Columbus Crew 3-2 New York Red Bulls: Struber´s debut falls flat

Columbus Crew booked their place in the Eastern Conference semi-finals with a 3-2 victory over Gerhard Struber’s New York Red Bulls in the MLS Cup playoffs.

Struber, taking charge of his first Red Bulls game, saw Caden Clark put his side ahead in the 23rd minute of Saturday’s knockout clash at MAPFRE Stadium

Yet Pedro Santos’ penalty restored parity inside three minutes, and Darlington Nagbe struck just 23 seconds into the second half to complete the turnaround.

Gyasi Zardes made it 3-1 in the 68th minute, sending a floated header back across goal after latching onto Derrick Etienne Jr’s cross.

Struber had hope when Brian White pulled one back in the 90th minute, though it proved nothing more than a footnote after Tom Barlow missed the chance to equalise in stoppage time.

The Crew join Orlando City in the semi-finals, with the Florida team having overcome New York City FC 6-5 in a remarkable penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw.

The @Audi #MLSCupPlayoffs are WILD.

Where we stand. pic.twitter.com/X11uvtb7A5

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) November 21, 2020