Columbus digs out of early hole, rallies to defeat Cincinnati 4-2

CINCINNATI (AP) — Columbus rallied from an early two-goal deficit to defeat Cincinnati 4-2 on Saturday night, with Taha Habroune scoring the final goal in second-half stoppage time.

After trailing 2-0 in the first five minutes, Columbus tied it late in the first half and took a 3-2 lead with an own goal by Cincinnati’s Miles Robinson who was trying to defend a cross by Columbus. Habroune wrapped it up when he scored on a right-footed shot from the center of the box in the third minute of second-half stoppage time.

The game started an hour late after a weather delay and Cincinnati scored almost immediately when Pavel Bucha connected with a right-footed shot from the center of the box in the first minute.

The score reached 2-0 when in the fifth minute when Evander Da Silva Ferreira scored with a right-footed shot from the right half-space outside the box to the middle-left zone.

Columbus tied it late in the first half with goals from Diego Rossi and Max Arfsten.

In the 42nd minute, Rossi scored with a right-footed shot from the centre of the box. In the third minute of stoppage time, Arfsten tied it with a difficult shot from the central position outside the box.

Cincinnati (13-6-3) entered the match with a league-best 42 points but saw its four-match winning streak come to an end. Philadelphia, which defeated New York 2-0, passed Cincinnati with 43 points.

Columbus (11-3-8) is unbeaten in its last five matches, four of them wins.

Up next

Cincinnati hosts Miami on Wednesday.

Columbus visits Nashville on Wednesday.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer