Columbus Crew midfielder Luis Argudo (26) gestures after fouling Montreal Impact defender Daniel Lovitz (3) in the second half of a Major League Soccer game in Columbus, Ohio, Saturday, March 10, 2018. (Brooke LaValley /The Columbus Dispatch via AP)
Republished March 10, 2018 - 3:18 PM
Original Publication Date March 10, 2018 - 12:41 PM
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Montreal Impact were seconds away from earning their first point of the MLS season.
But Gyasi Zardes scored his second goal of the game on a penalty in the 94th minute, and the Columbus Crew beat Montreal 3-2 on Saturday.
Luis Argudo drew the foul against Ken Krolicki that set up Zardes, who put in the go-ahead goal just under the crossbar for the Crew (2-0-0).
"This is not a game we should have lost," said Montreal defender Daniel Lovitz. "At the end of the day, they won because of two penalties and a goal off a set piece.
"If you could hold a team like that to those types of chances, usually you come out with at least a tie. We're disappointed, but I think there's no question that there are positive things to take out of this game."
Raheem Edwards tied it for the Impact (0-2-0) in the 85th minute with a left-footed volley into the far corner off Daniel Lovitz's wide cross.
Ignacio Piatti cut the deficit to 2-1 in the 59th minute.
"I thought the effort was fantastic," said Montreal head coach Remi Garde. "Today, quite a few things went against us and we were a little unlucky because we hit the crossbar twice. We're progressing, but we need points as of next game."
Federico Higuain opened the scoring for Columbus on a penalty in the 12th minute with goalkeeper Evan Bush guessing the wrong way. It was Higuain's 50th career regular-season MLS goal.
Zardes made it 2-0 in the 15th minute with a close-range putback off a free kick that clanked off the crossbar.
Montreal opened the season with a loss in Vancouver last weekend.
"It's cruel," said Impact midfielder Samuel Piette. "We played well in the second half, we were confident in the way we played. We saw that we were much fitter than them and we scored twice from open play.
"We answered really well, it's disappointing that we're not brining any points home after this game. It's still encouraging for what's to come."
— With files from The Canadian Press
News from © The Associated Press, 2018