After a come-from-behind draw at Mapfre Stadium on June 9, the New York Red Bulls thought it had discovered the blueprint to beat a Columbus Crew SC team coached by Gregg Berhalter, the third-longest tenured head coach in Major League Soccer, and a leading candidate for the vacant position of United States men’s national team manager.
But, within 31 minutes on Saturday night, Chris Armas and his team stood in disbelief, as an unfortunate own goal from Sean Davis exacerbated an already nightmarish start. Inconceivably, the most dominant home team in the league since opening Red Bull Arena in 2010 was behind by three goals, with over 14 minutes of the first half still to play.