Columbus Crew smother New York Red Bulls for 1st-leg win
The Columbus Crew defeated a lackluster New York Red Bulls 2-0 at MAPFRE Stadium in the first leg of the MLS Cup Playoffs Eastern Conference Championship, as Justin Meram scored just nine seconds in to give his side the game-winner.
Related - VIDEO: Justin Meram scores just 9 seconds into playoff match
Meram capitalized on a long ball into the box, spilled onto his feet as Ethan Finlay attempted to control the effort. The Iraq international slotted home, cool as you like, to notch the first goal of the game and also write his name down in the league's history books with the fastest playoff goal ever scored.
The rest of the match was relatively dull, when compared to the first 10 seconds of the game; the Red Bulls attempted to break through Columbus' defense but could not come up with one good look at goal.
66% - Dax McCarty ended with 66% passing accuracy. He had just one MLS game in the last six seasons with lower % (8-16 in June 2011). Ouch.
— OptaJack (@OptaJack) November 23, 2015
The Crew spent the remainder of the match searching for the leaping head of Kei Kamara, but found his foot instead in the 85th minute. Cedrick Mabwati forced Luis Robles into making a big save from up close, as Kamara pounced on the rebound and tapped the ball into the back of the net.
New York now has 90 more minutes at Red Bull Arena next Sunday to save its playoff hopes, needing two or more unanswered goals to remain in contention; the Crew will look to wrap up the series with an away goal in the second leg, too.