Reed Baker-Whiting and Andy Najar scored in second-half stoppage time to help Nashville SC rally and stun the visiting Columbus Crew 3-2 on Saturday.
Baker-Whiting made it 2-2 in the third minute of stoppage time when the veteran headed a corner kick by Hany Mukhtar into the net for his first MLS goal in his 74th match across the last six seasons.
Najar got the winner two minutes later from the right side of the box after an entry ball by Jeisson Palacios.
Nashville (15-2-4, 49 points) is 10-0-1 at home and moved 10 points ahead of second-place Inter Miami in the Eastern Conference.
After Mukhtar put Nashville ahead in the 27th minute, Mohamed Farsi tied it 1-1 with the Crew’s first shot on goal in the 58th minute and Andre Gomes gave the visitors a 2-1 lead 10 minutes later on Columbus’ second shot on goal.
The Crew (5-11-5, 20 points) have lost three straight and are 1-4-1 in the six matches since the World Cup break concluded.
Mukhtar continued his love of playing against the Crew with his seventh goal in 12 career matches.
After failing earlier in the match to take a shot from the right side when he had a clean look but instead sent an errant pass through the box, Mukhtar didn’t waste another opportunity for the lead.
Daniel Lovitz lofted a pass from the left touch line that Mukhtar took on the second bounce with his back to the goal while fending off Taha Habroune. Mukhtar opened up and fired a left-footed shot past Patrick Schulte inside the left post.
The Crew’s equalizer was off a combination play. Steven Moreira passed into the box to Brais Mendez. He was knocked off the ball but Malte Amundsen collected it and spotted Farsi to his right for a quick strike and his first goal of the season.
Gomes was 27 yards out when the Portuguese international ripped a free kick over the wall and tucked it inside the left post past goalkeeper Brian Schwake for his first MLS goal in his 14th match.
Columbus allowed the first goal for the sixth straight match, usually a death knell for a team lacking any semblance of firepower in its current form.
Of the Crew’s 28 goals scored entering the match, 15 were from players no longer on the active roster with the transfers of Diego Rossi (six) and Max Arfsten (four) and a season-ending injury to Wessam Abou Ali (five).
–Field Level Media
