Ronald Donkor scored in the 89th minute to lift the visiting New York Red Bulls to a 1-0 victory over the Columbus Crew on Saturday night.
Dylan Nealis and Cameron Harper combined to set up Donkor for his second goal of the season, one that snapped the Red Bulls’ league winless run at six matches during the third of four consecutive away games.
Ethan Horvath made three saves to keep his third clean sheet and second in three matches for New York (8-11-6, 30 points). It came at a crucial time for the Red Bulls, who for the moment moved up to ninth place and above the playoff line by virtue of leading New York City FC in wins.
The Crew (6-14-5, 23 points) were held scoreless for the first time in MLS play since interim manager Laurent Courtois took over in mid-May as their postseason hopes continued to dwindle.
They started Saturday in 13th place and have lost seven of their last eight in all competitions, with all but one of those defeats in league play.
The Red Bulls saw 17-year-old Adri Mehmeti return to the lineup after he exited Wednesday’s 2-0 loss at LAFC with an injury before halftime.
But fellow injury casualties that night, defenders Justin Che and Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty, were not in manager Michael Bradley’s squad. Veteran attacker Emil Forsberg also went unused after playing the full 90 in Southern California.
Neither team had plentiful chances, but the Red Bulls put together an excellent sequence to take the lead late.
From the right side well beyond the box, Nealis threaded a ball between defenders to reach Harper on the right flank.
Harper dragged a low cross back toward the penalty area and Donkor met it with a well-taken, first-touch finish with his right foot.
Columbus started brightly, with Santiago Rodriguez striking the crossbar in the third minute before forcing Horvath into a save with his follow-up attempt.
On the other end, Harper struck the woodwork in the 31st minute.
Patrick Schulte made four saves for Columbus.
–Field Level Media
