Perfect early fall weather paved the way for a perfect Columbus Crew SC result as Ola came out on top in the battle of the Kamaras with a brace to beat New England 2-0, as the Crew forward stole the show from retuning boo-boy Kei Kamara and helped give a faint amount of hope to Columbus’ post-season chances.
The home team looked the more lively from the start and managed to add some real goalscoring chances on top of the usual heavy possession we’ve become used to under Gregg Berhalter while New England had Brad Knighton to thank for a string of quality saves to prevent Crew SC from running away with the game.
Kamara grabbed his first shortly before half-time with a well taken left-foot finish from just outside the goal after a patient Columbus build up worked the ball to the feet of the Crew striker to bag his 14th goal of the season.
The second-half was more of the same as Crew SC pushed for a deserved second goal with marauding wing-back Harrison Afful looking likely to double his season tally and Tony Tchani finding himself in unusually dangerous spots but lacking the composure to get the ball in the net.
Columbus were able to double their lead (and calm the nerves of fans that have seen way too many late goals this year) with a gift of a penalty after New England’s London Woodberry was called for a weak push on Kamara in the box.
The Crew SC forward made no mistake from the spot and allowed the home team some breathing room for the final minutes of the game.
Crew SC travel to D.C. United midweek before next Saturday’s final regular season game of the season against fellow basement dwellers, Chicago Fire.
To view more upcoming Columbus Crew SC events, CLICK HERE to visit our Events Calendar.
Matt Ellis is a freelance photographer who covers bands that visit the city and the Columbus Crew MLS team. More about Matt can be found at Matt Ellis Photography.
