zardes found himself in an unoccupied space with the ball rolling perfectly to hit his stride behind the Red Bulls defense and Coronel scrambling to his other post. But he hit it wide.
In the 78th minute, Etienne had an even better chance. Nagbe recovered a loose ball at the top of the Crew’s penalty area, then sprang Etienne in behind the Red Bulls defense. Dribbling from near midfield, Etienne closed in on Coronel and tried to go near post, but Coronel made the save. Etienne missed a follow-up on an open goal from an extremely tight angle near the end line outside of the right post.
The Crew had outplayed the Red Bulls in the second half, but left the door open and were bitten again in the one area they have continued to falter. Off a corner kick, the Red Bulls got the first touch on the ball and headed it toward goal. Room stayed put on the goal line, leaving space for Red Bulls center back Aaron Long to go for the ball near Room.
Room attempted to punch the ball out but missed, and it bounced off Jonathan Mensah, then Room before crossing the goal line.
It appeared the Crew would, again, not get a result on the road that their performance justified. But Nagbe, who had been rock solid with Artur throughout the game against the Red Bulls press, came up in the final moments to salvage a point.
The Crew (2-0-2) has scored 10 goals through four games. The Red Bulls are 2-1-1. jmyers@dispatch.com @_jcmyers