Following a 4-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rowdies on Wednesday in the Fourth Round of the U.S. Open Cup, Columbus Crew SC and the Montreal Impact played to a 0-0 draw in a defensive battle at MAPFRE Stadium on Saturday night. In their first League match since June 1, the Black & Gold extended their regular-season unbeaten streak at home to six contests.
Crew SC controlled over 61 percent of the possession, fired 12 shots, and completed 83 percent of its passes. Goalkeeper Steve Clark registered his fourth clean sheet of the season, making four saves in the match.
Both sides had opportunities to take the lead in the first 45. In the 21st minute, after a feed from Mohammed Saied, Justin Meram dribbled his way through traffic and fired from just inside the Impact penalty area. His shot was pushed away by ‘keeper Evan Bush towards a streaking Saied, but the midfielder could not put his header on target.
Montreal’s best chance of the first half came in the 36th minute when Lucas Ontivero ripped one from 20 yards out, but saw it parried away by Clark. And after 45 minutes of play, both squads went into the dressing room looking to take the lead.
Out of the break, Crew SC created multiple opportunities to find the back of the net. In the 62nd minute, Saied curled in a corner towards the middle of the box and it found the head of a rising Meram, but the midfielder’s header went inches past the right post.
Later in the 87th minute, Ethan Finlay stole the ball from the feet of Montreal’s Wandrille Lefevre, and hit a low cross in towards Ola Kamara. Kamara settled, attempted a series of moves, and fired a shot but saw it saved near post by Bush.
As the final whistle sounded, the Black & Gold had earned one point in their final regular season meeting with the Montreal Impact in front of 14,814 supporters. Crew SC is back in action this Saturday, when a fellow Eastern Conference opponent in the New York Red Bulls visits MAPFRE Stadium. Kickoff for the match is set for 7:30 p.m.
