COLUMBUS, Ohio— Despite shaking off a historic losing streak and going unbeaten in five consecutive games, the Columbus Crew’s wins have been few and far between. Saturday’s opponent, Toronto FC, sits above Columbus in the table but still under the red playoff cut line. Both badly needed three points, but by the end of the night took one point each after a back-and-forth 2-2 draw.
Toronto dominated possession, but did not generate any early shots on goal. The Crew eventually got their offense turned around. New signing Youness Mokhtar made his firsT start and showed flashes of why Columbus wanted to sign him.
Toronto took the lead in the 42nd minute off a distance strike by Jonathan Osorio. Crew midfielders Wil Trapp and Artur got pulled into defending TFC striker Jozy Altidore, who wisely played the ball off to Osorio and got an assist for his work. It was the 19th time Columbus has given up the first goal this season. They only have one win in those games.
Crew head coach Caleb Porter said during a halftime interview for the television broadcast that he was pleased with the team’s play and felt they’d get the win if they kept it up. The players rewarded his faith three minutes into the second half when Trapp sent a long ball to Pedro Santos. The winger one-touched the ball into the net for an equalizer and his team-leading ninth goal of the season. It’s also a career high for goals in a season for Santos, who had just one goal with Columbus before this year.
David Accam was subbed on in the 80th minute, and two minutes later, he scored the go-ahead goal for the Crew. Fellow Ghanaian Harrison Afful had the assist, his first of the season.
But the lead wouldn’t hold. Altidore scored his 10th goal of the season on an easy header in the box to tie the game. Auro had the assist as Columbus let their playoff chances slip further away, sitting in 11th place out of 12 Eastern Conference teams.
As the team recovers from injuries, adds more players, and continues to integrate the summer signings — Mokhtar, Luis Diaz and Eloy Room — 2020 is no doubt on the mind.
This is an early recap. Check back for updates.