The Columbus Crew earned a hard-fought point at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, Texas on Sunday night as it drew the Dynamo 2-2. Cole Grossman recorded his first career MLS goal and Eddie Gaven tallied his fifth goal of 2012, while Dilly Duka and Gaven assisted on the first goal and Designated Player Federico Higuaín marked his Crew debut with an assist on the second.
Brad Davis and former Crew midfielder Adam Moffat tallied a goal each for the Dynamo.
Houston drew blood first when Oscar Boniek Garcia sent a cross to Davis at the top of the box in the 19th minute. The Dynamo captain looked up and curled it into the upper 90 for the temporary lead. Houston almost doubled up in the 30th with Bobby Boswell who made a run to goal only to see the ball deflected by Andy Gruenebaum into corner.
In the 33rd minute Eddie Gaven fed a ball to Duka who brought it down the right side of the field and crossed it to Grossman who one-timed it past Tally Hall for the 1-1 score. Nine minutes later Gaven took a shot from the top of the 18 but Hall made a one-hand save to preserve the draw going into halftime.
Higuaín entered the match at the half and immediately made an impact by taking a shot from the top of the box only to see it saved by Hall. Ten minutes later the Crew earned the temporary advantage after Higuaín saw Gaven breaking through and played a perfect ball to him. Gaven settled the ball and took a left-footed shot sending it to Hall’s right for the 2-1 lead.
The Dynamo did not let up and almost got the equalizer in the 68th minute with a Davis rocket from outside the box but Gruenebaum over extended himself to deflect the ball into corner. Three minutes later Gaven almost added a second tally as he tried to finish another Higuaín-fed ball only to see it trickle into Hall’s arms.
The tying goal came in the 82nd minute when Moffat found himself with the ball at his feet after a melee in the box, and chipped it over Gruenebaum who came off his line but still made a valiant effort to save it.
The Black & Gold made one final effort to regain the lead with back-to-back attempts by Gaven and Ethan Finlay in stoppage time but both were saved by Hall giving the teams a hard earned point.
The Crew is now 8-8-6 on the season and 3-5-4 on the road
Houston extended its home unbeaten streak to 20 games which dates back to last season when the Crew beat the Dynamo 2-0 on June 18, 2011.
The Black & Gold will only have three days of rest before its next game as it returns home on Wednesday, August 22, to face Toronto FC in the second leg of the Trillium Cup series. The match was originally set for Aug. 11, but was rescheduled to allow the team to attend Kirk Urso’s funeral.
About Marion Online Sports
