After earning a draw against the Philadelphia Union last weekend, the Columbus Crew traveled to Foxborough to take on the New England Revolution in a crucial Eastern Conference matchup. With an MLS Cup playoff spot secure, the Crew is playing for its postseason seeding and, with the East so tight, every point matters.

The Black & Gold had only three road wins coming into the matchup and looked to get their fourth of the season against a Revolution squad that had yet to lose at home. Columbus was able to an important. steal three points at the death, thanks to a late goal by defender Malte Amundsen.

New England was able to dictate the game early, creating multiple chances and promising attacks. The Revolution was given a good opportunity in the sixth minute of play when Crew midfielder Aidan Morris fouled his New England counterpart Noel Buck a few yards outside of the 18-yard box, but nothing came of the set piece.

the Black & Gold to settle into the match as the first half went on, with the visitor’s first chance coming from a shot from center back Sean Zawadzki from distance, forcing Revolution goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr. to make a finger-tip save.

In the 19th minute, Columbus found the breakthrough through forward Diego Rossi.

Morris collected the loose ball in his own defensive half, slipping a pass to playmaker Alexandru Matan. The diminutive midfielder was able to track the pass down and start his run towards the penalty box. Matan found Rossi waiting at the penalty spot with a short pass, giving the forward the chance to slot the ball far post past Edwards Jr. for the lead.

New England started to take over yet again, creating chance after chance following the goal. The home side’s best opportunity came in the 35th minute when former Crew winger Emanuel Boateng hit a close-range shot on goal, forcing Black & Gold goalkeeper Patrick Schulte into a diving save to his right-hand side.

Columbus carried the 1-0 lead into the second half, looking to keep the Revolution off the board.

It didn’t take long for New England to get back into the match when fullback Dejuan Jones tracked down the ball towards the corner flag, sending it back towards the penalty area. Winger Tomas Chancalay was on the receiving end of the pass and hit the ball into the back of the net with pace to level the score at 1-1.

Chancalay almost had his second goal of the game shortly after when his shot from distance hit the crossbar and out for a Crew throw-in.

The Black & Gold thought the team found the go-ahead goal through forward Cucho Hernandez in the middle of the second half. However, the goal was ruled offside.

Columbus did go ahead in the 86th minute. A Rossi corner kick found Amundsen inside the six-yard box. The defender hit a shot into the ground that bounced up off the crossbar and into the back of the net, making the score 2-1 with time ticking down.

Despite a push from the Revolution, the Crew was able to hold on to the 2-1 lead in the final moments, securing all three points on the road.

The Black & Gold

With the win against New England, the Crew moves into the No. 4 spot in the Eastern Conference standings. This could be crucial, as the top four seeds play hosts in the MLS Cup playoffs. Columbus is 11-1-4 this season at Lower.com Field, but only 4-8-4 on the road.

Killing off the match

This Crew team has had trouble killing off the game in the dying minutes this year, seeing multiple results flip late. After Amundsen’s late go-ahead goal, the Black & Gold were much better about keeping possession of the ball and not rushing on set pieces in order to let the clock run and secure the important three points.

What’s next

Columbus is on the road this Saturday to take on Atlanta United at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET. You can watch the match on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.