Sean Zawadzki's 98th minute equalizer leads Columbus Crew to 1-1 draw against New England
It took until the final kick of the game. For more than 95 minutes, facing their toughest test so far this season, the Crew couldn't find a way to break down the New England Revolution.
But in the 98th minute, midfielder Sean Zawadzki, who came on as a substitute in the 92nd minute, ran onto a lofted pass from midfielder Lucas Zelarayán and headed the ball past New England goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic for an equalizer at the death. Referee Chris Penso blew the full-time whistle immediately after the ensuing kickoff, re-igniting the Crew's celebrations as they secured a 1-1 draw.
The Crew (4-2-2) entered Saturday's game at Lower.com Field riding a three-game win streak, but none of those wins came against top-tier opposition. In front of a crowd of 20,562, the third-highest in stadium history, the Crew struggled to solve the Revolution's defense for much of the game — even after New England forward Dylan Borrero was sent off in the 65th minute.
The Revolution (5-1-2) took a 1-0 lead on an own goal by center back Miloš Degenek in the 58th minute, and the Crew created numerous chances to even the score after that, but they needed every possible moment to finally get the ball past Petrovic.
"We faced a good team, a really good team," Crew coach Wilfried Nancy said. "They've been playing for a long time together. They have a connection. ... (We) found a way to come back. For me, it's been a good exercise for my players, to live this moment."
The Crew were lucky to escape the first half without conceding a goal. Unable to maintain possession of the ball in the attacking half of the field, the Crew were subject to regular attacking pressure by New England as they were forced into near-constant turnovers.
When the Crew were able to build a sequence of possession and attack toward the 18-yard box, a combination of stingy defending by the Revolution and poor passing accuracy by the Crew meant that New England quickly extinguished the threat. Zelarayán took four of the Crew's five shots in the first half, and they all came from outside the box — and only two were on target.
Crew goalkeeper Patrick Schulte made five saves in the first half, of his eight total, and several other scoring chances for New England missed just wide of the post or just over the crossbar. Revolution midfielder Carles Gil and forward Giacomo Vrioni were regular threats in and around the penalty area, and the Crew weren't able to create the same kind of threat at the other end of the field.
To begin the second half, the Crew seemed to settle in possession and found ways to penetrate into the 18-yard box, but New England's stout defense blocked away the chances that the Crew created.
Borrero, who caused problems for the Crew defensively throughout the game with his speed on the flank, made a run into the Crew's penalty area around center back Gustavo Vallecilla in the 58th minute. Borrero's pass toward the penalty spot hit Degenek, and as he attempted to clear the ball, he sent it into his own net to give New England a 1-0 lead.
"I think it was a pretty decent counterattack from them. Quite an uncomfortable cross coming in, which, in all honesty, being honest and realistic, I think I should clear that," Degenek said. "I should get that away. I think I misjudged the ball a little bit. I should have dealt with it a bit better. I set the boys back a fair bit with that one."
In the 65th minute, Borrero was issued his second yellow card — he received his first, for dissent, in the 56th minute — and thus sent off the field after a hard tackle on wingback Mo Farsi.
The Crew were largely on the front foot after Borrero's red card, but they still struggled to break down the final layers of New England's defense. The Revolution blocked shot after shot inside the box, defending in a compact shape as they fought to close out the game with 10 players.
"This is not easy, to play against a team who plays with 10 men," Nancy said. "It seems to be easy, but this is not easy, because they block the middle all the time. I was pretty happy with the spirit of my players to fight until the end."
Petrovic made two of his best saves of the game in the 80th minute, first stopping a shot from midfielder Alex Mățan and then saving a follow-up opportunity by Zelarayán. Zelarayán had another look at an equalizer in the 85th minute, but his shot from distance was deflected and sailed just over the crossbar.
In the 90th minute, the ball hit New England center back Andrew Farrell's arm inside the box, leading to a long stoppage as video assistant referee Daniel Radford spoke to Penso. It was ruled not to be a handball, but the long pause meant the game extended far past the planned five minutes of stoppage time, giving the Crew and Zawadzki the time they needed to create the equalizer.
"There was a minute (or) 30 seconds left in the game," Zawadzki said. "I was just kind of like, there’s nothing else to lose. We’re down a goal. We need something. I just saw the ball out wide and kind of was like, ‘All right, might as well get in the box.’ I made a late little run and was lucky enough to head the ball in."
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Zawadzki scores late equalizer for Columbus Crew against Revolution
