The Columbus Crew and Philadelphia Union looked to be on their way to a 1-1 draw before Eddie Gaven scored in the 94th minute to give the Crew a massive three points on the road.
Philadelphia Union Vs. Columbus Crew, 2012 MLS: Eddie Gaven Is Massive
Both teams entered the evening with a bit of lineup drama. The Crew were without starting goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum, forcing Matt Lampson to make his first career MLS start. Jack Hackworth again left Freddy Adu out of the starting lineup, adding fuel to the fire about his future with the club. He of course denies any issue, saying in his press conference Tuesday that the Adu situation "is only a situation for you guys in the media".
It was honestly a quiet first half until the 29th minute when Chris Birchall took down Michael Farfan about 25 yards from goal setting up a dangerous set piece opportunity. Carlos Valdes' free kick deflected off two different Crew players and beat Lampson to the far corner. The Crew took advantage of the same situation on the other end in the 40th minute as Josh Williams was left all alone and headed a free kick past a frozen Zac Mcmath.
The goal scorer Josh Williams was sent off in the 68th minute after shoving Antoine Hoppenot to the ground. There was a ton of confusion thanks to referee Yader Reyes making a mess of the situation. He initially showed a yellow card to Williams but quickly brought it down and showed a red card. Whatever Reyes did, the Crew were forced to finish the match with ten men.
The Union couldn’t capitalize on the advantage and looked to at least have a point wrapped up in the 94th minute when disaster struck. Justin Meram’s deflected pass across the face of goal ended up on the foot of an unmarked Eddie Gaven, who buried the shot and gave the Crew a huge three points.
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