NYCFC – 3
Columbus Crew SC – 3
Match recap …
David Villa scored twice in the final 10 minutes, but Ethan Finlay also struck for a late brace as New York City FC and the Columbus Crew SC played to a wild 3-3 draw at MAPFRE Stadium Saturday night.
Frank Lampard broke the scoreless stalemate with his ninth goal in the last 10 games with a true poacher’s effort four minutes from halftime. Columbus goalkeeper Steve Clark parried Andrea Pirlo’s 26-yard free kick off the post and Lampard pounced, tapping in from the edge of the six-yard box to give NYCFC the lead at the break.
Lampard had another chance three minutes earlier after Pirlo cut inside and outside of his defender to chip a ball into the box, but Clark pushed Lampard’s header over the bar for an NYCFC corner kick.
PHOTOS: New York City FC at Columbus Crew
Columbus leveled in the 49th minute when Justin Meram latched onto a Waylon Francis corner and headed in from eight yards out.
The Crew (3-8-11) took a 2-1 lead as Finlay scored from the penalty spot in the 80th minute, but Villa leveled just three minutes later with his 14th goal of the season. The Captain settled a sublime ball over the top of the Crew defense by Andrea Pirlo and knocked in from just outside the six-yard box.
Villa then scored from the spot after Harrison Afful handled the ball in the box for his league-tying 15thgoal of the year to give NYCFC (10-7-8) a 3-2 lead two minutes into second-half stoppage time.
But Finlay followed with the equalizer in the dying seconds of the match, following a blocked shot to score from the edge of the six-yard box.
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How they lined up …
Patrick Vieira made just one change from the starting XI in a 0-0 draw with the San Jose Earthquakes last Friday night, with Tony Taylor starting in place of Jack Harrison in the three-man front line.
Harrison came on for Taylor as Vieira’s first substitution in the 54th minute. Ronald Matarrita returned from an ankle injury to replace RJ Allen in the 69th minute. Steven Mendoza came on for Jason Hernandez in the 82nd minute as NYCFC went to three in the back in an attempt to find the equalizer.
Photo of the Match …
Quote of the Match …
Man of the Match …
Andrea Pirlo
The legendary midfielder had a part in two of the three NYCFC goals. It was his free kick from 26 yards out that Columbus goalkeeper Steve Clark parried off the post before Frank Lampard tapped in to put NYCFC in front.
With NYCFC needing an late equalizer, Pirlo lofted a perfect ball over the top of the Columbus defense to an open David Villa, who settled before scoring just outside the six-yard box.
Key moment …
David Villa came up huge late, tying Sebastian Giovinco atop the MLS goal scoring list with his 15th goal from the penalty spot to give NYCFC a 3-2 lead after leveling in the 83rd minute.
Stats and milestones …
- David Villa scored his 14th and 15th goals of the season to move into a tie with Toronto FC’s Sebastian Giovinco atop the MLS scoring list.
- Frank Lampard scored his ninth goal in 10 games in the first half.
- NYCFC is now 6-4-3 on the road this season, the best form away from home in MLS.
- NYCFC is 6-2-2 in their last 10 games.
What it means …
NYCFC remains atop the Eastern Conference with 38 points with nine games remaining in the regular season.
After playing six of the last seven games away from home, NYCFC returns to Yankee Stadium for an anticipated showdown with the LA Galaxy August 20 at 3:30 p.m.
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Tweet of the Match …
