Down but not out. That's the mentality Deportivo Saprissa used to survive impending death in Group C of the CONCACAF Champions League and what the Columbus Crew were thinking after letting a victory turn into a tie Wednesday at Crew Stadium.
The Crew were just moments away from beating the Costa Rican side and claiming the final quarterfinal spot ahead of the visitors when Alexander Robinson soared through the air to head in a free kick in the second minute of stoppage time to forge the 1-1 tie after Robbie Rogers scored on a penalty in the 27th minute.
Columbus (2-2-1, 7 points) needs only a tie at Puerto Rico on Oct. 20 to advance because it defeated Saprissa (1-2-2, 5) on Sept. 16 to hold the tiebreaker. Saprissa plays host to group winner Cruz Azul the same day.
"We still have a chance. It's going to be an important game in Puerto Rico. The guys know that," Crew coach Robert Warzycha said.
Still, the Crew wanted to make the match at Puerto Rico meaningless with the MLS regular-season finale looming five days later but Saprissa spoiled the plans.
"It was live or die," Saprissa coach Jeaustin Campos said. "We tried to move forward and made substitutes to try to score and we gave them a lot of space. Sometimes we showed some weakness in the defense but that's what we had to do to play for the tie."
Dissatisfaction was evident among the Crew players.
"The disappointment from giving up a late goal is always tough, always frustrating," forward Alejandro Moreno said. "We know what was at stake and wanted to put it to rest and concentrate on MLS but we have to go to Puerto Rico and get a result."
Columbus appeared to have secured three points when it held possession of much of the final 15 minutes to hold a 15-8 shot advantage for the match.
"We created some chances so that we could have been 2-0 up," Warzycha said. "That's the game. That's the beauty of the game. It doesn't matter how many chances you create; it's how many goals you score. You have to play until the last whistle."
That's what Saprissa did.
Walter Centeno, who had been dangerous on several restarts, lined up again about 35 yards away from goal after Eric Brunner fouled Jairo Arrieta. Crew midfielder Emmanuel Ekpo was issued the game's sixth caution (four to the Crew) for delaying a restart but it didn't matter.
Centeno sent the ball to the far post where Robinson did a magnificent job of simultaneously bundling over midfielder Brian Carroll onto the ground while keeping his eyes on the ball. His wide-open snap header went through the legs of goalkeeper William Hesmer.
There were 45 fouls but none was called on the defining play.
"It's just a horrible feeling," Crew midfielder Adam Moffat said. "The free kicks we were giving away I don't think they were. The referee was giving away a bit too much but it happens and you've got to deal with it. The only time they looked threatening was on set pieces."
Rogers' penalty came off a clean strike to the lower left while goalkeeper Keilor Navas went the other way.
It wasn't supposed to be Rogers over the ball but Schelotto was unavailable at the time after being rudely fouled three minutes earlier by Centeno with a studs-up challenge with the right boot that bloodied Schelotto's right leg. Centeno was cautioned.
Schelotto went to the sideline to get the injury addressed and was not allowed back on the field until after the goal. He is 8-for-8 on penalties in his MLS career but Rogers calmly stepped in hit the ball with authority.
Rogers thought his last penalty try was in college for Maryland in 2005.
"I felt bad that Guille was off the field but it was a chance for me to take," he said. "I practice PKs. It was pretty simple. The goalie went down too early and I hit to the other side."
It wasn't enough.
"We weren't quite 100 percent precise in the box," said Rogers. "We've got to be sharper but we'll bounce back. We always do."
Craig Merz is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
