Columbus Crew SC recorded its ninth consecutive unbeaten result — a 1-1 draw against D.C. United — at MAPFRE Stadium in front a sellout crowd of 20,065 supporters on Saturday.
Ola Kamara netted the lone goal for the Black & Gold, marking his ninth in 12 matches.
The first 45 began with the Black & Gold controlling a majority of the possession, and creating chances to find the back of the net early. Both Harrison Afful and Cedrick Mabwati produced curling crosses into the D.C. penalty area, but could not find a runner to take the advantage.
The chance of the first half came in the 38th minute, when the Black-and-Red’s Nick DeLeon carried the ball into the Crew SC penalty area. The midfielder fed a pass to Alvaro Saborio, whose shot from close range was saved by the feet of Steve Clark, one of four on the night.
At the break, the Eastern Conference foes were scoreless.
But at the start of the second half, the Black & Gold turned up the intensity. In the 46th minute, Kamara found his way through the D.C. backline to receive a through ball. The striker fired a low shot toward the left corner, but his chance rattled the left woodwork. Ten minutes later, Mabwati found space into the Black-and-Red penalty area and tried to chip goalkeeper Bill Hamid, but saw it go inches beyond the post.
Crew SC was building momentum throughout the first 15 minutes of the half, and in the 63rd minute, it took the lead. Tony Tchani threaded a pass to Afful down the sideline, and the defender swung in a low curling cross. His pass was met by the foot of a streaking Kamara, who powered it home give his side the 1-0 advantage. Midfielder Justin Meram had a chance to add to the tally in the 79th minute, but his finessed shot from just outside the box nearly missed the right post.
The Black & Gold held the lead deep into the second 45, but after Afful was issued a red card in the 74th minute, D.C. United would find the equalizer. In the 89th minute, after series of deflections, the ball found the feet of forward Fabian Espinodola just outside the Crew SC penalty area. The forward slotted a low shot just out of the reach of Clark to level the match at 1-1.
And as the final whistle sounded, Columbus Crew SC claimed a second straight point at home.
The Black & Gold will look for all three points next Saturday, when they welcome Orlando City SC in the final game of a three-match home stand. Kickoff from MAPFRE Stadium is set for 7:30 p.m. TICKETS
