CARSON, Calif. -- The goal the New York Red Bulls thought they deserved in the first half finally came in the 51st minute when Dane Richards slipped a perfect ball through to John Wolyniec, who knocked in his second goal of the playoffs.
After having nothing to show from a dominant opening 45 minutes, the Red Bulls had equalized and it appeared that momentum had shifted back to the underdogs from New York.
But 87 seconds later, it shifted right back when Chad Marshall headed in what proved to be the game-winning goal off a Guillermo Barros Schelotto corner kick.
"We came out had a pretty dang positive start to the second half, got our goal and then that second goal is murder," Chris Leitch said. "It will kill you, absolutely kill you."
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• Schelotto named MLS Cup MVP
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• Lewis: Right team took Cup
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• Wolyniec rewards Osorio's faith
• Red Bulls waste strong first half
• Cup win sweet for Crew's Moreno
• Red Bulls can't dodge final dagger
• Crew win Cup with team effort
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MLS Cup Sights & Sounds
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SIGHTS & SOUNDS
The Columbus Crew would add a third when Frankie Hejduk headed in a sublime lob by Schelotto to defeat the Red Bulls 3-1, and win their first-ever MLS Cup title.
However, it is that second goal that will haunt the Red Bulls for the rest of the offseason.
"Obviously that was the hardest part," Juan Pablo Angel said. "We go back into the game and we felt we could get a grip of it. We worked on it during the week, we knew that was their biggest strength, we concede from my point of view a very cheap goal. That changed the whole game."
After conceding 48 goals during the regular season, the Red Bulls turned it around during the playoffs and gave up just one goal in three playoff games leading up to their first MLS Cup Final.
However, the team's Achilles heel -- defending set pieces -- came back to bite the Red Bulls at the most inopportune time on Sunday.
"The timing of the second goal was disappointing because we were on a high from tying the game," Wolyniec said. "It's tough to come back from."
The sequence started with Diego Jimenez playing the ball out of touch despite not being pressured.
"The most disappointing thing is, although I don't like to single anyone out, I think we conceded a very easy corner kick," Red Bulls coach Juan Carlos Osorio said. "There's no pressure on the ball and we just kick it out. I was very, very upset with that."
The Red Bulls knew that Columbus' most dangerous scoring chances come from set pieces and there was no one more lethal to deal with than Chad Marshall, who is deadly in the air.
And yet, Schelotto's corner fell right to Marshall's head and the MLS Defender of the Year headed it past Danny Cepero for his sixth goal of the year.
"It was very difficult for the team to recover after that," Osorio said. "We emphasized so much on not conceding goals five minutes right after we score and we couldn't handle that."
Added van den Bergh: "We scored a quick goal and they scored right back at us and that kind of put a dagger in us for 15-20 minutes."
As it turned out, it was the final dagger the resilient Red Bulls couldn't dodge.
"I'm really proud of what we achieved this year considering all the circumstances," Angel said. "It doesn't necessarily mean I'm happy because we lost, but I think we went to a stage we were expected."
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