COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Aziel (AZ) Jackson scored a goal in the 11th minute, Jacen Russell-Rowe added a goal and an assist and the Columbus Crew beat CF Montreal 2-1 on Saturday night.
AZ, on the counterattack, ran onto a long arcing ball played ahead by Russell-Rowe and skipped a shot between defender Joel Waterman and goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois — who had charged off his line — that ricocheted off the back post into the net.
Russell-Rowe, from Toronto, blasted a rising first-touch shot, off a through ball from Steven Moreira, from the edge of the penalty area in the 26th minute to give Columbus (4-0-3) a 2-0 lead.
Prince Owusu scored in the 52nd minute for Montreal (0-5-2). Caden Clark banged a straight-away shot off the left post, but Owusu slipped behind the defence for the rebound and flicked a side-netter inside the right post to cut the deficit to 2-1. The offside flag initially went up but the goal counted after video review.
Victor Loturi appeared to have scored the tying goal in the 82nd minute but was deemed offside after video review and the Crew maintained their lead.
Sirois finished with three saves.
Interim coach Marco Donadel, who took over after Laurent Courtois was fired on March 24 following Montreal's 0-4-1 start, is still in search of his first win. The club played the Chicago Fire to a 1-1 tie in his debut.
The Crew had 55 per cent possession and outshot Montreal 11-5 (5-1 on target).
After seven consecutive road games to open the season, Montreal plays its home opener against Charlotte FC next Saturday.
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The Associated Press
