Even though New York City FC is disappointed not to return from Columbus with all three points, David Villa continued to find success against the Crew with his second brace of the season at MAPFRE Stadium in a wild 3-3 draw Saturday night.
Villa struck for both goals in a 3-2 loss in Columbus on April 16 and it appeared NYCFC was on their way to a third defeat in four meetings with Crew SC when the Captain turned up in a big way.
First came an 83rd minute equalizer. Andrea Pirlo chipped a ball over the top of the Columbus defense and Villa brilliantly took it down with his right foot before scoring inside the far post with his left from seven yards out.
Please enable Javascript to watch this video
“We are proud for the team because we never have feelings we lost the game, we always fought for the game,” Villa said. “When we were down 2-1, the team worked strong to turn the result until the last minute. We are very proud of the work of the team.”
Villa placed the ball in almost the identical spot on a penalty kick in the second minute of stoppage time to give NYCFC a 3-2 lead. It was Villa’s 15th goal of the season, moving him to a tie atop the MLS scoring list with Toronto FC’s Sebastian Giovinco.
Please enable Javascript to watch this video
Villa has converted four of his five attempts from the spot this year and 11 of 13 in two seasons for NYCFC.
The celebration, though, would be muted when Ethan Finlay scored his second goal of the second half in the dying moments of the match.
Still, Villa takes the positives from the result.
“It’s difficult because the last minute we lost two points, but we are proud of the team for fighting for the whole game,” Villa said. “It’s not easy to play here because Columbus is a great team when they have the ball, in their stadium they’re attacking very well.”
Now, Villa said, the focus turns to an anticipated showdown with the star-studded LA Galaxy in a nationally televised game at Yankee Stadium next Saturday.
“We’re disappointed for the result, but always it’s good to take a point away in a difficult stadium,” Villa said. “Of course we work this work to take the three points against the Galaxy on Saturday in our home.”
