Crew hold off Red Bulls, reach MLS final

[November 30, 2015]  By Everett Merrill, The Sports Xchange
 
 HARRISON, N.J. -- The Columbus Crew staved off the New York Red Bulls' frantic finish, holding on to win the two-leg Eastern Conference finals Sunday and advance to the MLS Cup championship game.

Columbus will play host to the Portland Timbers on Dec. 6 for the title. Portland knocked out FC Dallas in the Western Conference finals earlier on Sunday.

The Crew slipped past the Red Bulls by an aggregate score of 2-1.

The Red Bulls won the second leg 1-0 Sunday on a header from forward Anatole Bertrand Abang in the third minute of stoppage time, but Columbus won the first leg 2-0 on goals from midfielder Justin Meram and forward Kei Kamara on Nov. 22 in Ohio.

The Red Bulls nearly drew even Sunday, but striker Bradley Wright-Phillips' header glanced off the far post in the fifth minute of stoppage time.

"We wanted to score a goal early. That was our intention" Columbus coach Gregg Berhalter said. "We didn't do so and we let them hang in there. Then they hit the post in the 95th minute.

"That's soccer. But our guys hung in there."

The Crew will be making their second appearance in the MLS Cup. They won their only title in 2008 with a 3-1 win over the Red Bulls.

The Red Bulls needed at least two goals in regulation in Sunday's match and a goal in extra time or a victory in penalty kicks to advance. New York scored two or more goals in seven home games this season, but it was limited to only six shots on target Sunday, two each from Wright-Phillips and midfielder Sacha Kljestan and one from defender Sal Zizzo in addition to the goal from Abang.

Columbus goalkeeper Steve Clark rarely was tested by a New York team that scored a league-best 62 goals during the regular season.

"It was a pretty high-level game, even though it wasn't the prettiest at times," Red Bulls coach Jesse Marsch said. "Columbus often didn't get into its rhythm of play, and for us they countered what we were trying to do."

The Red Bulls controlled the run of play but couldn't generate enough offense in the Columbus third.

"Any time we went out on the break, (Columbus) would follow us," Marsch said. "That was a smart move from them. The only way to slow that down is for the referee to give out yellow cards. Once a guy gets a yellow, he has to be careful about how many fouls he's going to commit.

"Some of the mistakes we made in Columbus really cost us. But overall, I thought our guys laid it out there in both games,"

The Crew had five shots on goal, three from Kamara.

Columbus didn't come out in a defensive shell, putting three shots on goal in the first 10 minutes, but Robles stopped chances from midfielder Ethan Finlay and Kamara and a header from defender Gaston Sauro.

The Red Bulls managed eight crosses in the scoreless first half, but none of them came close to a scoring strike. Wright-Phillips had the best opportunity for the Red Bulls, but his head ball in extra time was cradled by Clark.

NOTES: Only two teams -- the San Jose Earthquakes (2003) and Kansas City Wizards (2004) -- ever won an MLS playoff series after trailing by two goals following the first leg. ... Red Bulls M Dax McCarty and GK Luis Robles and F Kei Kamara and M Ethan Finlay of Columbus were named to the MLS' Best XI for 2015. ... The 2-0 loss in the first leg to Columbus was the first time the Red Bulls were shut out since May, snapping a streak of 25 straight MLS matches. ... The Red Bulls set a franchise record in 2015 for wins (18) in the regular season. ... Columbus F Kei Kamara set single-season team records for most shots (135), shots on goal (57) and game-winning goals (seven). ... The Red Bulls are 1-4-0 all-time in the playoffs against Columbus, including a 1-1-0 mark at Red Bull Arena. ... New York is 15-22-8 all-time in the playoffs.

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