After earning two consecutive draws away from home, Columbus Crew SC ended its three-match road stint with a 2-0 loss to the Montreal Impact at Olympic Stadium on Saturday.
The Impact struck twice in the second half to spoil Crew SC’s first ever trip to Olympic Stadium. Hassoun Camara (48th) and Kyle Bekker (86th) headed home Montreal’s goals in a match that saw the Impact fire off 18 shots compared to Crew SC’s 10.
After a slow start to the match, both Crew SC and the Impact created several opportunities to score the go-ahead goal. The Impact were a little closer to finding the net, outshooting the Black & Gold 10-5 in the first half.
Lucas Ontivero possessed the best opportunities for Montreal before the break. He fired a shot from distance at Steve Clark in the 11th minute and curled another one onto the post ten minutes later.
On the other end of the pitch, midfielders Ethan Finlay and Justin Meram combined twice in the 23rd and 38th, but each time Meram couldn’t direct his shots on frame. Just before the break Finlay had the chance to break the tie when Harrison Afful fed him the leather in the six-yard box, but once again the ball sailed over the crossbar (44th).
Three minutes into the second half Camara put the Impact in front after he connected with an Ontivero corner. Clark kept Crew SC in the match when he came up with a big stop on Dominic Oduro in the 56th and denied Johan Venegas in the 79th, but the Black & Gold never came close to finding the equalizer in the second half. Instead, Bekker sealed the victory for Montreal when he headed in a cross by Ambroise Oyonga with four minutes left on the clock.
Crew SC will look to bounce back from the defeat when it hosts New York City FC at MAPFRE Stadium on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET. Tickets are available here.
