The New York Red Bulls were held to a goalless draw by Columbus Crew despite controlling most of the scoring chances. The Red Bulls attempted eight shots to Columbus's three, with four on target versus one for the visitors. The team has scored only once across its last three matches and has five regular-season games left with 40 points. The club sits one point ahead of Chicago for the East's final playoff spot while Chicago holds two games in hand. Mohammed Sofo's late reactions on two promising plays, including one that led to a shot deflected off the post, amplified the finishing problems.
Sandro Schwarz's men attempted eight shots compared to Columbus's three, and had four on target while the visitors mustered just one. But a clear lack of polish that one more big signing up front might have provided remains glaringly obvious a concept that has become redundant since the end of the MLS transfer window on Aug. 21, but something that continues to be stressed considering where the Red Bulls stand.
The defending Eastern Conference champions have scored a single goal across their last three matches. They have just five games left in the regular season, and are on the shakiest of grounds with 40 points; they sit ahead of the Chicago Fire for the East's ninth and final playoff spot by a single point. The problem is that the Fire has two games in hand.
So mistakes by Mohammed Sofo, the 20-year-old Ghanaian forward who has filled in so admirably this season after Lewis Morgan's ceaseless injury worries, are magnified when the stakes are ramping up. He was just a fraction of a second late on what could have been two match-shifting plays that could have delivered New York the three points in the standings rather than just one.
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