Jacen Russell-Rowe scored and had an assist when the host Columbus Crew held off winless CF Montreal 2-1 on Saturday.
The Crew (4-0-3, 15 points) and Inter Miami are the only unbeaten teams in MLS. Miami plays Toronto FC on Sunday.
Aziel Jackson in the 11th minute and Russell-Rowe in the 26th made it 2-0 before Prince Owusu scored for Montreal (0-5-2, 2 points) in the 50th.
Owusu’s goal was allowed after video review, but two other Montreal scores were overturned by VAR.
Montreal completed seven road matches to open the season. Along the way, head coach Laurent Courtois, a former Crew assistant coach, was fired on March 24 and Marco Donadel was promoted to interim head coach. In his first match, CF Montreal tied Chicago 1-1 on March 29.
The Crew was able to break the press to take the early lead, but it took a while. Montreal had them hemmed in but after five passes, Malte Amundsen found Russell-Rowe as an outlet near midfield.
He quickly lofted a ball 30 yards ahead where Jackson, starting in the midfield for injured captain Darlington Nagbe, chested the ball then slotted a shot to the far corner for his first goal of the season.
Russell-Rowe doubled the score from the right side of the box after a slick through ball by Steven Moreira split the defense.
It was the first goal for Russell-Rowe since a brace vs. Chicago in the opener.
Montreal had a goal wiped off the board in the 33rd minute when goal scorer Caden Clark was ruled offside.
It was a different story to pull Montreal to within 2-1 when Owusu scored on the rebound after Clark’s shot hit the left post. Owusu was flagged for offside, but the decision was reversed.
In the 82nd minute, Nathan-Dylan Saliba appeared to tie it, but the video showed he was offside after receiving a pass from Victor Loturi.
–Field Level Media
