Reed Baker-Whiting and Andy Nájar Strike in Stoppage Time as Nashville SC Stun Crew 3-2

The Columbus Crew had the upset in the bag. Up 2-1 at GEODIS Park with the clock in second-half stoppage time, the visitors were a couple of clearances away from stealing three points from the best team in the league. Then Reed Baker-Whiting rose to head in an equalizer in the 93rd minute, and two minutes later Andy Nájar slammed home the winner.

Nashville SC 3, Columbus Crew 2. The comeback on Saturday night kept Nashville unbeaten at home in MLS play this season and, according to both the club and the league, gave it the best 21-match start in MLS history at 49 points. Nashville said it was also the first time the club had scored more than once after the 90th minute in a regular-season match. Columbus, meanwhile, left Tennessee with nothing and a three-game losing streak.

Mukhtar Opens, Nashville Pushes

Nashville had more of the ball, and in the 27th minute captain Hany Mukhtar found the breakthrough. Daniel Lovitz played him through on the left, and Mukhtar beat Patrick Schulte from a tight angle with a left-footed shot into the top left corner. It came in his 200th MLS regular-season appearance, and the club said it was his third goal in three games.

The hosts piled on pressure before the break. In five minutes of first-half stoppage time, Mukhtar had a shot blocked and another fly over, Sam Surridge had a header and a shot blocked, and Schulte made saves on Cristian Espinoza and Matthew Corcoran. Columbus survived the barrage and went into halftime down only 1-0. Its only first-half attempt was a Chase Adams shot that was blocked in the 32nd minute.

Columbus Flips the Script

Schulte kept the Crew in it early in the second half, saving a Jeisson Palacios header in the 49th minute. Nine minutes later, Columbus scored with its first shot on target of the night. Malte Amundsen found Mohamed Farsi on the right side of the box, and Farsi drove a right-footed shot into the bottom left corner. Columbus said it was his first goal of the season. Farsi, whose injury had briefly stopped play in the first half, was replaced by Brooks Lennon a minute later, with Josef Martínez coming on for Adams.

Nashville responded with a triple change in the 62nd minute, sending on Elias Saad, Edvard Tagseth and Baker-Whiting. Six minutes later, Columbus took the lead anyway. André Gomes stepped up and sent a long-range, right-footed free kick into the bottom left corner. The Crew said it was his first MLS goal and the club's sixth set-piece goal, all in the past month.

At that point, Columbus had two goals from two shots on target. Efficiency like that wins road games. For about 25 minutes, it looked like it would.

The Stoppage-Time Storm

Nashville kept coming. Corcoran had a shot blocked in the 72nd minute and Saad sent one just wide in the 87th. The fourth official signaled six added minutes, and Nashville needed only five of them.

In the third minute of stoppage time, Nashville won a corner, and Mukhtar's cross found Baker-Whiting in the center of the box. The substitute headed it into the bottom right corner for his first career MLS goal. Two minutes later, Palacios set up Nájar on the right side of the box, and the right back fired a right-footed shot into the bottom left corner. Nashville credited Bryan Acosta with a secondary assist on the winner; ESPN lists Palacios alone.

The Stars

Mukhtar was everywhere: a goal, the assist on the equalizer and three shots. MLSsoccer.com put his season at nine goals and six assists in 21 appearances.

Nájar was named Nashville's Man of the Match, and the winner was his second MLS goal of the season. Baker-Whiting, who came on for Lovitz, made his only shot of the night count.

For Columbus, Schulte made all three of the Crew's saves and kept the visitors alive through the first-half siege. Gomes and Farsi each scored on their only shot.

Nashville head coach B.J. Callaghan loved what he saw after the equalizer, when Surridge was "digging the ball out of the goal and running up to try and get goal number three," as he put it.

The Turning Point

Callaghan's 62nd-minute triple substitution. Baker-Whiting scored the equalizer, and Nashville's bench gave the hosts fresh legs for the final push. Callaghan said the substitutes "knew what they needed to do in the game and really elevated the play," and that is exactly how it looked.

Stats That Matter

• Shots: Nashville 13, Columbus 3.
• Shots on target: Nashville 6, Columbus 2.
• Corners: Nashville 8, Columbus 1, and the equalizer came from one of them.
• Saves: Schulte made three; Nashville's Brian Schwake did not have to make one.
• Possession: Nashville held 57.8 percent of the ball.

What It Means

Nashville moved to 15-4-2 with 49 points, and MLSsoccer.com said the win put the club nine points clear atop the Supporters' Shield standings. Per the club, Nashville is unbeaten in 14 of its last 15 MLS matches and remains the only unbeaten home team in MLS this season, outscoring visitors 32-12 at GEODIS Park. Next up is FC Cincinnati at home on Saturday.

"Tonight is a night where you really see the value of the fans and the crowd," Callaghan said.

Columbus dropped to 5-5-11 with 20 points after its third straight loss. Interim coach Laurent Courtois was blunt about the gap: "I would say we are a work in progress where they are in their final form." The Crew head to a Leagues Cup quarterfinal against Club América on Wednesday before hosting New England on Saturday. Farsi put it simply: "I mean, it's very hard mentally to concede two goals in two minutes, but we have to bounce back."

Closing Take

Nashville is starting to feel like the final boss nobody can beat on its home turf. Columbus did almost everything right for 92 minutes, scored on both of its shots on target and still walked off empty-handed. That is not luck anymore. That is a team that believes the ending is already written.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes as reported by mlssoccer.com and columbuscrew.com; additional details from nashvillesc.com.