A stoppage time sucker-punch spoiled the fun for Columbus Crew SC as CF Monterrey pulled the game back into their favor during Wednesday evening’s Concacaf Champions League game at Historic Crew Stadium.
Columbus had to dig deep early after going down 0-1 within nine minutes after Ake Loba fired past Crew ‘keeper Eloy Room and stunned the home team.
Monterrey sat back after the goal and spent the majority of the half letting Columbus have possession and hacking them down whenever they got too close as the visiting team racked up whopping 19 fouls throughout the evening.
Milton Valenzuela equalized for the Crew midway into the second half after some fancy footwork from Lucas Zelarayan, and it was the Columbus playmaker that looked to have secured a win when he swept the ball into the goal in the 87th minute.
With time ticking away and victory in sight, Columbus allowed Monterrey to push forward and a final cross found the head of Jose Alvarado who made no mistake from close range and scored the goal that sucked the air out of the stadium and completely changed the nature of the contest.
Crew SC will now face an uphill battle next Wednesday when, realistically, only a win will result in the team advancing. And they’ll have to do this without the suspended Zelerayan.
For more information, visit columbuscrewsc.com.
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 on his Instagram.
All photos by Matt Ellis