New York City FC vs Columbus Crew: Sean Johnson redeems himself

Sean Johnson redeemed himself for NYCFC

As mentioned, New York City FC lost to the Red Bulls due to a controversial goal as Sean Johnson was ruled to have let the ball over the goal line.  Unfortunately, MLS does not have goal-line technology, so there is no way to know with absolute confidence that a goal was conceded.  But nevertheless, Johnson was unable to make that stop, and that goal cost NYCFC the game.

Fortunately, his performance against the Columbus Crew allowed the goalkeeper to redeem himself.  He had three saves and one punch during the 90 plus minutes.  While he had multiple highlights, the one that stands out the most occurred in the 33rd minute.  An on-point header pass from Gyasi Zardes to Luis Díaz gave the Crew an opportunity to score.

Díaz ran past NYCFC defenders, and Ronald Matarrita had to run quickly in recovery.  But without Johnson going down on the ground and making himself big, the Crew midfielder potentially could have put his team up by one goal.  Between Matarrita and Johnson, the two kept their opposition out of the net.

It was that moment that set the pace for the remainder of the game in regards to the defensive side for NYCFC.  That allowed goal from the Red Bulls game could have shaken Johnson, and hurt his production in this game.  But the confidence was noticeable, and he was predominantly mentally alert.  Even when he made the mistake in almost giving up a not needed corner, he was able to compose himself, and with the help of Maxime Chanot, clear the ball.

The MLS veteran was able to achieve a clean sheet and help his side to a must needed win.  This time around, Sean Johnson made sure his critics had nothing to talk about, other than the fact he truly redeemed himself.